To set up a Google Business Profile, sign in with a Google Account at business.google.com/add, choose “Add your business to Google”, enter your business details, then complete the verification step Google offers you. Once verified, fill in your hours, photos and services so the profile is useful to customers. Creating and listing a profile is free.
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Your profile is the box that appears when someone searches for your business on Google or finds it on Google Maps. For a local shop, salon, café or tradesperson, it is often the first thing a new customer sees, so it is worth getting right.
Can Your Business Have a Google Business Profile?
Your business can have a profile if it makes face-to-face contact with customers. That covers businesses with premises customers visit, such as a shop or a dentist, and businesses that travel to customers, such as a plumber or a cleaner.
Online-only businesses are not eligible, according to Google’s help pages. Neither are rental or for-sale properties such as holiday homes. Google also expects only one profile per business, so start by checking whether one already exists.
Check for an Existing Profile First
Search for your business name on Google Maps before you create anything. A listing can exist before the owner ever claims it, so there may already be one for your business. If you find one, use the option to claim the business instead of creating a duplicate, since duplicates can cause display problems on Maps and Search.
If someone else, such as a former employee or an agency, already manages the profile, you can request ownership. Google gives the current owner three days to respond, and if they do not, you may be offered a way to claim it.
How to Create Your Google Business Profile
To create the profile, sign in, add your business name, category, location and contact details, then choose a verification option, which takes a few minutes. You need a Google Account, ideally one tied to the business rather than a personal account you might lose access to.
- Go to business.google.com/add and sign in.
- Select “Add your business to Google”.
- Enter your business name exactly as customers see it on your sign, shopfront or paperwork.
- Choose the category that best describes your main business.
- Say whether customers visit a location, you travel to them, or both.
- Add your address or service area, phone number and website if you have one.
- Follow the on-screen steps to choose a verification option.
The exact screens change from time to time, but these are the details you will usually be asked for.
Follow Google’s Naming Rule
Your profile name should match your real business name. Google’s guidelines say adding unnecessary information to the name is not permitted.
That means no extra keywords, slogans, locations or phone numbers in the name field, and breaking the rule can lead to suspension. “Rosa’s Bakery” is fine. “Rosa’s Bakery Best Cakes Leeds” is not.
Service Area Businesses: Hide Your Address
If you travel to customers and do not serve them at your premises, Google says you should hide your business address and show a service area instead. This suits mobile hairdressers, gardeners and electricians who work from home. Note that P.O. boxes are not accepted as business addresses.
How to Verify Your Business
Verify your business with one of the methods Google offers you, which proves that you run the business; your profile needs it to show properly on Search and Maps. Google lists several methods:
- Phone call or text message with a code.
- Email with a code.
- Live video call with Google.
- A recorded video showing your location, equipment or signage.
- A postcard sent to your business address.
Google chooses which methods you are offered, based on things like your business type and region, and you cannot change them. Video recording is the method Google recommends where it is available. After you submit, Google’s review usually takes up to five business days, sometimes longer. If you get a postcard, Google says most arrive within 14 days and the code expires after 30 days.
Complete Every Section of Your Profile
Fill in your hours, categories, description, photos, products and services and posts, because a complete profile gives customers what they need without having to call. Once verified, go through each section in the profile editor.
| Section | What to add |
|---|---|
| Hours | Regular opening hours, plus special hours for holidays and closures |
| Categories | One primary category and up to nine additional ones if they genuinely apply |
| Description | A plain summary of what you do and who you serve |
| Photos | Your shopfront, inside, your team at work and real examples of your products |
| Products and services | A list of what you offer, with prices if you want to show them |
| Posts | Offers, events and news, updated regularly |
Google advises choosing the fewest categories needed to describe your core business. Adding loosely related ones does not help, and changing a category later can trigger re-verification.
Use your own photos, taken in good light. Stock images make it harder for customers to recognise your premises when they arrive.
How to Handle Reviews the Right Way
Reply to reviews once your profile is verified, and keep every reply short and polite. Thank people for good reviews. For a negative one, apologise for the experience, keep the details private and offer a way to sort it out. Future customers read your replies as much as the reviews themselves.
Google’s policy for Maps content is strict about how you collect reviews. It bans offering incentives, such as payment, discounts or free goods, in return for reviews. It also bans discouraging negative reviews or asking only happy customers to leave one. The safe approach is to ask every customer in the same way, for example with a QR code on your receipt or counter.
Keep Your Profile Up to Date
An out-of-date profile can cost you customers, so set a reminder to check it every month or two. Update your hours before public holidays, add new photos each season and remove services you no longer offer. If you move premises, change the address straight away, and be ready for Google to ask you to verify again.
Keep posting now and then as well. A recent offer or a photo of new stock shows people comparing local businesses that yours is open and active.
FAQ
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Google says you can add or claim a Business Profile at no charge.
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
Google says its review usually takes up to five business days, though it can take longer. Postcards, where offered, usually arrive within 14 days.
Can you have a Google Business Profile without a shop?
Yes, if you meet customers in person. Service area businesses that visit customers can create a profile and hide their address, showing only the area they serve.