If you searched for “my Google My Business”, the product you need is now called Google Business Profile. It is the free listing that lets your company appear with accurate information across Google Search and Google Maps. At The Elham, I treat this profile as a core business asset, not a directory entry to complete once and forget.
This guide shows you how to create, claim and verify your profile, then complete it for calls, bookings and website visits.
Want a faster setup? Download the Google Business Profile setup checklist and work through each field in the correct order. If you already have a listing but are unsure whether it is configured properly, request a Google Business Profile audit.
The short answer: How do you set up a Google Business Profile?
To set up a Google Business Profile, first search Google and Maps for an existing listing. If none exists, sign in with a business controlled Google Account, add the real world business name, choose the business type and most accurate primary category, enter the correct address or service area, add contact details, and complete the verification method Google offers.
After verification, finish the profile with services, hours, photos, a useful description, booking links and a relevant website page. Then keep those details consistent with your website and other local listings.
Before you begin, remember three rules: search for an existing listing before creating one, use information that matches the real business, and let the company retain account ownership. Verification proves control of the profile, but does not guarantee rankings. For the wider strategy, save my complete local SEO checklist for small businesses.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows an eligible business to manage how its information appears on Google Search and Google Maps. The profile can display the business name, category, address or service area, phone number, website, hours, services, photos, reviews and other customer facing details.
Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile, so searches for “my Google business,” “Google business” and “my Google My Business” refer to the same product. A verified profile lets the owner control information that helps customers decide whether to call, book or visit.
The profile is important, but it is not the whole local SEO strategy. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. I explain these relationships in how local search rankings work.
Is your business eligible for a Google Business Profile?
An eligible business normally has in person contact with customers during its stated hours. That can happen at a location customers visit, at the customer’s location, or through both models.
According to Google’s current Business Profile guidelines, a business may create a profile if it has a physical location customers can visit or travels to customers. An online only business without in person customer contact is generally not eligible.
Use a storefront profile when customers visit a permanent staffed location, a service area profile when the business travels to customers, and a hybrid profile when both happen. An online only company without in person service is usually not eligible.
Do not assume that access to an address makes it eligible. Google does not accept remote mailboxes or virtual offices as normal business locations. A coworking office generally needs signage, staff from your business during listed hours, and the ability to receive customers there. Home based service businesses can be eligible when they visit customers, but should hide the residential address if customers are not served there.
What should you prepare before creating the profile?
Prepare one approved version of the following information before opening the setup screen:
- A Google Account controlled by the business
- The real world business name
- Storefront, service area or hybrid business type
- The precise operating address and genuine service areas
- The most specific primary category
- Direct phone number, relevant website page and accurate hours
- Verification evidence such as signage, tools, branded vehicles or access to staff only areas
After verification, add employees or agencies as managers rather than making an outside party the only owner. Keep these details in one source of truth. My guide to NAP consistency and LocalBusiness schema explains how to align them elsewhere.
Finally, search Google and Maps using the name, city, phone, address and any former name. Resolve an unclaimed, old or duplicate listing instead of immediately creating another.
Step 1: Find, create or claim the correct profile
Sign in to the business controlled Google Account and search for the business name and city. You can also go to Google Business Profile and follow the prompts.
If no profile exists
Choose the option to add the business. Enter the real world name exactly as customers see it on your website, signage and business materials.
Do not add a city, service, phone number, opening hours or marketing slogan to the name unless it is genuinely part of the established business name. “Harbor Plumbing” is appropriate if that is the brand. “Harbor Plumbing Emergency Plumber Miami Open 24 Hours” is not.
If someone else controls the profile
Use Google’s official ownership request process. Provide accurate information and allow the current owner the response period shown by Google.
Do not create a duplicate as a shortcut. It can divide reviews and complicate ownership. If you find a duplicate, confirm that both profiles describe the same business and use Google’s reporting or support process. Never report a legitimate competitor as a duplicate.
