The tree service profile mistake we see most, no hours listed, so storm calls go elsewhere
A big share of tree service profiles list no hours at all. After a storm, that blank can send an emergency call to the next company. Here is the ten-minute fix.
A wind storm comes through on a Saturday night. A homeowner has a limb on the roof and a branch across the driveway. They search "emergency tree removal," look at the map, and see two companies. One shows "Open 24 hours." The other shows nothing at all about hours. They call the first one.
That blank hours field is the most common mistake we see on tree service Google profiles. In our benchmark report, 41.5% of tree service companies list no hours at all. Only 14.6% show as open 24 hours. If you take storm calls, that gap is an opening, and it takes about ten minutes to close.
Why the blank matters
When hours are missing, Google has nothing to show a searcher about whether you are open right now. In some searches, people filter for businesses that are open now, or Google leans toward listings that clearly are. A blank field does not help you in either case.
It also looks unfinished. A homeowner deciding who to trust with a 60-foot oak over their house is reading every small signal. A profile with missing hours, few photos and no recent posts looks like a company that might not pick up.
And tree work is often urgent. Storm damage, a cracked limb hanging over a power line, a tree on a car. These callers do not wait until Monday morning to compare three bids. They call whoever looks ready.
The fix, step by step
1. Decide what you actually offer. Be honest. There are three common setups:
- You answer and dispatch around the clock for emergencies.
- You answer the phone at all hours but only roll crews in daylight.
- You keep regular business hours and do not take after-hours calls.
All three are fine. The mistake is leaving it blank.
2. Set your regular hours. In your Google Business Profile, go to the hours section and enter the days and times your office or phone is staffed. If that includes Saturday, put it in. Only 39.6% of tree service profiles in our data list Saturday hours, and many homeowners do their yard planning on weekends.
3. If you take emergency calls, say so clearly. If you truly answer 24 hours, set the hours to 24 hours. If you answer emergencies after hours but are not fully open, keep regular hours and add "24/7 emergency storm service" to your business description and as a service. Then make it clear on your website, too.
4. Add holiday and storm hours when they change. Google lets you set special hours. Use them around holidays, and update them after a big storm if you add extended hours. It keeps the profile accurate when it matters most.
Our Google Business Profile guide walks through each of these settings and the rest of the profile.
The part that matters more than the setting
Listing yourself as open 24 hours only helps if the phone gets answered. If a homeowner calls at 11 p.m. because your profile said open and it goes to a full voicemail box, you have done more harm than leaving it blank.
Before you change the hours, decide who answers. Common options:
- The owner's cell, forwarded after hours. Cheapest, but it wears you out during storm season.
- An answering service that takes the details and texts you.
- Automatic text-back so every missed call gets a reply within a minute: "Thanks for calling [company]. We got your call and will call you back shortly. If a tree is on a house or a power line, call 911 first."
The text-back is the minimum. Our missed calls guide covers the scripts and what each option costs. If you want to see what a few missed storm calls are worth, run your numbers in the calculator.
While you are in there
Once the hours are fixed, check three other blanks we see often.
Services. Add each one separately: tree removal, trimming and pruning, stump grinding, storm cleanup, emergency tree service, land clearing. Searchers and Google both look for these words.
Photos. Upload recent job photos, especially storm work, with a short caption naming the town. Crane jobs and large removals show you can handle the hard ones.
Reviews. The median tree service company in our data has 17 Google reviews. Storm customers are often very grateful, which makes them good people to ask. Ask within a day of the cleanup, while the relief is fresh. Our reviews guide has the exact words.
The ten-minute version
Log in to your Google Business Profile today. Fill in your hours. If you take emergencies, say so in the hours or the description, and make sure someone or something answers after dark. That is the whole fix, and it is one of the few that can change which company a storm caller picks tonight.
If you want your profile and after-hours text-back set up for you, try any service free for 14 days, no card, text or call (385) 526-4799.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, tree service companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor