Google Business Profile SOP

This document is the complete procedure for claiming, building, and maintaining Sun Valley Mechanical LLC's Google Business Profile so the business appears in local map pack results across the Phoenix metro. Marcus runs the setup himself; an office admin takes over the weekly and monthly maintenance once the profile is live. The work splits into three phases: a one-time setup (roughly two to four hours), weekly activity (photos and posts), and a monthly review of what the profile is producing in calls and booked jobs tracked in your CRM (Decision Built or your current platform).

Trade context. HVAC customers in the Phoenix metro split into two groups: people whose system just quit in 110-degree heat who search 'AC repair near me' and call the first credible result they see, and homeowners planning a replacement who compare three or four contractors over a few days. Both groups start on the map pack. The emergency searcher needs to see a verified phone number, recent reviews, and hours that include same-day or emergency service. The replacement shopper reads the reviews, looks at the photos, and checks whether the business handles their equipment brand. Both signals live on the profile, which is why photo volume, review recency, and a complete services list all matter here.

• The profile is a job-photo feed, not a brochure. A photo of a finished Trane install in Scottsdale with the lineset dressed and the disconnect labeled tells a replacement shopper more than any tagline.
• Name, address or service area, and phone number must match exactly across the profile, the website, and every directory listing. One digit off on the phone number costs calls.
• Never add city names or keywords to the business name field. The legal or DBA name goes in that field, nothing else. The compliant way to signal service areas is the service-area configuration and the business description.
• A burst of twenty reviews in one week followed by silence looks worse over time than two reviews a week for ten weeks. Pace matters as much as count.
• Every review gets a response, positive or negative, within 48 hours. The profile is public; how you respond to a one-star review is read by every future customer who finds you.
• If a feature requires someone to actually respond (messaging, for example), only enable it if that person exists and has a response-time target. An unanswered message is worse than no messaging at all.

1. Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want permanently tied to Sun Valley Mechanical LLC. Search for the business name to confirm no duplicate listing already exists before creating a new one. _(Owner)_

If a listing already exists that you did not create, use the 'Claim this business' option rather than creating a duplicate. Duplicate listings split your review count and confuse Google about which profile to rank.

1. Enter the business name exactly as it appears on your LLC registration or DBA filing: 'Sun Valley Mechanical LLC'. Do not add 'Phoenix', 'HVAC', 'AC Repair', or any other keyword to this field. _(Owner)_

Google's guidelines prohibit keyword stuffing in the business name field. Violations can result in the listing being suspended. The business name field is for the legal or operating name only.

1. Select 'HVAC contractor' as the primary category during setup. You will add secondary categories after the profile is created. _(Owner)_
2. Choose 'I deliver goods and services to my customers' and enter your service area rather than a street address, since Sun Valley Mechanical LLC operates from a home base or shop and serves customers at their locations. _(Owner)_

If you operate from a commercial shop that customers visit, you can display the address. If you work from home, hide the street address and use the service-area-only configuration to avoid publishing your home address publicly.

1. Set the service area by adding the cities and towns you actually serve within your 25-mile radius: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, and any other municipalities you regularly take jobs in. _(Owner)_

Google recommends listing no more than 20 service areas. Use named cities rather than a radius circle; named cities give Google clearer geographic signals. Only list areas where you will actually take jobs.

1. Complete the verification step. Google will likely prompt video verification for a service-area business; follow the on-screen instructions to record a short video showing your vehicle, equipment, or workspace that confirms you are a real operating business. _(Owner)_

Video verification has replaced postcard verification for many service-area businesses. Have your branded truck, a piece of HVAC equipment, or your license documentation visible during the video. If video is not offered, postcard or phone verification may appear instead.

