Your Google Business Profile Is Your Best Salesperson. Are You Treating It That Way?
Most wood flooring businesses set up their Google Business Profile once, confirm the address is right, and never touch it again. That's a mistake, and it's costing you customers who never even called to tell you they were looking.
Here's the thing about local search: by the time someone types "hardwood floor refinishing near me" or "flooring installer near me," they've already decided they want the work done. They're not browsing. They're choosing. And in that moment, your Google Business Profile is doing the selling for you, whether you've built it out or left it half-finished since the day you claimed it.
If you haven't looked at yours in a while, here's what's worth checking.
Your photos are doing more work than your website.
Before a customer ever clicks through to your site, they're scrolling your photos on Google. A handful of blurry job-site shots or a stock image from your logo pack tells people you're not paying attention. Real before-and-after shots of a sand-and-refinish job, a fresh install of a wide-plank wood floor, or a completed showroom display tell them the opposite. Aim to add new photos monthly, not once a year. It's the fastest, cheapest trust signal you have.
Your services list is probably out of date.
Google lets you list specific services under your profile, not just a general category. If you've added dustless sanding, expertise in a new finish, or a new commercial flooring line and it's not reflected there, you're invisible for searches tied to it. Someone searching specifically for "engineered hardwood installation" won't find you if your profile only lists "flooring contractor." This takes minutes to update and directly affects what you show up for.
Nobody's answering the questions.
The Q&A section on your profile is public, and anyone can post a question, including competitors trying you out. A homeowner might ask whether you handle water-damaged subfloors or carry a specific wood species. Unanswered questions sit there indefinitely, looking neglected. Check this section the same way you'd check a voicemail box. It should never be empty for long.
Your posts have gone quiet.
Google Posts (free updates you publish directly to your Google Business Profile) are the closest thing to free advertising you'll get inside the search results themselves. A seasonal refinishing promotion ahead of the holidays, a new plank style you're stocking, or a recent large-format commercial job would all be great examples of things to post about. Businesses that post regularly signal to Google, and to customers, that they're active. Businesses that don't tend to get buried under ones that do.
Your service area might be wrong, or missing entirely.
If your crews travel across a region rather than working out of a single showroom, your profile needs to reflect that accurately. Too narrow, and you're missing searches from towns you actually serve. Too broad, and Google may deprioritize you for stretching credibility. Revisit this any time you expand your install radius.
So what should you actually do with this?
Start with a 15-minute audit. Log into your profile and go through each section above as if you were a homeowner deciding whether to call you or the next flooring company down the list. Then put a recurring reminder on your calendar—monthly is enough—to add a few photos, answer any new questions, and post an update.
None of this requires a marketing budget or outside help. It requires treating the profile like what it actually is: the first conversation most of your future customers have with your business, before they've said a word to anyone on your team.
Your Google Business Profile isn't a static listing; it's a living part of your sales process. Give it the same attention you'd give a showroom window, and it will keep paying you back in calls you didn't have to chase.
Take optimizing your Google Business Profile off your to-do list: WFB’s Local Marketing Service will handle the optimizing for you. Find out more here.
Mark Goren is the owner of 10|20 Marketing, a Montreal-based agency specializing in local marketing and a proud partner of the WFB Local Marketing Service.
