// 00 · 0 m · map packLocal search · Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile optimisation get into the map pack
“Plumber near me” is searched about 22,200 times a month in Australia, and the three businesses in the map pack get most of the calls. Which three is decided by your Google Business Profile. We set it up properly, keep it active and report what it earns, for tradies, clinics, cafes and every other business that wins work locally.
- $590+ GST one-off optimisationEverything set up properly, once
- $249+ GST a month, managedPosts, photos, reviews, reporting
- 3factors Google names: relevance, distance, prominenceGoogle Business Profile Help
// 01 · 240 mWhy it matters
Three factors decide the map pack
Google says local results are ranked on relevance, distance and prominence, and that nobody can pay for a better local ranking. Everything on this page is about those three.
Relevance is how well the profile matches the search: the primary category, the services listed, the description, the landing page it links to. Distance is how far the searcher is from your location or, for a service-area business with a hidden address, whether their suburb is inside the service area you set. Prominence is how well known the business is: review count, review recency and replies, photos, activity, mentions and links elsewhere on the web.
Most profiles we audit have the wrong primary category, a service area drawn as a giant circle, three photos from 2019 and reviews nobody has answered. Fixing that is not clever; it is thorough, and it is measurable through the profile’s own performance data (calls, direction requests and website taps).
Source: Google Business Profile Help, “How to improve your local ranking on Google”. Search volumes: Semrush Keyword Overview, Australia database, October 2026. Figures are estimated average monthly searches.| Search | Phrase | Searches / month |
|---|---|---|
| plumber near me | plumber near me | 22,200 |
| electrician near me | electrician near me | 22,200 |
| builders near me | builders near me | 4,400 |
| google my business optimisation | google my business optimisation | 320 |
| google my business management | google my business management | 320 |
| google business profile optimisation | google business profile optimisation | 260 |
| google business profile management | google business profile management | 260 |
| google maps seo | google maps seo | 260 |
| google business profile setup | google business profile setup | 90 |
// 02 · 420 mThe signals
Eight switches, one channel
Every switch is one of the things we set up in the one-off optimisation or maintain in the monthly plan. Switch them on and watch where your buoy ends up in the channel.
Switch the signals on
Google says local results are ranked on relevance, distance and prominence. Each switch below is one of the things we set up or maintain. Watch where your buoy ends up.
Illustration of how the documented signals combine, not a prediction of any ranking. Source for the three factors: Google Business Profile Help, “How to improve your local ranking on Google”.// 03 · 600 mPricing
Set it up once, or keep it working
Profile optimisation
A complete set-up or rebuild of an existing profile, done once and done properly. Usually finished within two weeks of access.
- Audit of the current profile, duplicate listings and suspension risks
- Primary and secondary categories chosen from the search data
- Services, attributes, description and opening hours written and completed
- Service areas set to the suburbs you actually work (hidden address for service-area businesses)
- Logo, cover and an initial photo set briefed and uploaded; geotag and naming guidance for your team
- Review link and QR card for after-job texts; reply templates in your voice
- Q&A seeded with the questions customers actually ask
- Website link to a matching landing page, tagged so every tap is tracked
- Name, address and phone checked for consistency across the major directories
- Performance baseline recorded so the before and after is measurable
Profile management
Prominence is earned every month. Management keeps the profile active, answered and growing, and reports what it produces.
- Two posts a month: offers, seasonal services, availability, recent jobs
- New photos every month from the jobs you send us (vans, work in progress, finished jobs by suburb)
- Every review answered within two business days, in your voice, including the bad ones
- Q&A monitored and answered
- Suggested edits and competitor spam monitored and challenged
- Categories, services and hours adjusted as the business and the seasons change
- Monthly report: calls, direction requests, website taps, searches that showed the profile, review growth
- Cancel any month; the profile and every asset stay yours
Ownership. We are added to your profile as a manager, never the owner. If you ever leave, you remove us in one click and keep everything. Reviews are never bought, written or filtered: it is against Google’s policies and Australian Consumer Law, and it does not work for long.
