Someone searches “garage near me” or “oil change Vélez” and Google shows three cards. They do not open your site. They look at hours, one photo, and whether you look like a real workshop.
If those three things lie, the call never comes. The rest of the profile is decoration.
1. Hours that match the shutter
Google shows Open or Closed from what you typed, not from the padlock. If the profile says 09:00–18:00 and Mondays you open at 08:30, the first customer of the day sees you closed. If Sunday is still “Open” because nobody touched the dropdown, they call a phone nobody answers.
Do this week:
- Monday to Friday, the real hours, with the lunch break if you take one.
- Saturday only if someone is actually there.
- Sunday: Closed, if you are closed.
- Local holidays (feria, 15 August): a special hour, not a post.
Do not write “24 hours” if you are not. Maps will catch you.
2. Photos of the shop, not a catalog
A profile with no photos looks abandoned. A profile with stock photos looks like an ad. What works is boring and local: the façade, the lift, the sign, the desk. Daylight. No filter.
You do not need a photographer. The phone, at opening time, against street light. Three or four shots. Update them when you paint or change the sign.
If bodywork and mechanics sit in two units, two different photos. Google and the customer have to recognise the door when they arrive.
3. The workshop category, not software
Google ranks you by primary category. “Auto repair shop” or “Auto body shop” is what people type. “Store”, “Car dealer”, or — worse — “Software company” drops you out of that search.
Extras (diagnostics, A/C, glass) belong in services, not as the main category. A weird category parks you next to businesses that are not you.
What you can skip this week
You do not need a weekly post. You do not need the ads credit. You do not need a chatbot on the profile. You do not need to fake a storefront if you are service-area.
You do need the listed phone to be the one you pick up (WhatsApp is fine if it is the same number) and a site, if you have one, that does not contradict the hours.
After the profile
When Maps stops lying, the site can take the booking. That is a different job: a bookings page and a WhatsApp draft someone in the shop sends. It is not a bot that talks on its own.
At Yerbabuena Digital that package is Bookings, €5,450, 35–45 days. Presence (€3,450) lines up the site and the profile if you do not need a diary yet. Care, €149/month, is optional at launch.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Google Ads for the workshop to show on Maps?
No. The free profile already shows when someone searches for a nearby garage. Ads are a different product. We do not sell them, and they are not the first step.
Can I use a home address if we go to the customer?
If there is no visit-able shop, use a service area and do not publish the house. If you have a unit on an industrial estate, that is the listing address.
Are parts-catalog photos enough?
Not on their own. Google and the customer want the building, a car on the lift, the sign. A catalog shot does not prove you exist.