Why your Google listing is the real reason the phone’s dead

What the Google listing actually is

You’ve probably heard it called three different things and never known they’re the same thing: “my Google listing”, “the map thing”, “Google My Business” (old name), or “Google Business Profile” (current official name, I’ll call it GBP from here).

It’s the free profile Google gives every local business. It controls whether you show up when someone types “electrician [their town]” on their phone. It’s free. It takes less time to fill in properly than doing one EICR. And most sparkies haven’t touched theirs since whoever set it up in 2018.

“I can rewire a house no problem but this Google stuff has me beat.”

— an electrician on DIYnot Forums

Why the 3-pack is the only game in town

Open Google Maps on your phone. Search “electrician burgess hill” (swap for your town). You’ll see three results above the fold with a map. That’s the Map 3-pack.

Three pieces of research worth knowing:

• Most people never scroll past the 3-pack. They pick one of the three, tap “Call” or “Website”, and you’re hired or rejected before Google has shown result #4.
• Within the 3-pack, customers typically pick whoever has the highest review count at a decent rating. A 4.8 with 52 reviews beats a 5.0 with 6 reviews.
• You don’t need to rank #1 on Google. You need to rank in the top 3 of the map. That’s a completely different (and easier) job.

What’s broken on most sparky listings

I’ve audited dozens of UK trades in Mid Sussex and Surrey. The same seven things are broken on almost every profile:

1. Primary category wrong or missing. “Electrician” is the right category. “Electrical supply store” isn’t. I’ve seen this one more than I’d like.
2. Secondary categories empty. You can add up to 9 extra categories (EV charging station installer, electrical inspection service, lighting contractor, etc.). Most sparkies have zero.
3. Services section blank. Fuseboard change, EICR, EV charger install, rewire, emergency callout. None of it’s listed. Google doesn’t know what you do.
4. 3 photos, all from 2019. Google rewards fresh visual content. The top-3 sparkies in your town have 40+ photos, most from this year.
5. Zero GBP posts. You can publish a short post (like a mini Facebook update) attached to your profile. Almost no sparky does this. The ones that do, rank higher.
6. NAP mismatch. Your Name/Address/Phone is slightly different on your website, your Checkatrade profile, and your Yell listing. Google notices. It downranks you.
7. No reviews in the last 90 days. Google treats review velocity (reviews per month) as a ranking signal. A profile with 40 reviews all from 2021 beats a profile with 10 reviews, but loses to a profile with 20 reviews added this year.

The 7-point fix, in order of impact

If you only do one of these, do the first. If you do three, you’ll already be in the top 5 for most sparky terms in most Mid Sussex towns.

1. Fix the categories (impact: enormous)

Log in to your GBP. Set primary to “Electrician”. Add as secondaries: EV charging station installer, electrical installation service, electrical inspection service, lighting contractor, emergency electrician. If any of those don’t exist in the dropdown, skip it. Don’t force a close one.

2. Fill the services section (impact: big)

Add your top 8–12 services. Use the plain-English words customers type: “Fuseboard replacement”, “EICR / landlord certificate”, “EV charger installation”, “Emergency callout”, “Rewire”, “Smoke alarm installation”.

3. Upload 10 photos (impact: big)

Not stock images. Actual jobs. Fuseboard before/after. You in PPE. Your van. A finished EV install. Name the files something real (not IMG_4821.jpg) and Google will use that metadata.

4. Publish 3 GBP posts (impact: moderate, compounds)

A GBP post is a short Facebook-style update on your profile. Keep it to 100 words. Once a fortnight. Topics: seasonal work (EV grants before the deadline, EICRs ahead of the April landlord renewal wave), before/after photos, a job you just finished. The exact thing sparkies don’t want to do, which is why it still works.

5. Tighten NAP across platforms (impact: moderate)

Pick the canonical version of your business name, address and phone number. Make sure it’s identical on Google, your website, Checkatrade, Yell, NICEIC directory, Facebook. “Hardy Electrical Ltd” vs “Hardy Electrical Limited” vs “Hardy Elec” counts as three businesses to Google. Pick one.

6. Set up review requests (impact: compounding)

I wrote a dedicated post on this: how to get your first 10 Google reviews from jobs you’ve already done. Review velocity is the single biggest compounding ranking signal.

7. Claim and verify your profile (impact: foundational)

If you’ve never received the postcard / video verification from Google, your profile is technically unclaimed. Without verification, none of the above will move the needle. 10 minutes on Google’s end fixes it.

The review flywheel

Here’s what actually happens when the above is in place:

1. You rank in the 3-pack for “electrician [town]”.
2. Someone clicks through, likes what they see, calls you.
3. You do a proper job.
4. Within 24 hours, you text them a one-line message with your Google review link.
5. 30–50% of them leave a 5-star review.
6. Your review count climbs, which pushes you higher in the 3-pack.
7. You get more calls. Back to step 2.

That’s the whole engine. Everything else is detail.

A one-weekend plan you can actually do

If you’ve got 3 hours on a Saturday morning:

0:00–0:30	Claim / verify your GBP if it’s not yours yet. Set primary category.
0:30–1:00	Add all secondary categories + every relevant service.
1:00–1:45	Upload 10 photos from your camera roll of actual jobs.
1:45–2:15	Write and publish 2 GBP posts (one about EV grants, one about landlord EICRs).
2:15–2:45	Check your NAP on 5 platforms. Fix the odd one out.
2:45–3:00	Copy your Google review link. Message 3 recent customers asking for a review.

Three hours. No money. Likely the highest-ROI three hours you’ll do on the business this year.