1. Enter your primary business phone number. This must match the number on your website and any other directory listings exactly, including area code format. _(Owner)_
2. Add your website URL. Use the UTM-tagged version of the URL (see the Tracking section) so that GBP traffic is identifiable in your analytics from day one. _(Owner)_
3. Set your business hours accurately, including whether you offer same-day or emergency service outside standard hours. Add special hours for holidays as they approach throughout the year. _(Owner)_

In Phoenix, summer emergency calls happen on weekends and evenings. If you take those calls, reflect that in your hours. Inaccurate hours cause customers to call a competitor when they see 'closed' on a Saturday afternoon.

1. Open the Edit profile section and build out the Services list. Add each service you offer: Residential Installation, Light Commercial Installation, AC and Heating Repair, Maintenance Plans, Heat Pump Installation, and Mini-Split Installation. Write a 1-3 sentence description for each that describes what the service includes. _(Owner)_

Service descriptions are indexed by Google and help the profile surface for specific searches like 'mini-split installation Phoenix'. Write plain descriptions of what the work involves, not marketing copy.

1. Write the business description (up to 750 characters). Describe what Sun Valley Mechanical does, the service area, the types of systems you work on, and that you are licensed. Do not use the description to stuff city names or keywords in an unnatural way. _(Owner)_

A good description reads like something you would say to a customer on the phone: 'Sun Valley Mechanical LLC is a licensed HVAC contractor serving the Phoenix metro. We install, repair, and maintain residential and light commercial systems including heat pumps and mini-splits. Same-day service available for repairs.'

1. Upload your first batch of photos: at minimum, your truck or van with the company name visible, a completed residential install showing the indoor and outdoor units, a team photo, and one before-and-after pair from a recent job. _(Owner)_

Ten photos at launch is a reasonable floor. The photo plan section of this document covers the ongoing cadence and shot list in detail.

1. Enable the messaging feature only if you or your office admin will respond to messages within a few hours during business hours. Set a welcome message that tells the customer what information to include (address, system type, issue description). _(Owner)_

Google can disable messaging on profiles that have slow response times. If no one is monitoring messages consistently, leave this feature off until that capacity exists.

1. Add a booking or quote link if you use an online scheduling tool. This appears as a button on the profile and reduces friction for the customer who wants to book without calling. _(Owner)_
2. Add your license number and any relevant attributes in the Edit profile section. Look for attributes like 'Licensed', 'Insured', and any service-specific attributes Google offers for HVAC contractors in your region. _(Owner)_

Attributes appear on the profile and are visible to customers. For a licensed HVAC contractor in Arizona, displaying the license number builds credibility with the replacement shopper who is comparing multiple bids.

Primary category: HVAC contractor

Secondary categories:

• Air conditioning contractor
• Heating contractor
• Heat pump supplier
• Air conditioning repair service
• Mechanical contractor

The primary category is the single most important field on the profile because it determines which core searches the listing is eligible to appear in. 'HVAC contractor' is the correct primary for Sun Valley Mechanical because it covers the full scope of the business and is the category Google associates with the broadest set of heating and cooling searches. Secondary categories let the profile surface for more specific searches like 'heat pump installation' or 'AC repair service' without diluting the primary signal. Pick secondary categories that match services you actually perform and want to be called for; adding categories for services you rarely do or do not offer creates mismatched calls and wastes your time.

Google's own data shows that profiles with more photos receive more direction requests and calls than profiles with few photos, and photo recency is a signal that the business is active. For an HVAC contractor, photos do a second job: they show the replacement shopper that your installs are clean, your equipment is current, and your crew is professional. The standing rule is that photos come from jobs, captured by the technician or installer before leaving the site, and uploaded in a batch at the end of each workday or week.

