How to Create and Set Up a Google Business Profile (Step-by-Step)

To create a Google Business Profile, follow these four steps:

1. Sign in to a Google Account and go to business.google.com.
2. Select Add your business to Google.
3. Follow the prompts to enter your business name, category, location or service area, and contact details.
4. Complete the verification method Google offers you.

It’s free. Before you start, search Google Maps for your business, because it may already have a profile you can claim rather than create.

A Google Business Profile is what appears when people search for your business or for businesses like yours nearby, on both Google Search and Google Maps.

Setting it up takes about 15 minutes.

Verification takes longer. Most of the problems that block or suspend profiles come from choices made in those first 15 minutes, so this guide covers each one.

Before you start: eligibility and what you need

Is your business eligible?

To be eligible for a Google Business Profile, your business must deal with customers in person. That means one of two things:

• Customers visit a physical location, or
• You travel to customers where they are.

Online-only businesses, such as e-commerce shops with no in-person service, aren’t eligible.

A mailing address where you don’t actually operate, sometimes called a virtual office, doesn’t count as a business location.

What to have ready

• A Google Account you’ll keep long term. For a business, use an account the business controls, not an employee’s personal account.
• Your real-world business name, exactly as it appears on your sign, website and paperwork
• Your main business category (for example, “Plumber” or “Dental clinic”)
• Your address, if customers visit you, or the towns and areas you serve
• A business phone number you answer
• Your website URL, if you have one
• Your opening hours
• Access to your premises, signage, tools or business documents, in case verification needs them

Step 1: Check whether your business is already on Google

Google creates profiles from public information, and customers can suggest new places. So your business may already be on Maps, even if you never set it up.

1. Open Google Maps.
2. Search for your business name and city.
3. Look at what you find:

What you see	What it means	What to do
No result	No profile exists	Create one (Step 3)
Your business, with Claim this business	Profile exists but isn’t verified	Claim it (see “Claiming an existing profile instead”)
Your business, with no claim option	Someone already manages it, possibly you or a former agency or employee	Check your other Google Accounts first, then request ownership

Don’t create a second profile for the same business.

Google expects one profile per business. Duplicates can cause problems with how your information appears on Search and Maps.

Step 2: Choose your business type

You’ll be asked whether customers visit your location. Your answer decides which type of business you are, and that affects what Google shows and how verification works.

Business type	Description	Show address?	Examples
Storefront	Customers come to you during business hours, at a location with permanent signage	Yes	Café, salon, dental clinic
Service-area business	You go to customers; they don’t visit your address	No. You list service areas instead	Plumber, mobile cleaner, locksmith
Hybrid	Customers visit you, and you also travel or deliver to them	Yes, plus service areas	Restaurant with delivery, garden centre that installs

Working from home?

If customers don’t visit your home, set up as a service-area business and don’t show your home address. You’ll still enter an address privately for verification.

Step 3: Create your profile

Go to business.google.com/create and select Add your business to Google.

Google asks for details one screen at a time. The exact order and wording can vary by country and device, but expect these screens.

1. Business name

Enter your real-world name exactly as customers see it, with nothing extra.

Google’s guidelines don’t allow added taglines, services, locations, hours or phone numbers in the name, and breaking them can lead to suspension.

“Harbor Dental” is correct. “Harbor Dental – Best Emergency Dentist Brookfield” is not.

2. Business category

Start typing and pick the closest match from Google’s list.

Choose the category that describes your core business. You can add more categories later, but Google recommends using as few as it takes to describe the overall business.

3. Location

Choose whether you have a location customers can visit, then enter the address if you do. Use a precise address and confirm the map pin. Suite or unit numbers go in the address lines, not the business name.

4. Service areas (if you travel to customers)

Add the cities, postcodes or regions you serve. Keep to areas you genuinely cover.

5. Contact details

Add a phone number customers can reach you on, and your website URL. If you don’t have a website yet, you can skip this and add it later.

6. Verification

Google then shows the verification options available to you. See Step 4.

You may also be offered extra steps, such as adding hours, a description or photos, or other Google services. You can complete these now or after verification. Some edits are limited until you’re verified.

Claiming an existing profile instead

If Step 1 turned up an unverified profile, claim it instead of creating a new one.

On a computer:

1. Open Google Maps and find your business.
2. Select Claim this business, then Manage now.
3. Choose a verification option and follow the instructions.

