How to Set Up and Verify a Google Business Profile Step by Step

Before you start: gather the basics

Most setup problems begin before the first click. Have these ready:

• Your business name exactly as it appears on your sign, invoices and website.
• A Google account that belongs to the business, not to an employee or an outside agency.
• Your street address, or a clear idea of which towns you serve if customers never visit you.
• A phone number you answer during business hours, and your website address.
• Your regular hours and your holiday hours.
• A handful of real photos taken by you.

Check first whether a listing already exists. Search your business name and phone number in Google Maps. Google sometimes builds a listing from public data, and creating a second one splits your reviews and confuses customers. If a listing exists, claim it. If someone else already controls it, use the option to request ownership, and Google notifies the current owner.

One decision deserves a moment: who owns the profile. Use an account the business controls for the long term. If an agency or freelancer helps you, add them as a manager and keep yourself as owner. A profile tied to a former employee's personal account can lock the business out.

Step by step: from search to submission

1. Start the listing. While signed in to the business account, search for "Google Business Profile" and choose to add your business, or claim the listing you found on Maps.
2. Enter your business name. Use the real name your customers know and nothing more. Do not add a city, a service or a slogan.
3. Choose the primary category. This is the most important choice you make. Pick the most specific option that describes what customers pay you for, such as "Plumber" rather than a broad term like "Home improvement." Add secondary categories only for services you truly sell. Type a few words into the field and read the options.
4. Decide how to show your location. If customers visit you at a staffed address, such as a shop, restaurant or office, show the address. If you travel to customers, list the areas you serve and hide the address. If you do both, show the address and add service areas. A P.O. box, a mailbox store or a shared virtual office does not count as a location.
5. Add phone and website. Use the number and web address exactly as they appear on your site. If you have a page for that specific location, link to it instead of the home page.
6. Set your hours. Enter the hours when someone can actually reach you or walk in. Add special hours for holidays and check them again a week before each one.
7. List services and write the description. Add each service by name with a one-line explanation. The description allows up to 750 characters, so say what you do, who you do it for and where in the first two sentences. Leave out links, promotions and capital letters.
8. Add photos. Upload your logo, a cover photo, the outside of the building or your vehicle, the inside, your team at work and finished jobs. Use real photos that you have the right to use, with consent from anyone shown.
9. Verify. Google decides which methods you are offered, usually a code by phone, text or email, a video recording or a postcard by mail. For a video, Google may ask you to show your location, signage, tools or vehicles, and some evidence that you run the business.

What to do after you are verified

Verification is only the start. Search your own business name on a phone while signed out and look at what a customer sees. Compare name, address and phone number with your website footer, character by character. Even a small difference such as "Street" on one and "St." on the other makes it harder for Google to match your sources.

Then fill in what is true for you: attributes such as a wheelchair-accessible entrance, your services, and a booking link if your profile offers that option. Put the profile on a calendar. Update hours before holidays, add fresh photos from recent jobs and reply to every review. Google's Business Profile Help Center lists the current options and rules.

Mistakes that cause trouble

• Keywords or a city in the business name. Adding a service or a place, such as "Your Name Emergency Plumber Cityname," violates Google's guidelines and can lead to a suspension.
• Too many or wrong categories. Ten categories dilute the message. One precise primary category and a few honest secondary ones work better.
• An address that is not yours. Virtual offices, mailboxes and desks you do not staff are not accepted as locations.
• Ignoring suggested edits. Customers and Google can propose changes to your hours or phone number. Check your profile monthly and reject anything wrong.
• Creating a new profile after a suspension. Fix the cause first, then use the reinstatement request inside the profile. A second profile for the same business usually makes things worse.

Once the profile is solid, local SEO for small businesses explains how the profile, your website and the rest of the web work together. The guide overview lists every topic.

Where to go from here

A complete profile sends customers to your website, so the site has to hold up. For the bigger picture, see the small business website guide.

Frequently asked questions

How long does verification take?

It depends on the method. A code by phone, text or email can be quick, while a postcard by mail or a video review takes longer. Google does not publish a fixed timeline, so start well before you need the profile to be live.

Can I have a profile if I have no storefront?

Yes, if you serve customers at their location. Set up a service-area business, hide your address and list the towns you serve. You still need a real way to be reached, and Google may ask you to verify the business.

Do I need a website to have a profile?

Not strictly. A website gives customers and Google a place to confirm your details and see your work, and its address is one of the fields in the profile.

Does a complete profile guarantee a high ranking on the map?

No. A complete, accurate profile helps Google understand your business and helps customers choose you, but local results also depend on distance from the searcher and on how well known you are. Nobody can guarantee a position.