Step 2: Choose the correct business type
The business type controls how your location appears to customers. Choose it based on how the business actually serves people, not on which option you think will rank better.
| Business type | Customers visit the address | Business visits customers | Show address publicly? | Common examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storefront | Yes | Usually no | Yes | Restaurant, dental clinic, retail shop |
| Service area | No | Yes | No | Mobile locksmith, house cleaner, mobile pet groomer |
| Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes, if the location is staffed and receives customers | Auto repair shop with roadside assistance |
For a storefront, customers must be able to visit a genuine location during published hours. For a service area business, enter the operating address when Google requires it, hide it publicly if customers are not served there, and list only areas you realistically cover. Use the hybrid model only when a staffed location receives customers and the team also travels to them.
Step 3: Choose the best primary business category
Your primary category should be the most specific available category that describes the business’s main activity. It should answer “What is this business?” rather than list every service it offers.
A physiotherapy clinic should not choose a broad category such as “Wellness center” if “Physical therapist” accurately describes its core business. A specialist category can help Google connect the profile to more relevant searches and can determine which profile features become available.
Describe the main source of revenue in one short phrase, find its closest option in Google’s selector, and add only secondary categories that represent meaningful additional services. Google recommends using the fewest categories needed to describe the core business.
Category choice improves relevance, but it does not override distance, competition, reputation or website quality. For the broader picture, see the factors that influence local search rankings.
Step 4: Add your address, service area, phone and website
This step connects the profile to real customer actions. Accuracy matters more than filling every field with extra keywords.
Enter the address precisely
Use the real physical address in the correct fields. Put suite, floor or unit information where appropriate. Do not add directions, services or keywords to the address lines.
If the map pin is inaccurate, adjust it to the real entrance. A correct pin helps navigation but does not make an ineligible address valid.
Define the service area honestly
For a service area or hybrid business, add the areas where teams routinely travel. Service areas are customer information, not a method for creating dozens of invisible locations.
If you want to rank in several cities, build real relevance through your services, customer evidence, locally useful pages and reputation. Do not create thin pages or false locations. The local SEO checklist explains the supporting work.
Add a direct business phone number
Use a local or business number that reaches the company directly. Make sure staff know how to answer and track calls from the profile.
If you use call tracking, preserve a consistent primary number and make sure every caller reaches the correct business.
Choose the right Google Business Profile website link
The Google Business Profile website field should normally point to the most relevant page for that location or business. A single location company may use the homepage. A multi location company should usually link each profile to its corresponding location page.
For one business, use the homepage or strongest local service page. For multiple locations, link each profile to its own useful location page. Add consistent UTM parameters if you want to separate profile visits in analytics. Tracking improves measurement, not rankings.
Step 5: Verify your Google Business Profile
Verification proves that you are authorized to manage the business. Google automatically decides which verification methods are available based on the profile, business type, public information, region and other signals. You may be asked to complete more than one method.
Google’s current verification guidance lists methods such as video recording, phone or text, email, live video and mail. You cannot force an unavailable option to appear.
Verification methods at a glance
| Method | How to prepare |
| Video recording | Be at the business and show the location, real operations and proof of access |
| Phone, text or email | Make sure you control the exact number or inbox shown |
| Live video | Be on site during operating hours with a stable connection |
| Confirm the address, keep core details unchanged and watch for the code |
How to prepare for video verification
In one coherent recording, connect three things:
- The location: Show the street, nearby landmarks, building number, exterior and permanent signage where applicable.
- The business activity: Show tools, inventory, branded equipment, work vehicles, treatment rooms or other evidence of real operations.
- Your authority to manage it: Show access to staff only areas, keys opening the premises, a point of sale system or non sensitive business documents.
For a service area business, show the operating base, equipment or vehicle, and proof that you manage the company. Plan one continuous route and exclude private customer data.
What should you know about codes?
For phone, text or email, you must control the exact number or inbox shown. Never share a verification code. If mail is offered, Google says most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. Do not change the name, address or category or request another code while waiting, because the pending code can become invalid.
How long does verification take?
The time depends on the method. A phone or email step may be fast, while mailed verification requires delivery time. After you finish the requested step, Google says its review can take up to five business days, although some profiles are verified sooner.
Build a location launch plan around the longest reasonable path because verification speed is not guaranteed.
Step 6: Complete the profile after verification
Verification is the start of profile management, not the end. A verified but incomplete listing can still leave customers without enough information to choose the business.
Write a useful business description
Explain what the business does, who it serves, where it operates and what makes it relevant. Use normal customer language and important service terms naturally.
