On Clapham High Street in London, three estate agents sit within about two hundred metres of each other, all chasing the same three-bedroom terraces coming onto the market. A seller weighing up which one gets the instruction will, more often than not, pull up Google on their phone before they pull up anything else, and what they see next to each name often settles the question before a single phone call happens.
One profile per branch, not one per agent too
A common mess in this sector is a branch profile on Google plus a second, informal one created by an individual negotiator using their own name and mobile number. Both might show up for the same search, splitting reviews and confusing anyone trying to work out who actually handles that patch of Clapham. The fix is straightforward: one claimed profile per branch, under the agency's proper trading name, with any individual agent's contact details kept inside that listing rather than spun off into a rival profile.
Choosing the right category
Yell and Thomson Local both still ask for a business category, and Google does too, so it's worth being exact rather than picking the first suggestion that comes up. "Letting agent" describes a business handling tenancies far better than a generic "Real estate" tag, and choosing correctly affects which searches the profile even appears in. A branch that also runs a lettings arm alongside sales might need both angles reflected somewhere in the profile description, since a landlord searching for someone to manage a portfolio of rental flats is looking for something slightly different from a homeowner wanting a straightforward sale.
Photos that show what the profile is missing
Photos should show the branch frontage, the team at their desks, and a "sold" or "let" board outside a recent property, not the interiors of individual homes for sale, which belong on Rightmove or the agency's own portal listings rather than cluttering the Google profile. A few shots of the high street itself help too, particularly for a branch trying to signal it knows a specific patch of London or Bristol well rather than operating as a faceless regional office.
Staying visible between transactions
A home sale in this market typically takes months from a seller's first enquiry through to completion, which leaves a long stretch where nothing visible seems to be happening on the surface. Keeping the profile active with the occasional post about a new instruction or a recently completed sale gives a branch something to show for that period, and it also reminds past clients, who might sell again or refer a neighbour, that the agency is still active and worth recommending.
Hours that reflect how viewings actually work
Office hours on the profile might read nine to half five, but plenty of viewings happen at seven in the evening or on a Saturday morning when a working buyer can actually get there. Leaving the hours as strictly office-only means the profile understates when someone can reach the branch, and a seller scanning several agencies late on a Sunday night might skip past one that looks closed rather than check if evening viewings are possible.
Reviews carry real weight here
UK buyers and sellers read recent reviews before they ring anyone, and a branch that replies, even briefly, to both the five-star review from a smooth sale and the two-star one from a buyer annoyed about a slow callback, comes across as one that's actually paying attention. A seller in Manchester or Bristol comparing two agencies with near-identical fees will often pick the one whose replies show they take feedback seriously.
Getting found consistently
Being listed correctly on Google is only part of it. Yell still carries weight for local searches, particularly from people who've used it for years, and Thomson Local reaches an older, often suburban audience that still checks it before ringing round agencies. Bing Places is worth claiming too, since it feeds Bing's own search and Maps results. The name, address and phone number need to match across all of these exactly, because a mismatch, even something as small as "Rd" against "Road", can make a branch look like two different businesses to both Google and a wary seller doing their own checking.
Contact still starts with a phone call for many
Despite everything moving online, plenty of UK sellers still expect to speak to someone directly once they've narrowed down their shortlist, so a working, correctly displayed phone number on the profile matters as much as the online enquiry form.
Where Kaptor fits in
Kaptor sets up the Google Business Profile properly for a branch, watches for gaps like missing evening hours or a review sitting unanswered for weeks, and keeps the agency's name, address and phone number consistent across the other directories that still get checked. See also the real estate Google Business Profile guide and how this plays out for agencies in the US.