For Mobile and Home Services
Online Setup for Mobile and Home Services
Cleaners, dog groomers, dog walkers, mobile hairdressers, gardeners and everyone else who goes to their customers, or welcomes them at home. People want to know you are local, trustworthy and easy to book, usually before they have ever met you.
What You Need Online on Day One
- The area you cover, clearlyThe towns or postcodes you cover, on Google and on every profile, so people know at once whether you can come to them.
- Prices, or a starting priceEven a "from" price saves you answering the same message again and again.
- One easy way to book or askA phone number, a message button, or a link to a booking app you already use. One clear way works better than five.
- Trust, shown plainlyYour real name and face, any insurance or checks you hold, and genuine reviews. People are letting you into their home, or trusting you with their pet.
- A business emailAn address on your own domain, so confirmations and invoices come from your business, not a personal address.
- Your home address kept privateIf customers don't come to you, your home address doesn't need to appear anywhere public. Google lets service-area businesses hide it.
What to Set Up First
- Decide the area you cover, and write it the same way everywhere.
- Choose your name, and check the same @name is free on the platforms you want.
- Set up your domain and business email first, so every account is made with your business address, not a personal one.
- Make your Google Business Profile as a service-area business, with your home address hidden.
- Set up Facebook and one more platform that suits your work, with a message or booking button.
Which Platforms Make Sense
Start with two or three you can keep up with. A page you look after does more for you than several that go quiet.
- FacebookLocal community groups are where many people ask for a cleaner, groomer or dog walker, and a business page gives them somewhere to check you out.
- InstagramIdeal for work that photographs well: a freshly groomed dog, a new haircut, a tidy garden.
- TikTokOptional. Short videos of grooming or cleaning can be fun to make, but only if you enjoy it.
- WhatsApp BusinessMany mobile businesses take bookings by message, and WhatsApp Business is a free app for that. It isn't one of the accounts we set up, but it works well alongside them.
More help: Which Social Media Accounts Does a New Business Need?
Will You Get a Google Business Profile?
Our honest answerUsually yes
If you go to your customers, you are likely to qualify as a service-area business: you show the area you cover and your home address stays hidden. If customers come to you (a grooming room at home, say), that is a place customers visit, so the address is normally shown on the profile. Think about whether you are happy with that before you start. You can also do both. Google decides, and usually checks the business first, often with a short video you record.
Google's own rules: Guidelines for representing your business on Google. More help: How to Get a Google Business Profile in the UK.
The Package That Usually Fits
Accounts Setup£345
Up to 5 social accounts set up and branded, a Google profile, your domain, business email and signature. Ready in 3 to 5 working days, plus Google's own checking time.
Most mobile and home services need the accounts, the email and the Google profile done properly, using a name and logo they already have. If you'd like a logo designed as well, Brand and Accounts Setup adds one.
No VAT to add. Your domain, hosting and email are paid by you to the companies that provide them, in your own name. You make each account on your own phone, so it is yours from the start, and we never ask for a password.
See a made-up example: Bramblecoat Dog Grooming (mobile dog groomer). It is labelled as an example, not a real client.
Common Questions
Will my home address be on Google?
Not if your customers don't come to you. As a service-area business, you hide your address and show the area you cover instead.
I only work a few days a week. Can I still have a Google profile?
Usually, yes, if you really do travel to customers in the area you list. Set your hours to the times you actually work, so customers aren't let down.
Can customers book online?
We add a message or booking button to your profiles where the platform allows it, linked to the booking app you already use. We don't build booking systems, so your diary stays in one place.
Do I need a website?
Not to start with. A Google profile and one or two social pages are enough for many mobile businesses. Full Business Setup adds a Starter Website if you want one.
How much does it cost?
Our Accounts Setup is £345, fixed in writing before we start, with no VAT to add. You also pay IONOS for your domain and hosting, in your own name: £14.40 for the first year, then £10.80 a month and £12 a year for the domain, including VAT. A Google Business Profile is free.
Do you need my passwords?
No. You make each account on your own phone, in your own name, then add us as a manager or partner. We never ask for a password, and we remove our access when we finish.
Can you promise more customers or a top spot on Google?
No, and nobody can honestly promise that. Google decides who gets a profile and where it appears, and each platform runs its own accounts. We make sure everything is set up properly, complete and matching.
More answers on our Questions page.
Talk to Us
A first chat is free and there's no obligation. We'll get back to you within one working day.
Also see: Online Setup for Trades Starting Out · Online Setup for Cafés and Food Businesses · Online Setup for Beauty and Wellbeing