Setting Up Your Google Business Profile Step by Step
Why this matters
Open Google and type "hairdresser near me" or "massage therapist" plus your town. The first results you see? Those are Google Business Profiles. With maps, reviews, and opening hours. If you're not there, you basically don't exist for people who search like this.
Good news: it's completely free. And you can set it up in about 30 minutes.
How to do it
Go to business.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Click "Add your business" if you don't have one yet.
Basic details. Your business name, category (like "Beauty salon" or "Massage therapist"), address, phone number. If you go to clients instead of them coming to you, there's a setting for that too.
Opening hours. This shows up in search results, so make sure it's accurate. If you're closed on Mondays, set it. Otherwise people will turn up and find a locked door.
Photos. Upload a few good pictures. Your workspace, your work, yourself. Profiles with photos get way more clicks than ones without. You don't need a professional photographer. Just decent lighting and a tidy background.
Booking link. In the profile editor, you can add a link. Put your HoldASpot booking page here. That way someone who finds you on Google can book right then and there.
Reviews. This is the hardest part because you have to ask. But even 5-10 positive reviews make a noticeable difference, both for trust and for your ranking in search results.
Bottom line
30 minutes of work, zero cost, and then you're findable on Google. If you haven't done this yet, do it tonight.