When someone nearby searches for what you do, Google usually shows a map with three businesses before any regular results. Those spots come from Google Business Profile, a free listing anyone can set up. For a lot of small businesses it brings in more calls than their website does.
This guide walks through setting one up properly, start to finish. Plan on about an hour, plus a few days for Google to verify you.
Before you start, gather these
Having everything ready means you can finish in one sitting:
- Your business name exactly as customers see it: on your sign, truck, invoices, and website.
- One phone number you'll use everywhere.
- Your website address.
- Your hours, including any days you're closed.
- A one-paragraph description of what you do and who you do it for.
- Photos: your logo, a cover photo, and a few pictures of your work, your team, or your space.
Step 1: Check whether a profile already exists
Search for your business name on Google Maps. Google sometimes creates listings automatically from public information, and a past employee or owner may have made one.
- If you find it, click it and choose Claim this business (or Own this business?). If someone else already manages it, Google will let you request access.
- If nothing comes up, go to business.google.com and choose Add your business.
Never create a second profile for the same business. Duplicates confuse Google and can get both suspended.
Step 2: Name and category
Business name: use your real business name and nothing else. Adding services or cities ("ELIT Technologies – Web Design Virginia Beach") breaks Google's rules and is one of the most common reasons profiles get suspended.
Primary category: pick the one that best describes your main service, such as Website designer, Plumber, or Bakery. Start typing and choose from Google's list. You can add a few secondary categories later for other services you offer. Choose categories for work you actually do, not the ones you wish you ranked for.
Step 3: Storefront or service area?
This is the setting most people get wrong.
- Customers come to you (a shop, office, or restaurant): enter your address and leave it visible.
- You go to customers (contractors, cleaners, mobile services, many consultants): hide your address and set a service area instead. This applies even if you work from home. Your address is still used for verification but isn't shown publicly.
- Both: show your address and add the areas you travel to.
For service areas, list the cities or ZIP codes you really serve. Google allows up to 20. Keep them realistic: listing an entire state doesn't help you rank there and can work against you.
Step 4: Verify the profile
Google has to confirm you're a real business before your profile shows up properly. It chooses the verification method for you, and it's often a short video recorded live from your phone in the Google app.
For a video verification, Google asks you to show:
- Where you are or where you work: street signs, your building, or landmarks nearby.
- That the business is real: your equipment, tools, branded items, or vehicle.
- That you run it: unlocking your office, opening the register, or showing a business document with the name on it.
Record in one continuous take, at least 30 seconds, and don't show anyone's face or any bank, tax, or ID numbers. Google says reviews can take up to 5 business days. If it's rejected, it will tell you what was missing so you can record again.
While you wait, avoid making lots of changes to the profile. Repeated edits during verification can trigger extra review.
Step 5: Fill in everything
Complete profiles get shown more often and convert better. Work through each section:
- Hours: regular hours, plus holiday hours before each holiday.
- Website: link to your homepage, or to the page about the area you serve.
- Services: add each service with a short description. Google uses these to match you to searches.
- Description: up to 750 characters. Say what you do, who you do it for, and where. Write for people, not for keywords.
- Photos: a logo, a cover photo, and real photos of your work. Add new ones every month or two; stock photos don't help.
- Attributes: options like "online appointments" or "veteran-owned" if they apply.
Make sure your name, phone number, and website match your website and any other listings exactly. Consistent details everywhere help Google trust that the information is right.
Step 6: Get reviews, and answer them
Reviews are one of the biggest factors in who appears in the map results, and they're what customers read before calling.
- Ask every happy customer. In your profile, choose Ask for reviews to get a short link, and text or email it right after a job goes well.
- Reply to every review, good and bad. Thank people by name. For negative reviews, stay calm, acknowledge the problem, and offer to make it right offline.
- Never buy reviews, offer discounts for them, or only ask customers you know are happy. Google removes fake reviews and can restrict your profile.
Step 7: Keep it alive
A profile that never changes slowly loses ground to ones that do. Once a month:
- Add a post: an offer, an event, a finished project, or a tip.
- Add a few new photos.
- Check your hours and update them for holidays.
- Look at Performance to see how many people called, asked for directions, or visited your website.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Keywords or city names stuffed into the business name.
- Showing a home address when customers never visit you.
- Service areas far beyond where you actually work.
- A different phone number or business name than your website.
- Duplicate profiles for the same business.
- Letting reviews sit unanswered.
Want it done for you? Setting up and managing your Google Business Profile is part of my local SEO service, and I'll make sure your profile, website, and other listings all match. Get in touch.