The Only Google Business Profile Guide You Need
How to claim, verify, and fill out your Google Business Profile, then keep it working with photos, reviews, and updates. Free, and doable in an afternoon.
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your business in Google Maps and in the panel beside local search results. To make it work, claim it at business.google.com, verify it, choose an accurate primary category, fill in your services, hours, and photos, then keep it alive with reviews and occasional updates. It takes an afternoon to set up and a few minutes a week to maintain, and you don't need to hire anyone to do it.
What is a Google Business Profile, and why does it matter?
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a local customer sees, before your website and sometimes instead of it. When someone searches "bakery near me" or your business name, the map, the short list of businesses, and the panel with hours, reviews, and photos all come from Business Profiles.
It's where many customers decide whether to call, visit, or keep scrolling, and its information feeds Google Maps, search results, and AI-generated answers about local options. A complete, accurate profile that matches your website makes your business easier to find and easier to trust. (Our post on what GEO is explains why that consistency matters for AI search.)
Step 1: Claim your profile
Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account you control long-term. Use an account tied to the business, not a personal account belonging to an employee or a past web designer. If you ever part ways with whoever set it up, you want the keys to stay with you.
Search for your business name. One of two things will happen:
- Your business already has a listing. Google often creates listings from public data. Claim it rather than creating a new one, so you don't end up with duplicates.
- There's no listing. Create one with your exact business name, the category closest to what you do, and your address or service area.
If someone else already manages the listing, Google provides a way to request access. Start that early, because you'll be waiting on the other party.
Step 2: Verify your business
Google needs to confirm you're really the business before your profile goes fully live. Google decides which verification method to offer, and it varies by business. It may be a short video recording showing your location and proof of management, a phone call or text, an email, or a postcard mailed to your address.
A few things make verification smoother:
- Make sure your name, address, and phone number are exactly right before you start.
- Use your real business name. Don't add keywords or city names that aren't part of your legal or trading name.
- If you're a service-area business (you go to customers rather than them coming to you), say so, and hide your street address if it's your home.
- If verification stalls, check for emails from Google and follow its instructions rather than starting over with a new listing.
Step 3: Choose the right categories
Your primary category is one of the most important choices on the profile. It tells Google what kind of business you are and influences which searches you show up for. Pick the most specific category that accurately describes your main business. "Italian restaurant" is better than "Restaurant" if that's what you are.
You can add secondary categories for other things you genuinely do. Don't add ones for services you rarely offer; wrong categories put you in front of the wrong customers.
Step 4: Fill in every relevant field
A complete profile gives customers fewer reasons to leave and look elsewhere. Work through each section:
| Section | What to put there |
|---|---|
| Business name | Your real name, exactly as it appears on your website and signage |
| Address or service area | Your storefront address, or the areas you serve |
| Hours | Regular hours, plus special hours for holidays and closures |
| Phone and website | A number that's answered; a link to your homepage or most relevant page |
| Services or products | Each service you offer, with a short plain description and price if you publish one |
| Description | A few sentences on what you do, who you serve, and where |
| Attributes | Accessibility, payment options, and other options Google offers for your category |
Write the description the way you'd explain your business to a new neighbor, without slogans. Then check that the name, address, phone, and services match your website word for word.
Step 5: Add real photos
Photos show customers what to expect, and a profile without them looks abandoned. Add your logo, a cover photo, the outside of your building (so people can find it), the inside, your team, and your work.
Use real photos, not stock images; an imperfect phone photo of your actual shop beats a polished photo of someone else's. Add new ones when something changes.
Step 6: Ask for reviews, and reply to all of them
Reviews are the part of your profile customers read most closely, and the only reliable way to get them is to ask. Ask customers at the moment they're happiest: after a job is finished, after a good visit, when they thank you. Google gives you a short link to your review form; put it in follow-up emails, on receipts, or on a card at the counter.
A few rules:
- Ask everyone, not just the people you expect to be happy. Selectively asking only happy customers runs against Google's review policies.
- Never pay for reviews or offer discounts in exchange for them. Google prohibits it, and fake reviews can get your profile penalized.
- Reply to every review. Thank people for good reviews by name. For bad ones, stay calm, acknowledge the problem, and offer to fix it offline.
Future customers read your replies, so a calm, thoughtful response to a bad review is worth the effort.
Step 7: Post updates and keep the profile current
Google lets you publish short posts on your profile: news, offers, events, or a recent project. They show customers you're active. Pick a pace you can keep, weekly or monthly.
The bigger job is keeping the basics current. Update holiday hours before the holiday. Add new services when you launch them. Remove ones you've stopped offering. An outdated profile that sends someone to a closed door costs you more than a profile with no posts at all.
A quick monthly maintenance checklist
Once a month, spend 15 minutes on this:
- Confirm hours, including any upcoming holidays.
- Reply to any new reviews.
- Add a few new photos.
- Publish a post if you have news.
- Check that your services and description still match your website.
- Look at the profile's performance numbers to see how people are finding you.
Summary
A Google Business Profile is free, and for many local businesses it's the most-seen thing they own online. Claim it at business.google.com, verify it using whatever method Google offers, choose an accurate primary category, fill in services, hours, and description, add real photos, ask every customer for a review and reply to all of them, and keep it current. Make sure everything matches your website. Google Business Profile optimization is part of every site we build, alongside the rest of our SEO and GEO work; see our services for the full list.
Frequently asked
Is Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Google doesn't charge for a Business Profile. If someone is charging you to set it up or manage it, you're paying for their time, not for the profile.
How does Google verify my business?
Google chooses the method based on your business, and it may be a video recording, a phone call or text, an email, or a postcard. Follow whichever option it offers you, and make sure your details are accurate before you start.
How often should I post updates?
Pick a pace you can keep, such as weekly or monthly. Keeping your hours, services, and photos current matters more than how often you post.
Should I reply to negative reviews?
Yes, calmly and briefly. Acknowledge the issue, offer to sort it out offline, and leave it there. Future customers read your reply as much as the review.