A good architecture practice can still be hard to find online.
You may have completed excellent extensions, handled difficult planning applications and designed homes your clients love. But when someone searches “architect near me”, “architect for house extension” or “planning architect in [town]”, your practice may not appear prominently.
That is where a properly managed Google Business Profile can help.
This guide explains how to improve your Google Business Profile for architects, while covering the wider SEO for architects work that supports it.
1. Set up the profile with accurate business details
Start with the basics. Your business name, address, phone number and website must match the details shown across your website and other trusted directories.
Use your real trading or registered business name. Do not add extra keywords such as:
- “Best London Architect”
- “Affordable House Extension Architect”
- “RIBA Architect Bristol”
Adding search terms to your business name can look misleading and may put your profile at risk.
If clients visit your studio, show the genuine office address and make sure it is staffed during the hours you publish.
If you work mainly from home, visit clients or operate across a defined area, you may be better suited to a service-area setup. Do not use a virtual office or an address where clients cannot reasonably meet you.
Keep these details consistent:
- Practice name
- Office address
- Main phone number
- Website address
- Opening and consultation hours
- Appointment requirements
Small inconsistencies can make people question whether they have found the right practice.
2. Choose the closest primary category
Your primary Google category has a major effect on the searches your profile can match.
Choose the closest available category to your core business. Depending on what Google offers in your location, this may be Architect, Architecture Firm or a similar option.
Do not choose a category simply because it has a high search volume. Choose the one that best describes what your practice actually does.
You can add secondary categories where they accurately reflect your work. These could include services such as:
- Interior design
- Building design
- Building consultancy
- Landscape architecture
- Urban planning
Only add categories for services you genuinely provide. If you work with a structural engineer, do not list structural engineering as your own service unless it is part of your practice.
3. Build a clear list of architectural services
Many practices use a broad service label such as “architectural services” and leave it there.
That makes it harder for potential clients to understand whether you handle their type of project.
Add each main service separately. For example:
- Residential architecture
- House extension design
- Loft conversion design
- New-build homes
- Planning applications
- Planning appeal support
- Permitted development advice
- Listed building applications
- Conservation area projects
- Feasibility studies
- Concept design
- Building regulations drawings
- Technical design
- Interior design
- Project management
- Contract administration
Use plain descriptions. Explain what the service involves and who it is for.
For example, “House extension design” is clearer than “bespoke spatial transformation”. Your profile should help a homeowner decide whether to contact you, not make them decode your wording.
4. Define realistic service areas
Service areas should reflect where you actually take on work.
A practice based in Leeds might serve Leeds, Harrogate, Wakefield and nearby areas. A London practice might cover specific boroughs and surrounding districts.
Avoid claiming to cover the whole of the UK unless your practice genuinely operates that way.
Use locations that are relevant to your work, such as:
- Towns and cities
- Boroughs
- Counties
- Local authority areas
- Nearby communities where you regularly take projects
Do not create a separate Google profile for every town you serve. One practice should generally have one profile for one genuine location, unless it has separate staffed offices.
Your website should support these service areas with useful pages and project examples. Do not create dozens of thin location pages that repeat the same text with only the town name changed.
5. Explain your RIBA and ARB status accurately
Professional credentials can make a major difference when someone is choosing an architect.
If the practice is a RIBA Chartered Practice, say so accurately. If an individual architect is a RIBA member, make clear who that applies to.
The same applies to ARB registration. Only state that an individual is registered if that registration is current and can be verified.
Do not imply that:
- Every member of the team is ARB registered
- The whole practice is a RIBA Chartered Practice when it is not
- A designer is an architect if they do not hold that status
- Registration guarantees a planning approval
Include accurate details in your profile, website and directory listings. Where relevant, show the registered person’s name and registration information rather than making a vague claim about the whole business.
This protects your reputation and gives prospective clients a clearer understanding of who will handle their project.
6. Use project photos as a local portfolio
Your Google Business Profile is not only a directory listing. It can act as a small portfolio for people comparing practices in your area.
Upload a mixture of:
- Completed house extensions
- New-build homes
- Loft conversions
- Interior spaces
- Listed building work
- Design sketches and models
- Before-and-after images
- Site visits
- Your studio exterior and interior
- Team photographs
Use high-quality images that show the work clearly. Avoid uploading only polished computer-generated images. Real project photographs, drawings and site images help people understand how you work.
Get the proper permission before publishing client or project images. Take care with listed buildings and confidential commercial projects.
Add new images whenever you complete a suitable project. A profile that has not changed for two years can look inactive, even if the practice is busy.