Do not add links, prices, repeated cities or promotional claims. Google says the field should focus on useful information rather than sales offers.
Add services and products
List real services individually in customer language. Add products when they help shoppers understand the offer, and keep the details current. Do not create items solely to repeat keywords.
Set regular and special hours
Add accurate operating hours and update special hours for holidays, closures and schedule changes. A profile that says “open” while the door is locked can lose a sale and earn a negative review.
Upload real photos
Upload recent original images of the exterior, entrance, customer areas, staff, products, tools and service experience. Useful photos help a customer recognize the location and know what to expect.
Add booking, messaging and other available features
Enable booking, ordering or communication features only if the team can monitor them. Test every link on mobile.
Build a compliant review process
Ask real customers for honest reviews consistently. Do not buy reviews, offer incentives or ask only customers likely to give five stars.
Respond professionally and use feedback to improve the experience. For a practical workflow, read how to get more Google reviews without being pushy.
Step 7: Connect the profile to your website and local SEO
A Google Business Profile and a local website work best when they confirm the same business facts and answer different parts of the customer’s decision. The profile supports discovery and quick actions. The website provides depth, proof, detailed services and conversion paths.
My guide to how SEO, local SEO and Google Business Profile work together explains why improving only one of these assets can limit growth.
Keep NAP and business details aligned
Display the correct name, address and phone on relevant pages. The goal is one consistent business identity, not obsessive punctuation matching. For multiple locations, keep each location’s details and profile link separate.
Strengthen the linked landing page
The linked page should state who the business is, what it provides, where it operates, why it is credible and what the visitor should do next. Use my on page SEO guide for small businesses to improve it without producing keyword heavy copy.
Add LocalBusiness structured data where appropriate
LocalBusiness structured data describes business details in a machine readable format. It does not guarantee rankings. See my guide to NAP, local SEO and schema for implementation guidance.
Publish locally useful content
Answer the questions customers ask before contacting you, including service choices, pricing factors, local conditions and common concerns. A focused content strategy for small business builds depth without generic filler.
Audit visibility across Google and AI search
Once the basics are live, check whether search engines can crawl the right pages, understand the company and connect its services with the intended locations. Use the SEO and GEO visibility audit to find gaps.
Accurate information, useful content, reviews and third party mentions can also help AI systems understand the company. After fixing the foundation, read GEO for small business.
What mistakes should you avoid during setup?
| Mistake | Why it causes problems | Better approach |
| Adding services or cities to the business name | It can violate naming guidelines and trigger edits or suspension | Use the established real world name |
| Creating a new listing without searching | It can produce duplicate profiles and split customer signals | Find and claim the correct listing first |
| Using a virtual office or mailbox | The address may be ineligible | Use a genuine operating location or a compliant service area setup |
| Showing a home address where customers do not visit | It exposes private information and misrepresents the business model | Hide the address and define the real service area |
| Choosing a broad category | It weakens clarity about the core business | Select the most specific accurate category |
| Letting an agency own the only account | The business can lose control when the relationship ends | Keep the business as primary owner and add managers |
| Changing core details during mail verification | The pending code may become invalid | Wait until verification finishes before major edits |
| Uploading a weak video | Google may not see the location, activity and ownership evidence | Plan one continuous recording that proves all three |
| Linking to an irrelevant website page | Customers land on a page that does not confirm the listing | Link to the best business or location page |
| Assuming verification guarantees rankings | Verification confirms control, not prominence | Improve the profile, website, reviews and wider local authority |
What should you do if verification fails?
Do not repeatedly edit the profile or create a replacement listing. First identify the exact status message shown in the account.
- “Get verified” appears again: The first attempt was incomplete. Follow the available method again.
- The video shows “Review issues”: Read the reason and submit clearer evidence of location, operations and management access. Fix any mismatch between the listing and real world evidence first.
- No method works: Confirm the account, eligibility, address, category, phone, email, duplicates and recent edits. Then contact support from the signed in account and save the case number.
- The profile is suspended: Reinstatement is a separate process. Correct policy violations and use Google’s official route. Do not create a replacement profile.
If you are paying for help, understand the likely scope first. My guide to small business SEO costs in 2026 explains what different levels of support should include.
