SEO in Cleburne and Johnson County
Google Business Profile setup and upkeep in Cleburne and Johnson County
Search "plumber" or "mechanic" from anywhere in Cleburne and the first thing you’ll usually see is a map with three businesses under it. Those three come from Google Business Profiles. That’s the free listing Google keeps for each local business, the one with your hours, phone number, photos and reviews on it. For a lot of people it’s where they decide who to call, before they ever open a website.
I set these listings up from nothing or straighten out ones that have drifted, then keep them current. Below is what I change on a listing, and what I keep running into on listings around Johnson County.
What’s on the listing, and what I do with each part
A Google listing has more boxes than most owners ever open. Here’s how I handle the ones that matter.
| Part of the listing | What I do with it |
|---|---|
| Business name | Keep it exactly as your real name. No extra keywords added |
| Main category | Pick the one that matches the work you want the most calls for |
| Extra categories | Add up to three, and only if they fit |
| Services | List everything you do, up to Google’s limit of 99, and describe the top 20 |
| Service area | Name the towns or ZIP codes you actually drive to |
| Hours, phone, website | Match your website and every other listing, character for character |
| Booking link | Point it at your contact page |
| Photos | Add real ones from your jobs, a few at a time |
| Posts | Short updates on a steady schedule |
Categories carry a lot of weight
Your main category tells Google what kind of business you are, and it’s one of the biggest things Google looks at when it decides who shows up. Picking too many works against you. If the extras overlap, or drift away from what you really sell, they water down the main one.
There’s no magic number, so I check what the businesses above you are using. When I scanned the top 10 for my own trade around Cleburne in September, they averaged close to four categories each, and four of the ten used only one. In another trade, the three shops Google showed first all used the same main category, and at least one shop further down the list used a different label for the same work.
Services, and a description for each of the top 20
Google lets you list up to 99 services. Each one is another plain statement of work you actually do, sitting inside Google’s own system. Around Cleburne, the top 20 businesses in my trade listed 47 services on average.
Before I add a list to your listing, I send it to you and ask one question: which of these don’t you do? You cross those off and I add the rest. Then I write a short description, 300 characters or less, for each of your top 20. It’s slow copy-and-paste work. It’s also one more place your listing says, in your own trade’s words, what you do and where.
Service area and a hidden address
If customers don’t come to you, Google wants your address hidden and your service area filled in instead. You can name up to 20 towns or ZIP codes. You can’t set a radius around your house. You still verify with a real address, and Google keeps it off the public listing.
My own listing works this way. I’m in Cleburne, the address is hidden, and the service area is Johnson County towns.
Photos and posts
I add photos a few at a time, taken on real jobs, in the towns where the work happened. No stock photos and no made-up pictures. Posts are short: a job you finished, a service you want more calls for, a change in your hours. Your customers see them right on the listing.
The booking link
Google has a spot for an appointment link. Even if you don’t take online bookings, Google allows a contact page there, so I point it at yours. That fills one more box on the listing and gives people another way to reach you.
Keeping it right after setup
A listing isn’t finished once it’s built. Google sometimes edits listings on its own, and anyone can suggest a change to your hours or your category. I watch for those and put things back when they’re wrong. When your hours or phone number change, I change the listing to match.
You’ll probably see a "profile strength" meter when you log in. It measures whether the boxes are filled in, and Google never says it affects where you show up. Part of what it nags about is signing up for Google Ads. I fill in the real blanks and skip the ad pitch.
What I keep finding on listings around here
A couple of problems show up again and again on Johnson County listings, and both are easy to fix.
- Nobody has claimed it. On Sep 23 I looked up four auto shops in Cleburne. Three had listings no owner had ever claimed, so nobody at those shops could add hours, photos or answers. One of them had no hours or website on it at all.
- Two listings for one business. I found a dental office whose reviews were split across two listings with the same address and phone number.
Five things you can check on your own listing today
- Search your business name in Google Maps on your phone. If you see a "Claim this business" link, nobody controls the listing yet.
- Search your main service and your town. Tap each of the three businesses at the top and compare their main category with yours.
- Put your listing’s hours and phone number next to your website’s. They should match exactly.
- Scroll your photos. If the newest one is a year old, or they’re all street shots Google took, add a few from this month’s work.
- Tap the website button on your listing and make sure it lands on your site.
If you want to see where the listing shows up once it’s fixed, that’s the 81-point map check. And since Google compares your listing against every other site that mentions you, I also line up your details on the directory sites.
Questions about Google listings
Do I need a Google listing if I don’t have a shop?
Yes. Plenty of trades work out of a truck. Google has a setup for businesses that go to the customer: the address stays hidden and the listing shows the towns you serve.
Will you need my Google password?
No. You invite me as a manager from your own Google account. You keep ownership, and you can remove me whenever you want.
I don’t have a listing at all. Can you start one?
Yes. I create it, walk it through Google’s verification with you, pick the category that matches what you sell, and load your hours, service area, photos and contact details. When it’s done, it’s live and it’s in your name.
Can you add keywords to my business name so I rank higher?
I keep your real name as it is. A name packed with extra words is exactly the kind of thing competitors report to Google, and a suspended listing can’t bring in any calls. In my own trade around Cleburne, one name in the top 10 had extra keywords packed in, and another sat further down the list.
How often do you post on my listing?
On a steady schedule, usually once a week, with photos from your actual jobs mixed in.
Does the "profile strength" meter matter?
It shows whether the boxes are filled in. Google never ties it to where you show up, and part of what it wants is for you to buy ads. I fill in everything real and leave the ad part alone.
Where do you work?
Anywhere in Johnson County. I’m based in Cleburne, and my Cleburne page shows what I check there.
See your listing the way a customer does
Send me your business name and I’ll go through your Google listing the way a customer in your town would. You get a short video, made for your business, showing what’s missing or out of date and who’s getting the call ahead of you. It lands in your email within 48 business hours, and there’s no hard sell.
Call 682-457-8510 or send your business name here.
I also work in: Cleburne, with Joshua, Burleson, Alvarado, Keene and Godley pages on the way. See every town I cover.