In the Google Maps app:

1. Search for your business and open its profile.
2. Tap About, then Claim this business, then Manage now.
3. Choose a verification option and follow the instructions.

If someone else already manages the profile: request ownership from the current owner. The owner has 3 days to respond, and if they don’t, you may be able to claim it. Our guide to adding a manager and removing an old agency covers this step by step. (Update this URL once the article is published.)

Step 4: Verify your business

Verification shows Google that you really manage the business. Until you’re verified, you can’t edit key information like your name or hours, or interact with customers through the profile.

Google decides which methods you see. Google says verification methods are chosen automatically, based on things like your business type, public information, region and hours, and they can’t be changed. You may need more than one.

Method	How it works	Notes
Video recording	You record a short, live video of your location, business and proof of management	Google recommends this if you’re eligible. See our video verification guide (update once published)
Phone or text	A code is sent by call or SMS to your business number	Automated phone menus (IVR) can’t receive it
Email	You follow the steps in an email Google sends	You need access to that inbox
Live video call	A Google support representative checks your location with you on a call	Only available during your business hours
Postcard	A code is mailed to your address	Usually arrives within 14 days; the code expires after 30 days
Instant	Already verified through Search Console, or bulk verification	Only some businesses qualify

Timing: Google says reviews take up to 5 business days, occasionally longer.

While you’re waiting:

• Don’t change your business name, address or category while a postcard is pending.
• Don’t request a new postcard code. It cancels the earlier one.
• Keep your verification code private. Google says it will never ask you for it, so don’t share it with anyone, including people who help manage your profile.
• If Get verified reappears later, Google needs to check again. Re-verify with whichever method it offers.

Step 5: Complete the basics after verification

Once you’re verified, fill in the essentials before you work on anything advanced:

• Hours, including special hours for public holidays
• Business description. See our Google Business Profile description examples (update once published)
• Additional categories, only if they genuinely apply
• Services or products, in customer language
• Photos: your logo, a cover photo, and exterior, interior and team or work photos you own
• Attributes that apply to you, such as accessibility details
• Opening date, if Google offers the field

For the next level, including reviews, posts, Q&A and ranking factors, see our Google Business Profile optimization guide.

Step 6: Connect your profile and your website

Your website and your profile should describe the same business in the same words.

• Website link: Point to your homepage, or to the relevant location page if you have several locations.
• Same name, address and phone number: Use exactly the same details on your profile, your website’s contact page, footer and other listings.
• Structured data: LocalBusiness schema on your website gives search engines your business details in a format they can read. See our LocalBusiness schema for WordPress guide.
• Service and location pages: The services and areas on your profile should have matching pages on your site. See our guide to local on-page SEO.

If your site runs on WordPress, a local SEO plugin such as FoundHint can help keep these details consistent across your pages and schema.

Step 7: Add team members safely

Never share your Google Account password with staff or agencies. Instead, add them as users:

• Business owner: stays the primary owner.
• Staff and agencies: usually added as managers. Managers can edit the profile and reply to reviews, but can’t add or remove users.

See our step-by-step guide to adding a manager (update once published).

Common setup mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Mistake	Why it’s a problem	Do this instead
Creating a profile when one already exists	Creates a duplicate and can split your information across two profiles	Search Maps first and claim the existing profile
Adding keywords to the name	Breaks Google’s name guidelines and risks suspension	Use your real-world name only (update once published)
Showing a home address customers don’t visit	Wrong business type; can cause verification problems	Set up as a service-area business
Using a virtual office address	Doesn’t qualify as a business location	Use a location where you actually operate, or set up as a service-area business
Setting up on an employee’s personal account	You lose access if they leave	Use an account the business controls
Editing details while a postcard is pending	Can disrupt verification	Wait until you’re verified
Picking a broad or wrong primary category	Weakens relevance for the right searches	Choose the category that best describes your core business
Different name or phone number on your website	Confuses customers and search engines	Keep all your details identical everywhere

Conclusion

Creating a Google Business Profile is quick. Doing it correctly is what matters:

1. Check whether a profile already exists.
2. Choose the right business type.
3. Use your real-world name.
4. Verify with the method Google offers.
5. Don’t edit key details while you wait.

Once you’re verified, complete the basics, make your website match, and move on to optimization.

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