A Step-by-Step Framework for Optimizing Your Cleaning Company's Google Business Profile

When someone searches "house cleaning near me" or "office cleaning [city]," Google displays a local map pack before organic results. That pack is driven almost entirely by your Google Business Profile — not your website's SEO alone. For cleaning companies, this is the most direct path to inbound calls and booking requests from people who are ready to hire.

In our experience working with local service businesses, a well-optimized GBP regularly generates more leads than any other single channel in the first 12 months. Industry benchmarks suggest the local pack captures a significant share of clicks for service-area searches, particularly on mobile — which is where most cleaning-related searches happen.

The good news: most cleaning company GBP listings are poorly optimized. Incomplete descriptions, wrong categories, no photos, and zero post activity are the norm. That means getting the basics right creates a visible gap between your listing and competitors in most local markets.

This guide covers every optimization layer — from initial category selection to ongoing review management — with guidance specific to cleaning companies, not generic local SEO advice repurposed from another vertical.

Category selection is the most consequential decision you'll make in your GBP setup. Google uses your primary category to determine which searches your listing is eligible to appear for. Getting this wrong means you're invisible for your core service — no matter how strong everything else looks.

Primary Category Options for Cleaning Companies

• House Cleaning Service — Use this if your primary revenue comes from residential cleaning: recurring maid service, one-time deep cleans, move-in/move-out cleans. This category targets homeowner searches.
• Janitorial Service — Use this if you primarily serve commercial clients: offices, retail spaces, medical facilities. "Commercial cleaning" searches map more closely to this category.
• Carpet Cleaning Service — Use this only if carpet cleaning is your primary or sole service. Using it as a secondary category when you offer residential cleaning can dilute your primary signal.
• Window Cleaning Service — Appropriate if window cleaning represents a major service line, typically as a secondary category.
• Pressure Washing / Power Washing Service — A distinct category; use only if this is a defined offering.

Secondary Categories

You can add multiple secondary categories. A residential cleaning company might carry: House Cleaning Service (primary), Carpet Cleaning Service, and Window Cleaning Service as secondaries — accurately reflecting their service menu without misrepresenting their core business.

The rule: your primary category should match your highest-volume revenue service. Don't choose a category because it has more search volume if it doesn't describe what you primarily do — Google's algorithm and your conversion rate both suffer when there's a mismatch.

Cleaning companies are almost always service-area businesses — you travel to clients rather than receiving them at a fixed location. GBP handles this with a service area setting rather than a displayed address.

Setting Up Your Service Area

Google allows you to define your service area by city, ZIP code, or county. A few important guidelines:

• List only areas where you genuinely provide service. Over-expanding your radius to capture more impressions is a common mistake — Google is increasingly good at detecting service area inflation, and it can suppress your rankings in the core areas where you're actually competitive.
• Use ZIP codes rather than large metro regions where possible. This creates clearer geographic signals.
• If you have multiple crews operating across a wide area, you can be more expansive — but still be honest about where you regularly work.

Profile Completeness Checklist

• Business name: Use your legal or commonly known trade name. Do not keyword-stuff (e.g., "Seattle House Cleaning | Best Maid Service" violates GBP guidelines).
• Phone number: Use a local number, not a tracking number, as your primary — tracking numbers as secondary lines are acceptable.
• Website: Link to your homepage or a dedicated local landing page if you operate in multiple cities.
• Hours: Keep these accurate and updated, especially around holidays.
• Business description: 750-character limit. Use it to describe your services, areas served, and what makes your company a reliable choice. No keyword stuffing — write for humans first.
• Attributes: Check all applicable attributes (women-owned, veteran-owned, online booking available, etc.) — these appear in your listing and filter results.

Photos are one of the most underused GBP features in the cleaning vertical. Most listings show either no photos or low-resolution stock images of mops and buckets. Real photos of your team, your work, and your equipment create a level of trust that competitors relying on stock imagery simply can't match.

