Google Business Profile setup: a step-by-step guide for new and existing businesses

When customers search for a business on Google or Maps, the panel showing your hours, phone number, photos and reviews comes from your Google Business Profile. A careful Google Business Profile setup is one of the most valuable hours a small business owner can spend: it is free, it is managed directly by you, and it is often the first thing a new customer sees.

This step-by-step guide covers creating or claiming a profile, choosing a name and category, adding an address or service area, verification, and the details that make a profile genuinely useful. It is part of our wider guide to local SEO for small business, which explains how the profile fits with your website, reviews and other listings.

Before you start: check for an existing profile

Many businesses already have a listing they did not create, so every Google Business Profile setup should begin with a search. Google may have built one from public information, or a previous owner or customer may have suggested it. Creating a second listing for the same location causes duplicates, which confuse customers and can lead to problems.

1. Search your business name and area on Google Maps.
2. If a listing appears, open it and look for the option to claim it or to request access.
3. If nothing appears, you can create a new profile.

Use a Google account you will keep long-term, ideally one tied to a business email address rather than a staff member's personal account. If you have not set up email on your own domain yet, our guide to choosing a business domain name explains how.

The eight steps of Google Business Profile setup

The order of a Google Business Profile setup matters, because some early choices, especially the name, category and address, affect verification. The figure summarises the process, and the sections below explain each part.

1. Sign in and startUse a long-term Google account and begin from Google Business Profile, or from the claim option on an existing listing.
2. Enter the real business nameExactly as it appears on your signage, receipts and website, with no extra keywords.
3. Choose a primary categoryPick the most specific option that describes the core of your business.
4. Add a location or service areaShow an address if customers visit you; otherwise list the areas you serve and hide your address.
5. Add phone and websiteUse a number you answer during opening hours and the page that best matches the profile.
6. Verify with GoogleComplete whichever verification method Google offers you, following its instructions carefully.
7. Fill in the detailsHours, description, services or products, attributes, photos and booking or menu links.
8. Add your teamInvite owners and managers with their own accounts instead of sharing one password.

Choosing your business name and category

Use your real-world name

Google's guidelines for representing your business ask that the profile name matches the name used consistently on your storefront, website and stationery. Adding extra words, such as a service or city, when they are not part of your actual name breaks those guidelines and can lead to the profile being suspended.

Avoid

• "Example Bakery – Best Cakes in Town Cheap Delivery"
• Adding a city name that is not on your sign
• Phone numbers, website addresses or offers in the name
• All capitals or special symbols for attention

Do this

• "Example Bakery", exactly as on the shop sign
• Keep branding the same as on your website and receipts
• Put services and areas in categories and the description
• Change the name only when the real business name changes

Pick the most specific primary category

The primary category tells Google what your business mainly is, and it has a strong influence on which searches you appear for. Choose the most specific match: "Pizza restaurant" rather than "Restaurant", or "Family law attorney" rather than "Lawyer", where those options exist. Then add a few additional categories for other services you genuinely offer. Do not add categories for things you do only occasionally.

Address or service area: which applies to you

Google treats businesses differently depending on whether customers come to you or you go to them.

• Storefront businesses, such as shops, cafes and clinics, show their address so customers can get directions. The address must be a real place where staff meet customers during stated hours.
• Service-area businesses, such as plumbers, cleaners and mobile tutors, can hide their address and list the towns, cities or postcodes they serve.
• Hybrid businesses that welcome customers at an address and also travel to them can show both.

Google's guidelines do not allow a PO box or a mailbox service as a business location. Shared or virtual offices are also restricted unless they meet Google's conditions, so check the guidelines before using one.

Google Business Profile verification, explained

Verification is the step of Google Business Profile setup where Google confirms that you really run the business at the details you entered. You cannot skip it, and nobody outside Google can verify a profile on your behalf.

The methods Google may offer

Google decides which methods are available for each profile, based on factors such as the business type and location. Depending on your case, these can include a phone call or text message, an email, a recorded video, a live video call, or a postcard sent by mail. Some businesses are offered only one option.

Preparing for video verification during Google Business Profile setup

If you are asked to record a video, plan a short, continuous clip before you press record. Google's instructions describe what to show, which typically includes:

• Your location or surroundings, such as the street sign or nearby businesses
• Your business in operation, such as signage, equipment, stock or branded items
• Proof that you manage it, such as opening the premises with your keys, opening the till or showing business documents

Follow the current instructions in the app rather than an old checklist, because Google updates the process. Verification reviews can take several days, and during that time it is best not to edit your name, address or category.

Completing your Google Business Profile setup

A verified but empty profile helps nobody, so treat this stage as the second half of your Google Business Profile setup. The table lists the fields that matter most and the mistakes that make them less useful.

Field	What to enter	Common mistake
Hours	Regular opening hours, plus special hours for holidays	Leaving old hours after a change, so customers arrive to a closed door
Description	Up to 750 characters on what you offer, who for and what makes you different	Stuffing it with keywords or adding links and offers
Services or products	Each main service or product, with a short description and price if fixed	Listing services you do not actually provide
Phone and website	A number answered in opening hours and the most relevant page	A personal number nobody answers, or a broken link
Attributes	Facts such as wheelchair access, outdoor seating or payment types shown	Selecting attributes that are not true
Photos	Logo, exterior, interior, team at work, products or recent jobs	Stock images, heavy filters or photos of another location
Booking, menu or order links	Links to your own booking page, menu or ordering page	Links that open a slow PDF or an expired page

Photos taken in good daylight show customers what to expect when they arrive. Our guide to product photography with a phone covers simple lighting that works for shop interiors and products as well.

The website link deserves care. It should open a fast, mobile-friendly page that repeats your name, address and phone number exactly. Our guide to building a small business website explains what that page needs.

Add your team the safe way

Never share the Google account password with staff, agencies or freelancers, even during the first Google Business Profile setup. Instead, add each person as a user. Owners can manage users and remove the profile, while managers can edit most information and reply to reviews. Keep at least two owners, so you are never locked out if one account is lost, and remove access promptly when someone leaves.

If you work with an outside provider, add them as a manager rather than handing over ownership. You can find more on user roles in Google's Business Profile Help.

Mistakes that undo a good profile

Some problems only appear weeks after launch. These are the ones that most often cause suspended or confusing listings.

Google Business Profile setup errors with names and addresses

Changing the business name to chase searches, moving the pin to a busier street, or listing a home address that customers cannot visit all conflict with Google's guidelines. Fix them before Google does, because a suspended profile can take a long time to restore.

Duplicate and abandoned listings

If you moved premises, update the address on your existing profile instead of creating a new one, so reviews and history stay together. If a former employee created a separate profile, request access and ask Google to merge or remove the duplicate.

After setup: keeping the profile accurate and active

Google Business Profile setup is the beginning, not the end. A profile that changes with your business earns more trust from customers and gives Google fresher information.

• Update hours before every public holiday and festival. Our guide to holiday sale marketing includes a reminder to set special hours ahead of busy seasons.
• Ask for reviews from real customers and reply to them. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews covers fair ways to ask, and our article on how to respond to negative reviews helps with harder replies.
• Post updates about new products, events or offers so the profile does not look abandoned.
• Check suggested edits. Customers and Google can suggest changes to your details; review them and correct anything wrong.
• Match other listings. Keep your name, address and phone number identical on directories; our guide to local citations explains why.

If you would rather not handle every update yourself, ADM Assistant, our AI assistant, can draft profile changes from a voice note for you to approve; the Google profile help guide shows how that works.