Laundromat Google Business Profile: setting it up and keeping it right

When someone searches for a laundromat or launderette near them, Google usually answers with a map and a short list of stores. That list is built from Google Business Profiles. Many people choose a store from it, call it or ask for directions, and never open a website at all.

Google ranks those results on three things: how relevant the profile is to the search, how close the store is to the person searching, and how prominent the business is, which includes its reviews. You can't move your store closer, so relevance and prominence are where the work goes.

Use the name on your signage and nothing else. Adding words like 'cheap' or '24 hour laundry' to the business name breaks Google's guidelines and can get the profile suspended.

Choose Laundromat as the primary category, then add secondary categories only for services you actually offer, such as dry cleaning or a laundry service. The categories are among the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you appear in.

Keep the address and phone number identical everywhere they appear: the profile, your website, social pages and directories. Different versions of the same details make Google less sure which is right.

Hours are what most people check. Set regular hours exactly, and add holiday hours before every public holiday. A customer who arrives at a locked door because the profile was wrong leaves a review about it.

If you run wash-and-fold or a service wash, collection and delivery, or commercial accounts, list each one as a service with a short, plain description. Add attributes that are true for your store, such as accessibility, payment types or free Wi-Fi.

Link the profile to the page where people can order or book, not just to your homepage, so a search turns into an order in one step.

Add real photos: the outside as people see it from the street, so they can find you, the machines, the folding area and the counter. Replace them when the store changes. Stock images don't help, and outdated ones make the store look neglected.

Posts are short updates shown on the profile. Use them for things a customer would act on: new hours, a new service, a membership launch or a holiday closure.

The steady way to earn reviews is to ask every customer, at a natural moment such as after a wash-and-fold order is collected. A short message with a direct link to the review form works better than a sign on the wall.

Ask everyone the same way. Google's policies forbid offering discounts or anything else in return for a review, and forbid asking only the customers you expect to be happy. Fake or paid reviews are also unlawful in many places, the US and the UK included.

Answer every review, good and bad, in a calm and specific way. A clear reply to a complaint is read by every future customer who sees it, and often says more about the store than the complaint does.

Anyone can suggest edits to your profile, including hours and phone numbers, and Google sometimes accepts them. Check the profile regularly and correct anything that has changed without you.

Answer questions people leave on the profile, and update it the same day anything changes in the store: a new service, new hours or new prices. A profile that's kept current is one Google and customers can both trust.