Let's be straight with you. You can manage your own Google Business Profile. Google doesn't charge for it. There's no secret knowledge. Anyone who tells you GBP management is complicated is either overselling themselves or underselling you.
But "possible" and "worth doing yourself" are two different things.
This is an honest breakdown of what DIY actually requires, what you get if you pay someone, and how to decide which makes sense for your business.
What does managing your own GBP actually involve?
Done properly, managing your Google Business Profile takes around three to four hours a month. Here's what that time looks like:
Initial setup and audit (one-off, 2–3 hours)
Reviewing your categories, writing a proper business description, listing every service you offer with descriptions, checking your service area, setting your hours, adding attributes. Most people skim this in twenty minutes. Done right, it takes a couple of hours.
Monthly photo uploads (30–45 minutes)
Taking photos on jobs, getting them off your phone, uploading them with proper context. You need new photos every month. Google notices when a profile stops adding images.
Google Posts (30–45 minutes)
Writing two to four posts per month. Not adverts. Useful updates — a seasonal reminder, a finished job, a relevant tip. They need to be written properly and published with a relevant image.
Review responses (15–30 minutes)
Checking for new reviews and replying to each one thoughtfully. This includes the difficult ones. A bad review that gets a defensive or dismissive response does more damage than the original review.
Q&A and profile monitoring (20–30 minutes)
Checking whether anyone has asked a question on your profile and answering it. Checking for suggested edits from Google or third parties that could change your details without your input.
Add it up and you're at three to four hours done properly. Not ten hours. Not twenty minutes.
What GBP management actually takes per month when done properly
What most self-managing tradespeople actually spend — not enough to see results
Why does the 20-minute approach fail?
Most tradespeople who "manage their own profile" log in occasionally, respond to a review if they notice one, maybe update their hours if they change. That's it.
That's not management. That's maintenance at best.
The problem is that Google's local rankings reward activity. A profile that publishes posts, adds photos, gets review replies, and stays current consistently outranks a profile that doesn't — even when the inactive profile belongs to a more established business.
Twenty minutes a month isn't enough to compete with a competitor who's doing this properly.
The issue isn't whether you could manage your GBP yourself. It's whether you actually will — consistently, every month, even when you're slammed with work.
What does paying someone actually get you?
With a service like Local Markers, you're paying £149 a month for someone to do all of the above — properly, every month, without you having to think about it.
You also get:
- Someone who follows Google's platform updates (GBP features change more than most people realise)
- Monthly reporting in plain English — not a dashboard to interpret yourself
- Review responses written and posted, so you never have to manage that conversation
- A second set of eyes on what's working and what isn't
What you don't get is someone who can force Google to rank you first. Anyone who promises that is not being straight with you. What a good service does is make your profile as competitive as it can be and keep it there.
How do you work out whether £149/month is worth it?
One way to think about it: what's a single job worth to you?
For most tradespeople — a boiler installation, a bathroom refit, a full rewire — one extra job covers several months of management fees. If a well-managed profile brings in one additional enquiry a month that converts to a booking, the service pays for itself.
The question worth asking: how many enquiries am I currently getting from Google, and is that number as high as it could be?
If you don't know the answer, your profile almost certainly isn't being tracked properly. Log into your GBP and check "Performance" — it shows calls, website clicks, and direction requests over the last 28 days.
Check your GBP Performance tab right now. If you got fewer than 15–20 calls last month from a profile in a competitive trade, there's almost certainly room to improve it.
When does DIY make sense?
DIY makes genuine sense if:
- You're prepared to spend three to four hours a month on it and you'll actually follow through
- You enjoy this kind of work or are willing to learn the platform properly
- You're just starting out and cash is tight — build the foundation yourself and revisit paid help later
- You're already getting enough work and just need to maintain what you have
If any of those are true, do it yourself. The guides on this site cover most of what you'd need to know. You don't need to pay anyone.
When does paying someone make more sense?
Paying someone makes more sense if:
- You know you won't do it consistently — be honest with yourself
- Your time has a clear value and those four hours are better spent earning
- You've tried managing it yourself and not seen results
- A competitor is clearly outranking you and you want to close the gap quickly
The honest answer for most busy tradespeople is that consistency is the hard part. The tasks aren't difficult. Doing them every single month while running a business — pricing jobs, chasing invoices, managing a team — is the bit that slips.
Is there a middle ground?
Yes. You could pay for a proper one-off setup and then manage it yourself going forward.
Local Markers offers a one-time setup for £299 if you want the foundations done properly — categories, services, description, photos, service area — but prefer to handle ongoing activity yourself. That's a reasonable approach if you're disciplined about the monthly work.
If you want to understand where your profile actually stands before deciding, the free assessment is a good starting point. We'll look at your profile against local competitors and tell you honestly what the gap is and what it would take to close it. No pressure to take it further — just useful information either way.