7. Ask for useful, honest reviews
Reviews help people judge how a practice communicates, manages expectations and handles problems.
Ask clients at suitable points in the process, such as:
- After a successful initial stage
- Once planning documents have been submitted
- After planning permission, where approval was achieved
- At project completion
- After a positive handover or final review
Do not promise planning approval. Do not ask clients to mention specific keywords or provide a five-star rating. Do not offer payment or a discount in exchange for a favourable review.
A helpful review might mention:
- The type of project
- The area
- Your communication
- The clarity of your drawings
- How you handled the planning process
- Whether you stayed within the agreed scope
Reply to every review. Thank people for positive feedback and address criticism calmly. Never discuss confidential project details in a public response.
Set a realistic response target. Checking reviews and questions within one working day is better than leaving them unanswered for weeks.
8. Use Q&A to answer common concerns
The Q&A section can deal with questions people often ask before making contact.
Useful subjects include:
- Do you design house extensions?
- Do you work on listed buildings?
- Do you handle planning applications?
- Do you take on small residential projects?
- Do you offer feasibility studies?
- Do you work with builders?
- What information is needed before an initial consultation?
- Do you offer fixed-fee stages?
- Do you work remotely or visit properties?
Keep each answer direct. Explain what is included and what is not.
For example, do not write “we guarantee planning success”. A more honest answer would explain that you can assess the site, review relevant planning constraints and prepare an application, but the final decision belongs to the local planning authority.
9. Publish regular Google Posts
Google Posts give you a simple way to show that your practice is active.
Post about:
- Recently completed projects
- New planning applications
- Planning permissions received
- Listed building experience
- Feasibility work
- Sustainability measures
- Local design events
- Awards and publications
- New team members
- Advice for homeowners considering an extension
Use one clear subject per post. Include a relevant photograph and a useful next step, such as booking a consultation or viewing a project page.
Do not exaggerate outcomes. “Planning application submitted” is not the same as “planning approved”. “Planning permission granted for one client” does not mean every similar project will be approved.
That level of honesty helps attract better-fit enquiries and avoids disappointment later.
10. Connect your profile to a website that converts
Improving visibility is only half the job.
When someone visits your website from Google Maps, they should quickly understand:
- What type of architect you are
- Which projects you accept
- Where you work
- What the next step is
- How your fees or stages are explained
- How to contact you
Show relevant work on your residential design, extensions, new-build and planning pages. Make sure the pages work properly on mobile and load quickly.
If you collaborate with builders or other specialists, explain how that relationship works. If your projects involve energy upgrades or heritage-sensitive glazing, you may also work alongside secondary glazing specialists.
A clear enquiry process matters. If a visitor needs to send several emails before receiving any indication of the next step, they may move on to another practice.
Common Google Business Profile mistakes for architects
Avoid these frequent problems:
- Using keywords in the practice name
- Choosing inaccurate categories
- Listing every UK town as a service area
- Claiming RIBA or ARB status incorrectly
- Using stock images instead of real project work
- Publishing photos without client permission
- Ignoring negative reviews
- Leaving Q&A unanswered
- Saying planning approval is guaranteed
- Hiding fees or project scope until too late
- Creating duplicate profiles for nearby areas
- Linking to an outdated or broken website page
- Failing to update opening hours
- Using different phone numbers and addresses across directories
Each issue can reduce trust, even if it does not immediately cause a ranking problem.
How VU1 helps architecture practices
VU1 is built for UK businesses that need practical local visibility support without a complicated agency process.
A VU1 membership and includes:
- Local SEO support
- Google Business Profile optimisation
- Citation building
- Website fixes
- Domain and hosting
- An instant quote widget
- No per-lead fees
The quote widget lets visitors select the service they need, see an estimate where appropriate and leave their contact details before they disappear. You control the services, wording and pricing information.
You can read the case studies, run the free 15-signal local SEO audit, or see how the instant quote builder works.
Before you commit to anything, run the free 15-signal local SEO audit. Enter your website address and get a plain-English report in under 15 seconds, with no signup required.
Final checklist
Before publishing or updating your profile, check that:
- Your practice name is accurate
- Your primary category matches your work
- Your services are listed individually
- Your service area is realistic
- Your RIBA and ARB information is correct
- Your photos are genuine and approved for use
- Your reviews receive prompt replies
- Your Q&A answers common client concerns
- Your Google Posts reflect current work
- Your website explains the next step clearly
Take these actions one at a time. A complete, accurate profile is more useful than a profile packed with vague claims.
Enter your website address into the free VU1 audit now. Get your 15-signal local SEO report in under 15 seconds, see what is holding your architecture practice back, and start fixing the issues without signing up.