How to Get Your Tattoo Studio on Google (Step by Step)

Someone in your city just searched “tattoo artist near me.” If your studio didn’t show up, that client went to whoever did.

Getting your tattoo studio on Google isn’t complicated — it’s just one of those jobs that never feels urgent until you realise how many people are searching for exactly what you do, every single day. So let’s sort it out. This whole thing takes about twenty minutes.

Step one: set up your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (GBP) is the free listing that appears when someone searches for a business by name or by type. It’s the box on the right-hand side of Google with your photos, address, opening hours, and reviews. If you don’t have one, you’re invisible in local search.

Here’s how to set it up:

Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to make one — use your studio name rather than a personal email if you can.

Enter your business name exactly as you want it to appear. “Dave’s Tattoo Studio” not “daves_tattoos_official.” This is what shows up in search results.

Choose your business category. Search for “Tattoo Shop” — that’s the primary category Google recognises. You can add secondary categories later, but this is the one that matters.

Add your location. If you work from a street shop, enter the full address. If you work from a private studio and don’t want the address public, you can set a service area instead (your city or region) and hide the specific address.

Add your phone number and website. If you don’t have a website yet, leave that field for now — but we’ll come back to why it matters in a minute.

Verify your listing. Google will usually send a postcard to your business address with a verification code. This takes a few days. Some businesses get the option to verify by phone or email instead. Either way, you need to verify before your listing goes live.

That’s it. You’re on Google.

Step two: make your listing actually useful

A bare-bones listing is better than nothing, but it won’t rank well and it won’t convince anyone to book. Here’s what to fill in:

Opening hours. Obvious, but a surprising number of studios leave this blank. If you work by appointment only, say so in the description — but still add the hours your studio is open for walk-ins or consultations.

Photos. Upload your best work. Google loves listings with photos — they get significantly more clicks. Aim for at least ten to start: a mix of finished pieces, your studio space, and any close-up detail shots that show the quality of your work. Update these regularly.

Business description. You get 750 characters. Use them. Mention your style (realism, traditional, blackwork, whatever you specialise in), your location, and how to book. Write it for a potential client, not for Google — but naturally include phrases people might search for, like “tattoo artist in [your city].”

Services. Google lets you list individual services with descriptions. Add your specialities here — custom tattoos, cover-ups, consultations, whatever you offer.

Step three: get some reviews

Reviews are the single biggest factor in how Google ranks local businesses. A studio with twenty five-star reviews will almost always outrank one with none, even if the second studio has been around longer.

The trick is just asking. Most happy clients will leave a review if you make it easy for them. After a session, send them a direct link to your Google review page. You can find this link in your Google Business Profile dashboard under “Ask for reviews” — it generates a short URL you can text or WhatsApp to clients.

Don’t offer discounts or incentives for reviews (Google frowns on that). Just ask. “If you’re happy with the work, a Google review really helps me out” is all it takes.

Now, about that website field

Here’s where we get to the bit you probably saw coming. Yes, this is where we mention Beeinked. Bear with us — it’s relevant.

Your Google Business Profile works on its own. But it works significantly better when it links to a proper website. Google uses your website to understand more about your business — your location, your services, your portfolio. A GBP listing backed by a real website ranks higher than one without. That’s not an opinion; it’s how Google’s local search algorithm works.

You don’t need anything fancy. A single page with your name, location, portfolio, and a contact form is enough to make a meaningful difference to your ranking.

If building that yourself sounds like something you’ll get around to eventually (but probably won’t), that’s exactly the kind of thing Beeinked handles — a fast, professional site built specifically for tattoo artists, designed to work with your Google listing. But even a simple free site from Google’s own Sites tool is better than leaving the website field blank.

Keep it updated

The last thing: don’t set up your profile and forget about it. Add new photos every month or two. Reply to reviews (yes, even the good ones — a quick “cheers, glad you love it” goes a long way). Update your hours if they change seasonally.

Google rewards active listings. Ten minutes a month is enough to keep yours ticking over and ranking well.

Your next client is probably searching for you right now. Make sure they can find you.