Google Business Profile for UK roofers
For most roofers, the Google Business Profile brings in more work than the website. Here is how to set one up properly and keep it feeding the map pack.
01 / Why this matters so much for roofers
Your GBP is the roof over the rest of your marketing
Someone searching 'roofer near me' after a storm does not land on a website first. They land in the Google map pack, with three businesses ranked above the organic results. Those three listings get the overwhelming majority of calls. A strong Google Business Profile puts you in that top three for your area.
Roofers benefit from GBP more than most trades for two reasons. The first is that the job is inherently local: you are not going to drive ninety minutes for a slipped tile. The second is that the buying moment is urgent, so the map pack with click-to-call beats every other discovery method during emergency searches.
The good news is that most roofing competitors have mediocre profiles. Thin photos, five-year-old reviews, half-filled service lists. Getting yours right is low work and compounds quickly. Below is exactly what to do.
02 / The fields that actually matter
Six GBP levers that move the map pack
Not every field pulls weight. These are the ones that do for roofing.
Primary category: Roofing Contractor
Set the primary category to Roofing Contractor. Add relevant secondaries: Flat Roofing Contractor if you do EPDM, TPO or GRP; Siding Contractor does not apply in the UK context, but Gutter Cleaning Service and Chimney Services are valid if you genuinely do the work. Do not stuff categories you do not cover. Google will downrank you for the ones you do.
Service area set to where you actually travel
Roofers legitimately cover a wider radius than plumbers because the job values justify a van spending ninety minutes on the road. List towns you routinely work in, not a blanket county. Ten named towns beats 'West Yorkshire' every time because Google matches the specific search to the specific listed town.
Photos uploaded weekly from jobs
A GBP with twenty-plus photos outranks one with five in almost every test we have seen. Drone shots of finished roofs, before-and-after stripped pitches, lead flashing detail, ridge vent installs, EPDM seams dressed cleanly. Rotate them in from your phone at the end of each job. It takes thirty seconds and moves the needle.
Reviews asked for the same day the scaffold comes down
The highest response rate comes from a text sent the day the scaffold leaves, while the customer is still delighted. A short link to your Google review page, a one-line thank-you, done. Roofers who do this consistently reach fifty to one hundred reviews within a year. That is the engine that drives the map pack.
After-storm profile updates that catch the spike
When a storm hits, search volume for emergency roof repair jumps three to ten times within hours. Post to your GBP directly: 'Taking storm-damage callouts across {town} today. Temporary cover available within four hours.' That one post gets more visibility than a month of normal activity because Google surfaces recency for emergency searches.
Q&A seeded with real questions you get asked
Most roofer GBPs leave Q&A empty or let random customers fill it with nonsense. Seed it yourself with the real questions: 'Do you do insurance claim work?', 'Can you attend emergency call-outs at weekends?', 'Do you provide a written guarantee?'. Answer them plainly. This removes friction and improves the quality score of the listing.
03 / How to set it up
Four steps to a GBP that feeds the diary
Claim and verify
Claim the listing on Google and verify via postcard (five working days) or, for established businesses, video call verification. Do not skip this. Unverified listings quietly lose visibility.
Fill every field
Business name (exact trading name, no keyword stuffing), address (or hidden if you are service-area only), service area towns, opening hours, services list, attributes, website link, appointment link if you offer one.
Photos, services and posts
Ten starting photos minimum. Services listed individually (slate re-roof, tile repair, EPDM flat roof, lead work, chimney flaunching, guttering, soffits and fascias). A post per fortnight keeps the listing fresh.
Review flywheel
A saved short link on your phone. A templated text message. A habit of sending it on the day the scaffold leaves. That is ninety per cent of the review acquisition work for most roofing businesses.
FAQ
Common questions
Should I use my home address or a service-area listing?
If you work from home and do not take customers at the address, set the profile as service-area only and hide the address. Google does not penalise this for roofers. What it does penalise is an address that customers show up to and find a residential street, because it harms listing trust signals.
How do I handle reviews from insurance work where the policyholder barely met me?
Still ask, but explain what you want them to mention: the response speed, how the loss adjuster found you, how the paperwork was handled. Reviews that name the specifics ('handled the loss adjuster paperwork and sent a detailed schedule of works') outrank generic five-star comments for real buyer searches.
Can I post drone video to Google Business Profile?
Yes, video up to thirty seconds works fine. A short drone pass over a finished re-roof, no music, no titles, is one of the highest-performing post formats for roofers in our experience. Natural, not produced. Google favours the real stuff.
What should I do when a competitor leaves a fake one-star review?
Flag it to Google through the profile with a clear explanation. Response times for policy violations vary but legitimate fake reviews usually come down within a fortnight. Do not engage in public comments. A calm, factual reply to the review itself is enough while the takedown process runs.
How does the Google Business Profile interact with the main website?
Both feed each other. The GBP drives map pack visibility and click-to-call. The website carries the detail pages, the galleries and the trust content. Homepages that are well-structured, fast and clearly local strengthen the GBP signals, and vice versa. They should be treated as one system, not two.
How often should I update the profile?
Photos weekly during busy season. A new post every fortnight. Review response within forty-eight hours. Service hours updated before any bank holiday. Ten minutes a week is plenty once the habit is in place.
Want your GBP and website working as one system?
We build roofing websites that strengthen your Google Business Profile from day one. Plans from £39/mo.