Google Business Profile for detailers, PPF, tint and PDR shops: the checklist
The listing that puts you on Google Maps, set up the way that brings calls and bookings, and the mistakes that get profiles suspended.
Why it matters more than your website
When someone searches "detailing near me", the first thing they see is usually the map with three businesses under it. Those come from Google Business Profile, not from websites. Your profile decides whether you're in that box; your website decides whether the customer books once they tap.
You need both, and they need to agree with each other.
Get the basics exactly right
- Business name: your real name, exactly as on your van, sign and invoices. Don't add towns or keywords; that breaks Google's rules and can get the profile suspended
- Primary category: the one that describes most of your revenue, such as car detailing service, window tinting service or auto dent removal service. Add the others as secondary categories
- Phone number: a local number you actually answer, the same one as on your website
- Website: your home page, or your booking page if it's the main thing you want people to do
- Hours: real hours, including special hours for holidays
Mobile? Set a service area
If customers don't come to you, hide your address and set a service area instead. Google lets you list the cities or zip codes you serve. Pick the towns you actually drive to, not the whole state.
Never use a virtual office or a mailbox as your address to appear in another town. Google checks, and a suspended profile can take weeks to get back.
Fill in services and prices
Add every service with a short description and, where you can, a price or from-price. Customers compare right there in the map, before they ever reach your site. Use the same names and prices as on your website so both tell the same story.
Photos, every month
Profiles with fresh photos of real work look alive. Add a few photos from real jobs every month: before and after, the finished car, you and your van or bay. Skip stock photos and manufacturer shots.
Reviews: ask, then answer
- Ask every happy customer, right when you hand the car back, with a short link they can tap
- Answer every review, good and bad, briefly and politely
- Never buy reviews or offer discounts for them; Google removes them and can penalize the profile
- Never review yourself or ask friends who weren't customers
Connect it to your website
Your website should repeat what the profile says: the same name, phone, hours, services and towns. Google trusts what it can confirm twice, and so do AI assistants. Link the profile from your site and your site from the profile, and add your booking link so customers can book from the map.
From Stuttgart up, we set this up or clean it up for you and connect it to your site and booking. On Nordschleife we manage it every month.