Google Business Profile for a loft conversion company

When a homeowner searches "loft conversion" on their phone, the first thing they see is not a website. It is the Google map pack: three local firms with star ratings, phone numbers and photos sitting above all the organic results. If your loft conversion company is not in that pack, you are invisible to most of the people actively looking to spend tens of thousands of pounds on attic space.

A Google Business Profile (GBP) is free and claims the most valuable position in local search. The hard part is not creating it — it is filling in every field in the order Google weighs them so the profile actually competes. Here is the whole set-up, field by field.

What primary category should a loft conversion firm choose?

Your primary category is the single most important decision on the profile. It tells Google what your business is, and it dominates which searches you can rank for. Google's own guidance is blunt: choose the fewest categories needed to describe your core business, and pick the most specific one that applies.

For most loft specialists, the right primary is General contractor or Home builder — unless your firm genuinely trades as a loft conversion specialist where Google offers that exact category in your market, in which case use it. Do not bury yourself under "Contractor" if a more specific option exists; a specific category outranks a generic one for the same search.

Avoid the common error of stuffing secondary categories. Adding "Bathroom remodeler" when you do not do bathrooms clutters your relevance and can trigger Google's content guidelines. Add two or three secondary categories that map to services you actually sell — "General contractor", "Remodeler", "Home builder" — and stop there.

How should you fill in services and business description?

The services editor is where you turn your profile into a match for the phrases homeowners type. List every lofts-specific service you genuinely offer: attic conversion, dormer loft conversion, hip-to-gable loft conversion, roof lights and Velux conversions, mansard conversions, structural steelwork, staircase installation, planning permission applications and building regulations approval.

Google uses your service list to match you with relevant searches, so the words you use here matter. A homeowner looking for a "dormer loft conversion" will find a profile that names that service far more readily than one that just says "loft extensions".

For the business description (up to 750 characters), say what you do, where you work, and what makes you different — how you handle party wall agreements, whether planning is included, how you survey. Write it for a homeowner skimming between you and two competitors, not for Google. Weave your target phrase in once, naturally, and no more.

What service areas should you set?

Loft conversion is a local trade: most leads live within a sensible drive of your base. Choose the service-area option rather than a storefront if customers cannot visit you. List the boroughs, towns or postcode districts you actually cover.

Be honest. Claiming a 60-mile radius when you really work within 15 attracts enquiries you cannot serve and dilutes your relevance for the places you do want. Google ranks by proximity, so a well-defined service area — say, the six London boroughs you genuinely cover — does more for the map pack than a sprawling one. Keep your name, address and phone number identical across your website, your profile and every directory; inconsistent NAP data is one of the fastest ways to lose trust.

Why photos matter more than you think

For a visual trade like loft conversion, photos are the difference between a tap and a swipe. Google's own data reports that businesses with photos receive about 42% more requests for directions and 35% more website clicks than those without them. BrightLocal's research points the same way. For a loft firm, this is your portfolio, shown to someone before they ever reach your site.

Aim for 20 to 50 images to start: completed dormer and hip-to-gable conversions, the finished bedroom with the new skylights, the staircase, and the before-and-after pair that shows the transformation. Job-site progress photos work too — they prove you are active and busy. Add new photos after every job rather than uploading in one batch, and geotag them by taking them on your phone at the site.

Do posts actually move the map pack?

Google Business posts — the "What's New" updates that expire after seven days — are better treated as conversion assets than ranking signals. They rarely shift your pack position directly, but they fill the profile with fresh proof and give a homeowner a reason to tap through. A photo of a completed mansard with two lines on the scope beats a polished brochure post.

Publish roughly weekly, ideally whenever you finish a conversion. "Just completed a hip-to-gable conversion in Bromley — two new bedrooms, a family bathroom and a Velux-filled landing" is perfect. If you offer a free survey or a fixed-price package, run it as an Offer post. Set a monthly reminder to check your hours and holiday dates too; stale information kills trust faster than anything.

Use the Q&A section before someone else does

Any visitor can ask a question on your profile, and if you do not answer, a stranger — possibly a rival — might. Proactively add the questions your customers actually ask and answer them fully: "Do you handle planning permission and building regs?" "What areas do you cover?" "Are you insured and do you carry a structural guarantee?" "How long does a typical conversion take?" These give instant answers and keep the section accurate.

The review habits that move the map pack

Reviews carry real weight in local ranking, but the habit matters more than the count. Google rewards a steady flow over time — review velocity — far more than a sudden burst of five-stars. Response rate also counts, so reply to every review, good and bad, with something specific.

The best moment to ask is at the final handover, when the homeowner is standing in their new room. Ask in person, then text or email the direct review link within 24 hours, and follow up once. Do not buy reviews or nudge customers to post five stars; Google detects fakes increasingly well and a suspended profile costs you everything.

Suppose a loft conversion firm in Lewisham finishes six jobs a year and turns two-thirds of its happy customers into reviewers. That is a steady four reviews a year building a credible, honest profile that outlasts any competitor who paid for a glut of fives. Slow and real wins.

What to do this week

Run your website grader and check your profile alongside it, because the two work as one: profile drives the tap, site closes the enquiry.

Then, in order: claim and verify the profile if you have not; set the primary category and two or three secondary ones; write your service list and description; set an honest service area; upload 20+ project photos including before-and-afters; schedule a weekly post habit; seed the Q&A; and set a reminder to ask for a review at every handover.

None of this costs money. It costs an afternoon once, then a few minutes a week. For a loft conversion firm, no other channel puts you in front of someone with a roof space and a budget at the exact moment they start looking.