// 04 · 780 mThe pair
Profile and website, built to agree
The profile is the front door. The website is the room behind it, and Google checks whether they match.
A profile whose primary category is “Plumber” and whose website link lands on a fast page about plumbing in the same suburbs reinforces every relevance signal. A profile that links to a slow home page about “solutions” wastes the click and the ranking. That is why our local SEO builds suburb and service pages for the profile to point at, and why the monthly report covers both.
- Landing pages for the primary service and the main suburbs, linked from the profile and the posts.
- Schema markup on the website that repeats the profile’s name, phone, areas and opening hours exactly.
- Reviews on the site, pulled through from Google, so the proof appears in both places.
- Tracking that shows calls from the profile and calls from the site separately, so budget goes where the jobs come from.
Local SEO
Month to month, no lock-in. Keyword tracking for the suburbs you work, scheduled audits, on-page work, suburb pages and editorial links, reported in plain English every month.
- Early movement in 3 to 6 months, significant results in 6 to 12
- Rankings, calls and enquiries in one report
- Cancel any month
Websites for tradies
Custom WordPress, fixed price, written scope first. Essential (up to 6 pages) is built to go live in 4 weeks; Growth (up to 15 pages, $6,999 + GST) in 6 weeks. First year of managed hosting included.
- Tap-to-call, quote form and licence details above the fold
- A page per job type and per suburb
- You own the site, the content and the data
// 05 · 960 mProcess
From access to measurable
- AccessYou add us as a manager on the profile (we send a one-page guide). No passwords change hands.
- AuditWe check categories, service areas, duplicates, photos, reviews and the landing page, and record the performance baseline. You get the findings in plain English within a few days.
- OptimiseEverything in the one-off list is completed, usually within two weeks, with the review link and reply templates handed to your team.
- MeasureThirty days later you see the before and after in the profile’s own numbers. If you take the monthly plan, the report arrives every month from then on.
// 06 · 1140 mWho it suits
Any business people search for by place
Tradies
Service-area businesses with a hidden address and a “near me” customer base. The profile is where emergency calls start. See marketing for tradies.
Clinics and practices
Allied health, dental, vet and medical practices, where categories, practitioner listings and review replies carry weight and compliance matters.
Hospitality and retail
Cafes, restaurants, wineries and shops, where photos, menus, posts and hours do most of the work and seasonality is everything on the Peninsula.
Multi-location
Businesses with several locations or service areas that need consistent profiles, consistent replies and one report.
// 07 · 1320 mQuestions
Questions about Google Business Profile
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. The profile itself is free from Google and always will be; nobody can pay Google for a better local ranking. You pay us for the time and judgement to set it up properly and keep it active, and the results show in the profile’s own performance data.
Can you guarantee a map pack position?
No, and anyone who does is guessing or buying something that will not last. Google names the factors (relevance, distance, prominence); we work on every one of them and report the before and after. The buoys on this page are an illustration of how the signals combine, not a prediction.
We work from home and do not want our address shown. Does the profile still work?
Yes. Service-area businesses hide the address and set the suburbs they serve instead. Setting those areas accurately, rather than as a huge circle, is one of the first things we fix.
Will you get us more reviews?
We make it easy to ask: a review link and QR card for after-job texts and invoices, reply templates and a routine your team can keep. We never buy, write or filter reviews; it breaches Google’s policies and Australian Consumer Law and it eventually costs the profile.
How long until we see a difference?
Relevance and distance fixes show in the profile’s performance data within weeks. Prominence (reviews, photos, activity) compounds over months, which is what the monthly plan is for. We record a baseline on day one so the change is measurable rather than a feeling.
What is the difference between this and local SEO?
Profile optimisation ranks your business in the map pack and “near me” results. Local SEO ranks your website in the normal results underneath. For most local businesses they feed each other, so we offer both and report them in the same place.
Tide’s right
Let’s get your profile into the channel
Request a free audit of your Google Business Profile and website. You will get the findings in plain English within a few days and a fixed price for the fix.