You want your business to show up on Google Maps and in local results, with your hours, phone number and reviews in one place. That starts with a Google Business Profile, the free listing Google shows when people search for your business or for services near them. Google Business Profile setup takes about 20 minutes of work. Verification can then take a few days.
Below I walk through the whole process in order, from checking for an existing listing to getting verified and filling in your profile. I also cover the mistakes I see most often, because a wrong choice at setup can cause problems for years.
What a Google Business Profile Is (and Who Can Have One)
A Google Business Profile is the box that appears on the right side of desktop search results, or at the top on mobile, when someone searches for your business name. The same listing appears in Google Maps and in the “local pack”, the group of three map results Google shows for searches like “plumber near me”.
It used to be called Google My Business. Google renamed it in 2021.
Not every business is eligible. Google’s rules say your business must either have a physical location customers can visit or travel to customers to serve them. In short:
- Eligible: shops, restaurants, clinics, offices that receive clients, and service businesses like plumbers, cleaners or electricians who visit customers.
- Not eligible: online-only businesses, virtual offices, rented mailboxes, and addresses where you don’t actually work.
- Only with conditions: co-working spaces, which qualify only if you have clear signage, are staffed there and receive customers during your hours.
You get one profile per real location. Two shops can have two profiles, but one business in one place gets one profile, not one per service.
Before You Start: What to Have Ready
I always gather everything first. Guessing at details and editing them later can delay verification.
- A Google Account you will keep. I recommend a business account (like an email on your own domain or a shared business Gmail) rather than a staff member’s personal account.
- Your exact business name, as it appears on your signage, website and invoices.
- Your full address, or the list of towns or postal codes you serve if customers don’t come to you.
- A local phone number that rings at your business. It should not go through a phone menu, because automated menus can’t receive the verification code.
- Your website URL, ideally the page for this specific location.
- Your opening hours, including any holiday changes coming up soon.
- Proof that the business is real, like signage, a utility bill, a business licence or work tools. You may need these for video verification.
Google Business Profile Setup, Step by Step
Step 1: Check If Your Business Is Already on Google
Search for your business name and town on Google Maps. Many businesses already have a listing, because Google creates some automatically and customers can suggest new places.
- If you find a listing with no owner, it will show a link such as “Own this business?” or “Claim this business”. Click it and follow the prompts.
- If you see “Someone else may manage this Business Profile”, someone has already verified it. Select Request access and fill in the form.
- If nothing shows up, you will create a new profile in the next step.
When you request access, Google emails the current owner, and they have 3 days to respond. If they don’t, you may get the option to verify and claim the profile yourself from your confirmation email. In my experience, the “someone else manages this” case is usually a former employee, an old agency or a web designer. It is worth asking them directly first, because it is often faster than the form.
Do not create a second profile just because you can’t get into the first one. Duplicates confuse Google and customers, and they can lead to suspension.
Step 2: Start the Setup and Enter Your Business Name
Go to business.google.com/add and sign in with the Google Account you chose. Select Add your business to Google and type your business name.
Use your real-world name exactly as customers see it. Google’s guidelines don’t allow extra keywords, locations, taglines or phone numbers in the name. So “Smith Plumbing” is fine. “Smith Plumbing – Best Emergency Plumber in Leeds 24/7” is not.
Keyword-stuffed names seem to work for some competitors. In my experience, it is a short-term trick that risks suspension, and anyone can suggest an edit to reverse it.
Step 3: Choose Your Primary Category
Your primary category is one of the most important choices you make here. It tells Google what your business is, and it has a big effect on which searches you show up for.
Google suggests picking categories that complete the sentence “This business is a ___”. Pick the most specific one that fits. For example:
- A dentist who mostly does braces should look at “Orthodontist”, not just “Dentist”.
- A café that mainly sells coffee fits “Coffee shop” better than “Restaurant”.
- A firm that only handles divorce cases fits “Divorce lawyer” better than “Lawyer”.
Start typing and Google will show a list. You can only pick from that list, so try a few words. You can add up to 9 extra categories later, but I’d keep them few and accurate. Categories describe what you are, not every service you offer. Services go in their own section.
A quick habit I use: search your main keyword in Google Maps, click the top few competitors, and look at the category shown under their name. It is a fast way to find the category Google links to that search.
Step 4: Add Your Location or Service Area
Google will ask whether you want to add a location customers can visit. Your answer decides what type of profile you get.
- Storefront business: customers come to you. Enter your full address. If you’re in a building with several units, put the street address in line 1 and the suite or unit number in line 2.
- Service-area business: you go to customers and don’t serve them at your address. You still enter your address for verification, but you hide it from the public and add service areas instead.
- Hybrid business: you serve customers at your address and also travel to them. Keep the address visible and add service areas too.
You can add up to 20 service areas, using cities, postal codes or regions. Google’s guidelines say your service area generally shouldn’t reach more than about 2 hours of driving from where your business is based.
One point people often miss: a service-area business hiding its address will usually show up best near its real base. Adding far-away cities to your service area doesn’t mean you will rank there. I’d list the areas you really serve and leave it at that.
If Google can’t find your address, drag the map pin to the right spot. A pin on the wrong building can make verification fail.
Step 5: Add Your Phone Number and Website
Enter a phone number that connects to this location. Google prefers a local number over a central call centre, and it must be a number you control. Premium-rate numbers aren’t allowed.
For the website, link to the page that best represents this location. A single-location business can use its homepage. A business with several branches should link each profile to its own location page. Don’t use a social media page or a link that redirects somewhere else.