Shot list

• Outdoor condenser unit, finished install, full frame Shows the equipment brand, the pad or bracket mount, and whether the lineset and electrical are dressed cleanly. Replacement shoppers look at this.
• Indoor air handler or furnace, finished install Pairs with the outdoor shot to show a complete system. Drain line routing, filter access, and duct connections are visible to a knowledgeable buyer.
• Before-and-after pair: old failing unit next to the new replacement The most compelling photo type for a replacement job. Shows the transformation and implicitly tells the story of the job without a word of copy.
• Mini-split head unit mounted and running, wall penetration sealed Mini-split searches are growing in the Phoenix market. A clean photo of a finished mini-split install signals that you do this work regularly and do it well.
• Technician at the outdoor unit during a service call, gauges connected Shows a real person doing real diagnostic work. Humanizes the business and signals to the emergency searcher that a technician actually shows up.
• Electrical disconnect, correctly labeled and secured A detail shot that signals attention to code compliance. Customers who have had sloppy work done before notice this.
• Branded truck or van parked at a job site Confirms the business has a physical presence and professional equipment. Useful for the customer who wants to know what to look for when the tech arrives.
• Team photo, crew in branded shirts or uniforms Puts faces to the business. Customers are letting this crew into their home; a team photo reduces the stranger-anxiety of the first call.
• Attic or closet air handler installation in progress Shows the harder, less visible part of the work. Demonstrates capability for complex installs that competitors may not photograph.
• Completed maintenance visit: clean coils, new filter installed, system running Supports the maintenance plan offering. A customer considering a maintenance agreement wants to see what the visit actually looks like.

Cadence. Upload a photo batch from every completed installation job, and at least one photo from every service or maintenance call where the work produced a visible result. The minimum target is one new photo per week; two to four per week is better and achievable if the technician takes three shots before leaving every job site.

GBP posts appear on the profile and in some search results; they are not a major ranking factor on their own, but they signal to Google that the profile is actively managed, and they give the customer who lands on the profile something current to read. Posts expire or scroll down after a week or so, which is why a weekly cadence matters more than any single post. Keep posts short, specific to a real job or a real seasonal condition, and written the way Marcus would talk to a customer.

Job completion post

_Frequency: Weekly, after any completed installation_

Example post: > Finished a full system replacement in Chandler today. The homeowner had a 15-year-old R-22 unit that had been limping through summers. We put in a new 16 SEER2 heat pump system and the house was down to 74 degrees within two hours. If your system is over 12 years old and struggling, call us before the next heat wave hits.

Seasonal service post

_Frequency: Monthly, timed to Phoenix seasonal patterns_

Example post: > June is here and so is the heat. We are booking AC tune-ups and filter changes now before the 110-degree days stack up. A maintenance visit catches refrigerant issues, dirty coils, and failing capacitors before they become a no-cool call on a Saturday night. Call or message us to get on the schedule.

Mini-split or heat pump education post

_Frequency: Every 3-4 weeks_

Example post: > A lot of homeowners in the Valley are adding mini-splits to garages, casitas, and home offices that were never on the main system. We installed a 12,000 BTU single-zone unit in a converted garage in Tempe last week. No ductwork, no major construction, and the room is now usable year-round. If you have a space that never gets comfortable, ask us whether a mini-split makes sense.

Maintenance plan offer post

_Frequency: Monthly_

Example post: > Our maintenance plan customers get priority scheduling during peak season, which in Phoenix means the difference between a same-day visit and a three-day wait in July. Two visits a year, priority booking, and a discount on parts. Ask us about it when you call.

Licensing and trust post

_Frequency: Quarterly_

Example post: > Sun Valley Mechanical is a licensed HVAC contractor in Arizona. Every technician who comes to your home is background-checked and works under our license. We pull permits on installations that require them. If a contractor tells you a permit is not needed for a full system replacement, ask again.

Review count and recency are prominence signals that affect where the profile appears in the map pack relative to competitors. A profile with 80 reviews and the most recent one from eight months ago is weaker than a profile with 60 reviews and four new ones this month. The goal is a steady pace of new reviews coming in every week, not a burst at launch followed by silence. Response rate also matters: Google tracks whether the owner responds to reviews, and customers read responses before calling.

