Google Business Profile for plumbers and heating engineers: how to set it up
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Why does a Google Business Profile matter for a plumber?
When someone searches for a plumber or heating engineer near them, Google often shows a map and a short list of local businesses before the normal results. Those listings come from Business Profiles. A complete, accurate profile is free and is one of the most direct ways to be seen by people who need work doing nearby.
How do you set it up?
- Claim and verify your profile. Search for your business on Google or Google Maps and follow the prompts to claim it, or create a new one. Google will ask you to verify that you run the business.
- Use your real business name. Use the name customers know you by, as it appears on your van, invoices and website. Do not stuff extra keywords into the name, as that breaks Google's rules.
- Add your phone number and website. Make sure the number is the one you actually answer.
- Add opening hours that are true, including any emergency or out-of-hours cover.
How do you set up a service-area business?
If you travel to customers and do not have a shop or office they visit, you are a service-area business. Google's guidance is that service-area businesses should hide their business address from customers. If you work from home, remove your home address from the profile, and instead set the areas you serve.
Google's guidance is that a service area should not stretch beyond about two hours' driving from where you are based. Pick the towns and postcodes you genuinely cover. Listing places you do not actually serve can get a profile suspended.
Which category should you choose?
Choose the primary category that best describes your main work, such as a plumber or a heating contractor, then add secondary categories for other work you do, such as boiler servicing or gas installation. The category list changes, so pick the closest matches from what Google offers.
What should you add to the profile?
- Services: list what you do, such as boiler servicing, boiler repair, radiators, and landlord gas safety checks.
- Photos: real photos of your work, your van and your team. Avoid showing customers' faces or house numbers.
- Your Gas Safe registration number, if you carry out gas work, so customers can check you.
- A short description in plain words: who you are, what you do and where.
Keep your details the same everywhere
Your name, phone number and website should match across your profile, website, social media and any directories you are listed in. Differences make it harder for Google to be sure they all refer to the same business.
What happens after set-up?
Ask customers for reviews and reply to them. See how plumbers get Google reviews. Keep your hours and services up to date, and add new photos from time to time.