A flooring store's Google Business Profile should have the right primary category, a full plain-language description, every service you sell and install, https links, correct regular and holiday hours, real photos, a new post every week and a reply to every review. That is the setup we use at our three Carpet One showrooms in Kirksville and Springfield, Missouri, and Peoria, Illinois, and it is what we applied when we cleaned up nine Business Profiles across our businesses this fall.
Here is each piece, in the order we do it.
Categories: get the primary one right
Your primary category tells Google what kind of business you are. It matters more than any other field.
- For most showrooms, the primary category is "Flooring store." If you are mainly a carpet store, "Carpet store" may fit better.
- Add secondary categories only for things you really do, like a flooring contractor category if you install, or a cabinet category if you sell cabinets.
- Do not add categories for things you don't do. A wrong category brings wrong calls.
Description: write it like the owner
You get up to 750 characters. Use them.
- Say what you sell and install, in plain words.
- Name the town the store is in and the towns you serve.
- Say how the buying process works if it is different. At our stores, for example, it is one installed price with tear-out and haul-away included, and a free in-home measure.
- Leave out claims you cannot prove, like "best" or "number one."
- Do not stuff it with keywords. Write it so a person would want to read it.
Services: list everything you actually do
This is the section most worth your time. Services tell Google, and shoppers, what you can help with.
When we filled in services for Columbia Rug, our Peoria store, the list went from 9 services to 22. Nothing new was added to the store. We just wrote down what was already true.
A flooring store's list often includes:
- Carpet installation
- Luxury vinyl plank installation
- Hardwood floor installation
- Laminate flooring installation
- Tile installation
- Area rugs
- In-home measure
- Cabinets and cabinet installation, if you sell them
Add a sentence or two to each service: what it is and where you do it. Then remove anything Google pre-filled that you do not offer.
Links: https, and the right page
- Your website link should start with https.
- Point it at your store's own website, the same site your ads use.
- If you add tracking tags to the link (UTM parameters), you can see profile visitors separately in your analytics.
Hours: regular and holiday
- Check your regular hours against what is on the door.
- Set holiday hours ahead of time for every holiday you change hours on. Thanksgiving through New Year's has several.
- If you take appointments outside regular hours, say so in the description instead of listing hours you are not open.
Phone number: know which calls came from the profile
At our stores, the websites and ads each have their own tracked number, and the Business Profile carries the main store line. If you want profile calls counted separately, give the profile its own number. If you give your profile its own number, every call that starts there gets logged as a profile call. Keep your main store number listed as an additional number on the profile, and keep your main number the same on your website and other listings.
Every call gets logged with the number it came in on, graded so short wrong-number calls do not count as leads, and tied to a sold job when it sells.
Photos: real ones only
- Your storefront, so people recognize it when they pull up.
- The inside of your showroom.
- Your own installed work, with the homeowner's permission.
- No stock photos of people who do not work at your store.
Weekly posts
We post to every profile once a week. A post can be a product in the showroom, a finished job, a seasonal reminder or a link to a guide page that answers a common question. Keep each one short and specific to your store.
Reviews: reply to every one
- Reply to every review, good or bad.
- Thank people by first name if they used one, and mention the room or floor if they did.
- For a bad review, stay calm, own what is yours and offer a way to talk it through offline.
- Ask for reviews after every job. Never buy or fake them.
If you run more than one store
Each showroom needs its own profile with its own address, phone number, hours and services. Group profiles by store in Business Profile Manager if you connect other Google tools to them.
We learned this one the hard way. When we set up local inventory product ads, our first try linked each store's Merchant Center account to all of our profiles at once. Two stores came back with a store code error. Linking each store's Merchant Center to a group holding only that store's profile fixed it.
Keep the rest of the internet in line with your profile
Your profile should match what the rest of the web says about you. At our stores we're lining up the name, address and phone number on Bing Places, Facebook, BBB and Houzz (Bing is done for all three), and we added schema to every homepage so the website states the same facts in a format search engines read directly. More on that in Local SEO for flooring stores: a checklist from people who run three showrooms.
How we judge it
Profile views and direction taps are easy to grow and hard to cash. We judge the profile the way we judge every channel: calls from the profile number first, then sold jobs tied to those calls, over a full quarter. More on that approach in Marketing for flooring stores: what actually brings in showroom visits.
If you want us to look over your store's profile, you can apply for a free growth audit.
FAQ
What category should a flooring store use on Google Business Profile?
Most showrooms should use "Flooring store" as the primary category, since it describes the business best. Add secondary categories only for things you really do, like installation or cabinets. Do not add categories for services you do not offer, because they bring in calls you cannot help with.
How often should a flooring store post on Google Business Profile?
We post to every profile once a week. Weekly posts keep the profile current and give shoppers something recent to look at. Keep posts short and specific to your store: a product on the floor, a finished job, a seasonal reminder, or a link to a page that answers a common question.
Should I use a tracking number on my Google Business Profile?
If you want to know which calls came from the profile, yes. Use a dedicated number as the primary number on the profile and list your main store number as an additional number. Keep your main number the same on your website and other listings so your details still match everywhere.
Should I reply to every Google review?
Yes. We reply to every review at our stores, good or bad. A reply shows shoppers that a real person runs the store and reads what customers say. Keep replies short and specific, and handle complaints calmly with an offer to talk it through offline.