What should you do in the first 30 days after verification?
A simple 30 day plan turns the listing into a maintained customer asset:
| Period | Priority |
| Days 1 to 3 | Complete fields, hours, services and photos. Test calls, website and booking links on mobile. |
| Days 4 to 10 | Improve the linked page, add tracking, align business details and check indexing. |
| Days 11 to 20 | Start a compliant review process, respond to reviews and add original photos. |
| Days 21 to 30 | Measure calls, clicks, bookings and directions. Fix the largest gap and schedule a quarterly review. |
Do not judge success by rankings alone. A profile that attracts qualified calls and bookings is more valuable than one that gains impressions but sends the wrong people.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating and managing an eligible Google Business Profile is free. You may pay a consultant or software provider for related services, but Google does not charge a standard fee to claim or verify the profile. Be cautious of callers demanding payment.
Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google My Business is the former product name. Google now calls it Google Business Profile. Older resources may still use “GMB,” “my Google business” or “Google My Business,” but they mean the profile shown across Search and Maps.
Can an online only business create a Google Business Profile?
Usually not. Google Business Profile is for businesses that interact with customers in person, either at a location or by traveling to them. A software company, ecommerce shop or online consultant does not qualify simply because it has a registered address.
Can I use my home address?
An eligible home based service business can use its operating address for verification. If customers do not visit, hide the address and publish a service area. Show it as a storefront only when it genuinely receives customers and meets Google’s rules.
Can I use a virtual office or coworking address?
A virtual office or rented mailbox is generally ineligible. A coworking location may qualify when the business has signage, its own staff during business hours and the ability to receive customers. Mail or meeting room access alone is not enough.
Should a service area business show its address?
No, not when customers are not served there. Enter the genuine operating address when Google requests it, hide it from the public profile, and define realistic service areas. A hidden address does not prevent an eligible service business from having a profile.
How many Google Business Profiles can one business have?
A business can generally have one profile for each eligible real world location. Do not create profiles for different services at the same location. Practitioner and department profiles have separate rules. Multi location brands need accurate information for every genuine location.
What is the best primary category?
The best primary category is the most specific option describing the core activity. It should reflect what the company is, not every service it performs. Add accurate secondary categories only when they represent meaningful additional parts of the business.
Can I choose my Google verification method?
Not freely. Google automatically determines the available methods. Options can include video recording, phone, text, email, live video or mail, and some businesses need more than one. Follow the choices shown rather than an older tutorial promising a particular method.
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
It depends on the method. Phone or email can be quick, while mailed codes may take up to two weeks. After you complete verification, Google says review may take up to five business days. Conflicting information can extend the process.
Why did Google reject my verification video?
The recording may not have connected the location, business activity and management authority. Review Google’s message, then film stronger evidence in one continuous video. Show location context, relevant tools or equipment, and access to areas or systems the business controls.
Can an agency verify and manage my profile?
An agency can help, but the business should retain primary ownership through its own account. After verification, add the agency with appropriate access. This protects the profile if the contract ends or the agency’s team changes.
Does verification improve local rankings?
Verification enables profile control but does not guarantee higher rankings. Local visibility also depends on relevance, distance and prominence, supported by categories, complete information, reviews, website quality, links and reputation. Verification is a foundation, not the final result.
Do I need a website for Google Business Profile?
A website is not always required, but it is valuable. It can explain services, locations, expertise and proof in more depth than the profile. It also gives Google and customers another source confirming what the business does and where it operates.
How often should I update my Google Business Profile?
Update the profile whenever hours, services, contact details or locations change, and review it at least quarterly. Add holiday hours, recent genuine photos, review responses and tested links. Maintenance prevents small inaccuracies from turning into lost calls or poor experiences.
Set up the profile correctly, then build beyond it
A Google Business Profile should make the business easy to understand and contact. Start with the correct owner, business model, name, category and location. Complete Google’s verification method, then connect the profile to your website, reviews and measurement.
The goal is a trustworthy path from local discovery to customer action.
Ready to put this into practice? Download the Google Business Profile setup checklist for a field by field review. If your listing is unverified, suspended, duplicated or simply not generating enough qualified enquiries, explore my Local SEO services or request a Google Business Profile audit.