_The Review Request Scripts doc (a separate CrewPlaybook document) contains the exact message templates, the timing window after job completion, and the channel sequence (text first, email follow-up) for requesting reviews. Use that doc to build the request into your post-job process._

• Respond to every review, including five-star reviews, within 48 hours. A one-sentence thank-you on a positive review takes 30 seconds and signals to future readers that a real person runs this business.
• For negative reviews, respond factually and briefly on the profile, acknowledge the customer's experience without admitting fault for things that did not happen, and offer to resolve the issue by phone or email. Do not argue in the response. The Review Request Scripts doc contains response frameworks for negative reviews.
• Never offer incentives for reviews, never ask customers to leave only positive reviews (review gating), and never post reviews from fake accounts. All three violate Google's guidelines and can result in review removal or profile suspension.
• Track your review count and your top two or three local competitors' review counts monthly. If a competitor is pulling ahead in volume, that is a signal to increase the pace of your post-job review requests, not to cut corners on quality.
• When a customer mentions the job in conversation or via text and says something positive, that is a natural moment to send a review request. The Review Request Scripts doc covers how to do this without it feeling like a sales pitch.

The Q&A section on a GBP profile is public, and anyone, including people who have never used your business, can post a question or answer one. Left unmanaged, questions go unanswered or get answered incorrectly by strangers. The right approach is to log into your Google account, post the questions customers actually ask you on the phone, and answer them yourself from the owner account. This fills the section with accurate information and reduces the chance that a bad answer sits there unanswered.

Q: What cities do you serve? A: We serve the Phoenix metro area including Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, and Peoria. If you are not sure whether your address falls in our service area, call us and we will let you know.

Q: Are you licensed and insured in Arizona? A: Yes. Sun Valley Mechanical LLC holds an Arizona Registrar of Contractors license for HVAC work. We carry general liability and workers' compensation insurance. We are happy to provide license and insurance documentation before any job.

Q: Do you offer same-day or emergency AC repair? A: We offer same-day service for repair calls when our schedule allows, and we take emergency calls during the summer months when a no-cool situation cannot wait. Call us directly and we will tell you our earliest available time.

Q: Do you give free estimates for system replacements? A: Yes. We provide free in-home estimates for full system replacements and new installations. We will assess your existing system, ductwork, and load requirements before recommending equipment.

Q: What equipment brands do you install? A: We install equipment from several major manufacturers. During your estimate we will discuss which brands and efficiency ratings make sense for your home and budget.

Q: Do you install mini-splits? A: Yes. We install single-zone and multi-zone mini-split systems for residential and light commercial applications. Mini-splits are a good fit for garages, additions, casitas, and spaces that are not connected to the main duct system.

Q: Do you pull permits for installations? A: Yes. We pull the required permits for new system installations and replacements in jurisdictions that require them. We handle the permit process as part of the job.

Q: What does your maintenance plan include? A: Our maintenance plan covers two visits per year, one before summer and one before winter. Each visit includes a system inspection, coil cleaning, filter replacement, refrigerant check, and electrical connection check. Plan members also get priority scheduling during peak season.

The Phoenix HVAC map pack has a known spam problem: lead-generation fronts that list fake business names with city names and keywords stuffed into the name field, businesses that list service areas far outside where they actually operate, and duplicate listings created to occupy more map pack slots. Google removes many of these when they are reported, and reporting them is a legitimate part of managing your competitive position in the map pack.

• Do a quarterly search for 'HVAC contractor Phoenix', 'AC repair Scottsdale', and two or three other core searches in your service area. Look at the map pack results for business names that include keywords like 'Phoenix AC Repair LLC' or 'Best HVAC Scottsdale' where the keyword string is clearly not a real business name.
• For a competitor with a keyword-stuffed name, use the 'Suggest an edit' option on their GBP listing to flag the name as incorrect. Google reviews these suggestions. This is the compliant way to report the violation; do not leave reviews on competitor profiles or take any other action that violates Google's guidelines.
• For listings that appear to be entirely fake (no real business, no real address, no verifiable operation), use Google's Business Redressal Complaint form to report the listing. Search 'Google Business Redressal Complaint Form' to find the current submission page.
• If you find a duplicate listing for Sun Valley Mechanical LLC that you did not create, report it through the GBP support channel and request that it be merged or removed. Duplicate listings split your review count and can confuse Google about your primary profile.
• Never respond to spam by violating guidelines yourself. Do not add keywords to your own business name, do not create duplicate listings, and do not post fake reviews on competitor profiles. The risk of suspension is not worth the short-term gain.

