Setting up a wrap shop's Google profile

Google says the categories you select matter: "The categories you select affect your local ranking on Google," and advises to "Select a primary category that best describes your business." It also warns, "Do not select a category for every product or service." Google does not publish the category names as a list, so these are that restyler guide's examples only: it names Window Tinting Service, Auto Detailing, Car Accessories Store, Vehicle Wrap Shop and Car Stereo Store as strong primary options. The same guide says, "If tint is your primary revenue driver, choose a tint-focused category."

The practical rule is to match the primary category to the line that brings in most of the money, then add secondary categories only for departments that genuinely exist. A shop that mostly tints and occasionally wraps gets a tint category first. Confirm every name in your own category selector, because third-party lists drift and a category you read about may have been renamed.

The wider question of categories across trades is covered in our guide to Business Profile categories for contractors, and the primary category glossary entry defines the term.

The services list is where a specialty shop separates itself from a generic one. List each job as a customer would search it: full color change wrap, partial wrap, ceramic coating, window tint, paint protection film, headlight tint, fleet graphics, or performance tuning. Add a one-sentence description to each that names the material or process, not an adjective. Only list what you do. A service that appears on the profile but not in the bay produces a call you cannot take, and it erodes the reviews that follow.

Some specialty shops work by appointment or drop-off. A shop with regular customer-facing drop-off hours lists those hours, because Google's hours guidance says to "Provide your regular customer-facing hours of operation." A shop that works only by appointment should follow the part of that page covering businesses that "operate only by appointment", which lists them among businesses that should leave hours off. Either way, say in the business description that installs are by appointment. For a shop with regular hours, add special hours for holidays and show weekends so the profile stays accurate when the schedule changes.

A shop with a bay and a public address shows that address. A mobile tint or detailing operator that travels to the customer can set a service area instead and hide the address, so decide which setup is true for your shop before you edit it. Our service area business glossary entry explains the difference, and the service area setup guide walks through the Google side. A hybrid shop that has a bay and also travels should describe both on the website, with pages written for the towns you actually reach.

Google says "You can show customers what you offer and tell the story of your business with photos and videos." In this trade, photos are the product demo. We organize them in four groups: finished vehicles by service, the shop interior and bays, the team at work, and close-ups of the finish, such as the edge of a wrap or the gloss of a coating. Every upload should be a real project from your shop, since stock imagery and manufacturer press photos tell a customer nothing about your work.

Reviews and replies are covered on the local SEO page, including Google's own wording. For the profile itself, we recommend asking after each completed job, answering every review in a sentence or two that names the service, and never offering rewards for reviews. The review generation service builds that routine, and the profile management service covers the profile itself.

Google's Local Services Ads page lists home service categories such as Electrician, HVAC, and Roofing, and auto, wraps, trucking and mold remediation are not on that list. So a wrap or performance shop does not get the Google Verified badge named on that page, and the Business Profile carries the load in the map results instead. The Local Services Ads glossary entry explains how the program works for the categories it does cover.

The profile is one surface of three. The website needs a page for each service listed, so the profile can link to it. The local SEO page for auto shops covers how the profile, service pages, and reviews work together, and the auto shop marketing hub shows the whole plan. If you want a check on your own profile, the free 100-point audit starts with your site, and a strategist reviews your Business Profile and map rank by hand.