Photo Types That Perform Well

• Before/after photos: A kitchen before and after a deep clean, a carpet before and after extraction, a bathroom before and after a move-out service. These are the single most persuasive images you can post — they show capability, not just presence.
• Team photos: Uniformed staff, properly branded vehicles, team members on the job. People hire people. A face on your listing reduces the perceived risk of letting someone into a home.
• Equipment photos: Commercial-grade vacuums, truck-mounted carpet extractors, or professional-grade cleaning products signal that you're not operating out of a bucket and a mop.
• Completed work environments: A sparkling office after a commercial clean, a freshly cleaned kitchen, a pristine bathroom — ambient shots that communicate the quality of the finished result.

Upload Cadence

Add new photos at least monthly. Google's local algorithm treats photo activity as a freshness signal. Accounts that haven't added photos in 6+ months often see reduced engagement. A simple habit: after every notable job, take two or three photos before the crew leaves.

Technical requirements: Upload JPG or PNG files, minimum 720px on the short side, well-lit, in focus. Avoid watermarks and promotional overlays — Google may suppress these.

Reviews are a direct ranking signal in the local pack — and they're the first thing a prospective client reads after spotting your listing. In our experience, cleaning companies that respond to every review (positive and negative) consistently outperform those that treat reviews as a passive byproduct.

Requesting Reviews

The most effective review generation strategy is simple: ask every satisfied client, immediately after the job, with a direct link. A post-service text or email with a one-click review link converts far better than a generic "please leave us a review" mention at some unspecified later time.

Response Templates

Use these as starting points — personalize by mentioning the specific service, location, or detail the client referenced:

Positive review response:
"Thank you, [Name] — we're glad the [move-out clean / recurring service / carpet extraction] met your expectations. The team will be happy to hear this. We look forward to seeing you on [next scheduled date / your next booking]."

Constructive or mixed review response:
"Thank you for taking the time to share this, [Name]. We take quality seriously and we'd like to understand what happened. Please reach out to us directly at [phone/email] so we can make it right. We hope to earn back your full confidence."

Negative review response:
"We're sorry this experience didn't reflect our standards, [Name]. This isn't typical of the service we deliver, and we'd like the opportunity to address it. Please contact us at [phone/email] — we're committed to resolving this."

What Not to Do

• Never respond defensively or argue with a reviewer publicly.
• Never offer refunds or compensation in a public response — take that conversation offline.
• Never post templated responses that are identical across every review — Google and readers both notice.

GBP posts appear in your listing and in some search results. They're a low-effort, high-visibility channel that most cleaning companies ignore entirely — which makes consistent posting a straightforward competitive advantage in most local markets.

Post Types for Cleaning Companies

• Service spotlights: Feature a specific service each week — move-in cleans in spring, carpet cleaning in fall, commercial sanitizing during flu season. Tie the post to a timely reason to book.
• Seasonal offers: Spring deep clean specials, post-holiday office cleans, end-of-lease cleaning packages. Specific offers with a clear deadline outperform generic "book now" posts.
• Team or process posts: Introduce a team member, explain your cleaning checklist, show what products you use and why. These build trust without requiring a hard sell.
• Before/after features: Reuse photos from your photo uploads as post content with a brief description of the job.

Posting Cadence

Once per week is the target for active listings. Posts expire after 7 days (for standard update posts) — so weekly publishing maintains a visible post at all times. Event posts have extended visibility if tied to a date range.

Post Anatomy That Converts

Every post should have: a specific, descriptive first line (Google truncates after ~100 characters in some views), a brief supporting detail (2-3 sentences maximum), and a clear call-to-action button — "Book Online," "Call Now," or "Learn More" depending on your booking setup.

Keep posts conversational and direct. "Spring deep cleans are open for booking — we cover kitchens, bathrooms, and all living areas. Limited slots this month." That outperforms a paragraph of marketing copy every time.