The GBP performance report shows how many people called from the profile, requested directions, clicked to the website, and sent messages in a given period. These numbers tell you whether the profile is producing activity, but they do not tell you how many of those contacts became booked jobs. Pairing the profile data with a simple 'how did you find us' question on every inbound call gives you the number that actually matters: jobs booked from the profile.

• Add a UTM parameter to the website URL you enter on the GBP profile. A simple format is: yourdomain.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=gbp&utm_campaign=profile. This makes GBP-originated website visits identifiable in Google Analytics or whatever analytics tool you use.
• Open the GBP performance report (found in the profile dashboard) at the start of each month and record the prior month's call count, direction requests, website clicks, and message volume in a simple tracking sheet.
• Train whoever answers the phone to ask 'How did you find us?' on every inbound call and log the answer in your CRM. This is the only way to connect a GBP call to a booked job, since the profile's call count includes hang-ups, wrong numbers, and price shoppers who do not book.
• At the end of each month, count the jobs booked where the customer said they found you on Google Maps or Google Search. This is your GBP-attributed job count, which is the number that tells you whether the profile is worth the maintenance time.
• Compare your photo count and review count to the top two or three competitors in the map pack quarterly. If a competitor has significantly more photos or reviews, that is a gap to close over the next 60 to 90 days.
• Note any months where call volume drops significantly and cross-reference with whether you posted regularly, uploaded photos, and received new reviews that month. Gaps in activity often correlate with drops in profile visibility.

• Upload photos from completed jobs _(weekly · Owner or Office Admin)_
• Publish one GBP post (job completion, seasonal, or offer) _(weekly · Office Admin)_
• Respond to all new reviews within 48 hours _(weekly · Owner or Office Admin)_
• Check the Q&A section for new questions and answer any that appeared _(weekly · Office Admin)_
• Review GBP performance report and log call count, direction requests, and website clicks _(monthly · Office Admin)_
• Count booked jobs attributed to GBP from CRM 'how did you find us' data _(monthly · Office Admin)_
• Update business hours for upcoming holidays or schedule changes _(monthly · Office Admin)_
• Review and refresh the services list if any offerings have changed or new services have been added _(monthly · Owner)_
• Search core HVAC terms in the service area and scan map pack results for spam listings or keyword-stuffed competitor names; report any found _(quarterly · Owner or Office Admin)_
• Compare Sun Valley Mechanical's photo count and review count to the top two or three local competitors and identify gaps _(quarterly · Owner)_

• Calls from the profile per month: found in the GBP performance report under 'Calls'. This is the raw contact volume the profile generates.
• Direction requests per month: found in the GBP performance report. A rising direction request count indicates the profile is surfacing for local searches with intent.
• Website clicks from the profile per month: found in the GBP performance report and confirmed in your website analytics under the UTM source you set up at launch.
• Booked jobs attributed to GBP: tracked in your CRM from 'how did you find us' answers on inbound calls. This is the number that connects profile activity to revenue.
• Review count and monthly pace: tracked manually or in your CRM. The goal is a consistent number of new reviews per month, not a one-time spike.
• Photo count vs. top local competitor: checked quarterly by visiting competitor profiles directly. If a competitor has 80 photos and you have 30, close that gap over the next 60 days.
• Average star rating: visible on the profile. Monitor for any drop below 4.5 and investigate whether a pattern in negative reviews points to a service or communication issue worth fixing.