When someone searches “movers near me”, the map results at the top come from Google Business Profiles. A complete, active profile with recent reviews is one of the most valuable things a local moving company can have, and it is free.
Here is how to set yours up properly and keep it working, in the order that matters most.
How do you set up the basics correctly?
Get these right first. Everything else builds on them.
1. Business name, exactly as it appears in real life
Use your real business name, the one on your trucks and paperwork. Stuffing keywords or cities into the name breaks Google’s guidelines and can get a profile suspended.
2. The most specific moving category
Pick the most specific moving category Google offers as your primary category. Add secondary categories only for services you genuinely provide, such as storage or packing.
3. Service area, not a storefront
Most movers go to the customer, so set yourself up as a service-area business: list the towns or regions you serve and hide your street address if customers do not visit you.
4. Phone, website and hours
Use the number you actually answer, link to your website’s home page or a town page, and keep hours accurate, including when your phone line or assistant is answered.
What should you add to stand out?
5. Services with plain descriptions
List each service you offer: local moves, apartment moves, packing, loading help, piano moves. Describe each in a sentence or two, in the words customers use.
6. Real photos, lots of them
Your trucks, your crew in uniform, wrapped furniture, loaded trucks, happy customers who agreed to a photo. Add new ones regularly. Avoid stock photos.
7. A booking or quote link
Point people straight to your instant quote form, so a profile visit can become a lead without a phone call.
How do reviews affect your profile?
Reviews influence both whether you show up and whether people choose you. What matters is a steady stream of genuine, recent reviews and your replies to them.
- Ask every customer after every job, the same way, with a one-tap link.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and specifically.
- Never buy, fake or filter reviews. It breaks Google’s rules and can get reviews removed.
More on this in how to get more reviews for your moving company.
How do you keep the profile active?
An active profile shows customers, and Google, that you are open for business. Build a simple weekly routine.
- Post at least once a week: a recent job, a tip, open dates or a seasonal offer.
- Add new photos from recent jobs.
- Reply to every new review within a day or two.
- Check your details whenever your hours, services or number change.
Done for you
LeadKeet keeps your Google Business Profile active every week, with posts and photos from your real jobs and replies drafted for every review. See local SEO for movers.
What mistakes should movers avoid?
- Keywords or city names added to the business name.
- A virtual office or fake address to appear in more towns.
- Different phone numbers on the profile, the website and directories.
- Letting the profile go months without a post, a photo or a review reply.