If you don’t have a website yet, you can skip this field. Google closed its free Business Profile websites in 2024, so you will need your own site to link to. My tip: add UTM tags (small tracking codes at the end of a URL) to the website link, such as ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp. That way your analytics can show which visits came from your profile instead of lumping them in with normal search traffic.
Step 6: Verify Your Business
Verification is how Google confirms you are the real owner. Until you are verified, your edits won’t show publicly and you can’t reply to reviews.
Google picks which methods you can use, based on your business type, location and history. You can’t choose a method Google doesn’t offer you. The options include:
- Phone call or text: Google sends a code to your business number.
- Email: Google sends a code or link to an email address shown on the screen.
- Video recording: you record a short video of your business and upload it. Google recommends this option if you’re offered it.
- Live video call: a Google support person joins a video call during your business hours, and you show them your location.
- Postcard: Google mails a 5-digit code to your address. Most cards arrive within 14 days, and the code expires after 30 days.
After you finish a method, Google reviews your details. Google says this review takes up to 5 business days, though it can take longer in some cases.
How to Pass Video Verification the First Time
Video verification has become very common, and it is where I see most setups get stuck. The video is checked by people, so it needs to prove three things clearly: where you are, that the business exists, and that you manage it.
Google’s requirements include:
- One continuous, unedited recording of at least 30 seconds. No cuts, no pre-recorded clips.
- Location: show street signs, the building number or nearby businesses, so Google can match the spot to Maps.
- The business itself: for a storefront, show your permanent signage, shop front or showroom. For a service-area business, show your work tools, equipment or branded vehicle.
- Proof you manage it: do something only staff could do, like unlocking the door, opening the till or entering a staff-only area. A service business can show a permit, invoice or utility bill with the business name on it.
Don’t show bank details, ID numbers or other people’s faces. What I recommend is planning the route before you press record. Start on the street with a clear sign or landmark, walk to your door, show the business name, go inside and show something only you can access. If your signage is temporary, like a printed banner, it may not count as permanent, so sort out proper signage first if you can.
If a video is rejected, you’ll see a “Review issues” link. Read the reason, fix that specific problem, and try again or use another method if one is offered.
What to Add After You’re Verified
A verified profile with only a name and address will struggle against fully completed ones. Here is what I fill in next, in this order.
Hours, Special Hours and More Hours
Add your regular hours as customers see them, then special hours for holidays. Many businesses can also add “more hours”, like delivery or takeaway. Businesses that only work by appointment, or with varied schedules like classes, may be better off leaving hours blank, according to Google’s rules.
Business Description
You get up to 750 characters. I write it for people, not for Google: what you do, who you help, where you work and what makes you different. Put the most useful part in the first two lines, because that’s what people see before they click “more”. Don’t add links or promotional claims like “best in town”.
Photos
Add a logo, a cover photo, and real photos of your shop front, inside, team and work. I’d skip stock images entirely, because they don’t help anyone decide.
Services and Products
This is where you list what you offer. A plumber might add “boiler repair”, “leak detection” and “bathroom installation”. Each service can have a short description and an optional price. This is the right place for your service keywords, not your business name or categories.
Attributes
Attributes are small labels like “wheelchair accessible” or “free Wi-Fi”. The options depend on your category. Add the ones that are true.
Opening Date
If you’re new, add your opening date. You can set it up to a year ahead. Google will start showing it 90 days before the date.
Reviews
From your profile, use the option to share a review link with customers. Then reply to reviews, good and bad. In my experience, a short, calm reply to a bad review does more for trust than the review itself does damage.
Managing Your Profile After Setup
Most single-location businesses manage everything straight from Google Search. Sign in and search for your business name, and you’ll see your management tools above your listing. The Google Maps app has a Business tab that does the same on a phone.
If you have 10 or more locations, Google’s Business Profile Manager on desktop lets you manage them together and may let you apply for bulk verification.
Add other people as users instead of sharing your password. There are three roles:
- Primary owner: full control, including handing primary ownership to someone else. There is only one per profile.
- Owner: almost full control, including adding and removing users.
- Manager: can edit info and reply to reviews, but can’t manage users.
My rule: the business owner should always be the primary owner. Agencies and staff should be managers or owners, never the only account with access. If an agency set the profile up under its own account, ask them to transfer primary ownership to you.
Anyone can suggest changes to your listing. I check the profile every few weeks for edits I didn’t make, like changed hours or a new phone number, and fix them quickly.
Common Google Business Profile Setup Mistakes
These are the problems I see again and again:
- Showing a home address by accident. If you work from home and don’t see customers there, hide the address and use service areas.
- Using a virtual office or PO box. These aren’t eligible and often fail verification.
- Too many or vague categories. Pick the most specific primary category and only add extras that are true.
- Editing during verification. Changing your name, address or category while waiting can delay or upset verification. Google specifically warns against this while you wait for a postcard.
- Setting it up under the wrong account. A staff member’s personal Gmail becomes a problem the day they leave.
- Mismatched details. Your name, address and phone number should match your website and other listings online.
On that last point, your website matters as much as your profile. Google uses it to understand your business, and people click through to it before they call. If yours needs work, my on-page SEO checklist covers what to check on your location and contact pages.
Conclusion
Google Business Profile setup is not hard, but the details matter. Use your real name, pick the most specific category, set your address or service area honestly, and use a phone number and account you control. Then get verified, fill in hours, photos, services and description, and keep an eye on edits you didn’t make.
For the full rules, I’d keep Google’s guidelines for representing your business on Google bookmarked, and its verification help page if you get stuck. Once your profile is live, a good next step is to look at the rest of your site with my SEO checklist for 2025, so the website your profile points to is ready for the visitors it sends.
