Most home inspectors list no hours on Google. Here is what to fix this week
More than half of home inspection profiles on Google show no hours. Why that hurts with buyers and agents, and a 20-minute fix for hours, booking and replies.
A buyer's offer gets accepted on a Saturday afternoon. Their agent tells them to book an inspection fast, because the inspection window is short. They search, see your profile, and Google shows nothing under hours. They wonder if you are a real business or a guy who answers when he feels like it, and they tap the next listing that says "Open now."
That is the most common gap in our home inspector data. 58.8% of home inspection businesses on Google list no hours at all. In most trades that share is much lower. It is an easy fix, and this week is a good time to do it, before the slower winter market makes every booking count more.
Why inspectors leave hours blank
We understand how it happens. You are on a roof or in a crawl space most of the day. You do not have an office anyone can walk into. Your hours are really "whenever the job needs me," so picking a time feels wrong.
But Google is not asking when you are standing in an office. It is asking when someone can reach you or book you. And a blank tells the buyer something you do not mean. It reads as closed, part time, or out of business.
What the blank costs you
There are three costs.
You can drop out of "open now" searches. When someone searches with words like "open now" or filters the map by hours, a profile with no hours may simply not show up. That includes the buyer searching at 7 p.m. after the offer was accepted.
The buyer hesitates. A buyer has a deadline and a lot of money on the line. They want an inspector who looks organized. A profile with hours, recent photos and replies to reviews looks organized. A blank looks like a risk.
Agents notice too. Many buyers get a short list of inspectors from their agent, and then look each one up. If two names are on the list and one looks active, that is the one who gets the call.
The 20-minute fix
1. Set hours that match how people reach you (5 minutes). If you answer calls and texts from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, those are your hours, even if you only inspect until 4. List every day you actually respond, including Saturday and Sunday if you take calls then. In our data only 31.6% list Saturday hours and 21.7% list Sunday. Weekend offers are common, so weekend hours are a real way to stand out.
2. Add holiday hours now (3 minutes). Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Day. Google lets you set special hours ahead of time. If you work those days, say so. If you do not, setting them shows you keep the profile current.
3. Turn on a booking link (5 minutes). If you use scheduling software that has an online booking page, add that link to your profile so a buyer can book at 10 p.m. without calling. Our Google Business Profile guide shows where the booking link goes.
4. Write one line in your description (5 minutes). Something like: "Calls and texts answered 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days. Most inspections booked within two business days." Only write what is true for your schedule.
5. Check it on your phone (2 minutes). Search your business name, then search "home inspector near me" and look at what shows under your name.
Then back up the hours
Hours on Google are a promise. If you list 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and nobody answers at 6 p.m., you have made things worse. Two simple ways to keep the promise:
- A missed-call text. When you cannot answer, the caller gets a text within a minute: "Sorry I missed you, I am on an inspection. When is your inspection deadline and what is the property address? I will call you back within the hour." Our missed call guide covers how to set it up, and the calculator shows what a few missed calls a week add up to.
- A quick check between jobs. Look at your phone each time you climb down. Most buyers who hear back within the hour do not call anyone else.
While you are in the profile
Two other numbers from our data are worth a look. The median inspector has only 4 Google reviews, and 30.2% have none. If you are near the median, a handful of new reviews this month moves you ahead of a lot of local competitors. Our reviews guide has the exact ask to send with the report.
And 35.4% have no website. If you are one of them, a simple one-page site with your prices, your service area and a booking link is worth more than you would think. The benchmark report has the full picture.
The short version
More than half of inspectors leave hours blank on Google, and it quietly costs them weekend and evening bookings. Set hours that match when you answer, add holiday hours, add a booking link, and make sure every missed call gets a text back. Twenty minutes this week.
If you want help setting up the profile or the missed-call text, the free 14-day trial covers any one service, no card. Text or call (385) 526-5050.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, home inspectors among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor