How to Create and Maintain a Google Business Profile

Saturday morning, the sink is dripping. Someone searches for a plumber nearby, and your business comes up on Google Maps: with opening hours that stopped being right long ago, and not a single photo. The call goes to the next listing.

A Google Business Profile is the listing for your business that appears in Google Search and on Google Maps. It is part of local SEO, meaning being found in searches with a local angle. Once it has been set up, the main job is keeping the details up to date.

What counts is the current version of Google's guidelines. As of September 2026. Google renames menus from time to time.

What is a Google Business Profile?

The profile brings together your name, address or service area, opening hours, phone number, website, photos and reviews. Some people still know it as "Google My Business". Adding and claiming a profile costs nothing.

It is only intended for businesses that deal with customers in person during business hours, whether in a shop, in a workshop or at the customer's home. According to Google, purely online businesses are not eligible.

Creating a Google Business Profile: step by step

First, search for your business name on Google Maps. If there is already a listing, claim it. Only one profile is allowed per location, so a business with branches has one per branch. Duplicate profiles for the same business at the same location, on the other hand, are off limits, and Google can suspend the account for them.

1. Getting started. At business.google.com/add, choose "Add your business to Google". For a new account, Google recommends an email address on your company domain.

2. Entering your details. Google asks in turn for the business name, the category, whether customers can visit the location, the service area if applicable, and the phone number and website.

3. Verifying. Only after this is the profile visible to users.

Verification

This is how you show Google that you are entitled to represent the business. Which methods are offered is decided by Google, depending on factors such as business type, region and opening hours. Options include phone or text message, email, live video call, post or a video, and sometimes more than one is required. According to Google, the review can then take up to five working days, and in rare cases longer.

For the verification video, Google wants to see where you are, such as a street sign or house number, plus the business name on a permanently installed sign and areas that only staff enter. Business documents such as an invoice can also be used as proof.

Existing profile: requesting ownership

You claim a profile that has not yet been verified in Google Maps via "Claim this business". If someone else is already allowed to manage the profile, request ownership via business.google.com/add using "Request access". The current owner has three days to respond. If nothing comes back, according to Google you may be able to verify it yourself. Businesses without a shop or office contact Google support.

Businesses without a fixed location

If you do not receive customers at your business address, hide the address and only give a service area. To do this, turn off "Show business address to customers" in the profile settings.

The service area consists of no more than 20 cities, postcodes or other areas. There is no radius option. The whole area should not extend further than about two hours' drive from the location.

A virtual office, meaning a mere postal address, does not get a profile.

These details belong in the profile

Name: it must match the name you use elsewhere, for example on your shop and your letterhead. Slogans, services, places, opening hours, phone numbers or web addresses have no place in it. So "Smith Decorators" does not become "Smith Decorators Facades Vienna". Words entirely in capitals, special characters and unnecessary legal form suffixes such as "GmbH" are also off limits, unless they demonstrably belong to the name, for example according to the sign or invoice. For violations, Google can suspend the profile.

Category: one primary category, and as few categories as possible overall. The right category passes the test "This business IS a ...", not "This business HAS a ...". An inn with a beer garden is an inn. You cannot create your own categories. According to Google, categories affect ranking, meaning the order in the local results, so the choice deserves care.

Opening hours: besides the regular hours, there are special hours, for example for public holidays or events.

Services and products: in certain categories you can add services with a description and price, including your own, but without a price or phone number in the name. Google only offers "Products" to retailers in supported regions.

Description and attributes: without low-quality or distracting content. Depending on the category, attributes such as Wi-Fi or parking are added.

Photos: JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB. The recommended size is 720 × 720 pixels, with a minimum of 250 × 250. Sharp, well lit, not heavily filtered. Photos only become visible after verification. Our advice on subjects: the exterior with the sign, as seen from the pavement, the lettered vehicle, the workshop or the sales floor. Not against the sun, or the sign turns into a dark bar.

Posts: for current promotions there are "Updates", "Offers" and "Events", each with text, a photo or video and a button with a link.

Profile and sign must say the same thing

If you show your address in the profile, the guidelines require permanent signage with the business name there all year round. If the profile says "Smith Decorators", the van has an old spelling and the door a faded logo, it looks like three different companies. Name, logo and colours should match on your sign, your vehicle graphics, in the shop window, on printed matter and in the profile. More on this in our tips for a consistent corporate design.

Asking for and replying to customer reviews the right way

You may ask customers for a review if it is based on a genuine experience, there is nothing in return, and you influence neither the stars nor the content. You will find the link and QR code for this in the profile under "Read reviews" and "Get more reviews". Google suggests receipts or a printout in the shop, for example. The QR code fits on the invoice, say, or as a small sticker next to the till. It is a reminder for later: nobody is pushed to leave a review on the spot.

According to Google's policies, the following are prohibited:

• incentives such as money or discounts, including for changing or deleting a negative review,
• paid reviews, including in exchange for goods or services,
• preventing negative reviews or deliberately asking only for positive ones,
• pressure to leave a review on the spot, and instructions on content,
• reviews from your own team, relatives or competitors, and posts from multiple accounts.

Google removes reviews like these from Maps, and for violations it can also restrict the profile. These are Google's rules; this article does not cover legal requirements. It is not legal advice.

You can only reply once the profile is verified. According to Google, replying shows that you value the feedback. Helpful replies can make you stand out. Google does not say that replies directly improve ranking. Reply to criticism factually, not in the first flush of annoyance. Only report reviews that violate the policies. An unpleasant but factually accurate review stays.

Maintaining the profile: a small routine

Whatever changes in the business is best updated in the profile straight away, by you.

• Whenever something changes in the business: update the phone number, website, hours and services.
• Before public holidays: enter special opening hours.
• New vehicle, new sign: upload fresh photos.
• For promotions: create a post as an "Offer" or "Event" with a date.
• On an ongoing basis: read and reply to reviews.

What the profile does and doesn't do

According to Google, local results mainly depend on relevance (how well the profile matches the search; complete details help), distance from the person searching and prominence, measured among other things by links from other websites and the number of reviews.

According to Google, verified, complete profiles are more likely to be shown. More positive reviews can help. Google keeps the details of the algorithm secret. Nobody can seriously promise a place at the very top, and that includes us.

A well-maintained profile is one part of local SEO.

Home address in the profile, a different spelling on the van

The case is made up, but typical. A plumbing business works at customers' premises, and the office is in the owner's flat. The profile shows the home address, an old mobile number and wrong opening hours. On the company vehicle, the name is spelled differently.

Here is how to tidy it up: hide the address and set up a service area from towns or postcodes. Write the name the way it appears on the vehicle and the invoice, or bring the lettering into line. Check the number, hours and category. Upload photos of the vehicle and of finished jobs. Only show people, other people's number plates and recognisable customer properties with consent, otherwise make them unrecognisable. After the job, ask for a review without offering anything in return, and reply to every review.

How many calls this brings, nobody knows in advance. But anyone who finds the profile gets details that add up.

A profile is a sign too

We letter vehicles and make signs, the company since 2017, and our founder has been in the trade for more than 30 years. That is the eye we bring to the profile as well: the profile must say the same thing as the sign on the door.

People who look you up online often see the profile before your front door. If the name or phone number there is wrong, that costs trust before anyone calls. Nobody would leave a sign with the wrong number hanging. An outdated number in the profile, on the other hand, is easy to overlook.

On one point we are stubborn: no search terms in the name. The possible suspension is there in black and white in the guidelines.

Conclusion: no fee, but regular care

Google charges no fee for a Google Business Profile, but it does need a little attention regularly. Four questions for today:

• Is your business called exactly the same in the profile as on the sign and the vehicle?
• Are the address or service area and the phone number correct?
• Are the opening hours correct, including for the next public holiday?
• Have you replied to the latest reviews?

Want to know where your presence stands? Our Visibility Check is free and without obligation: we look at your website, Google, AI search, social media and how you come across offline, and you get three to five prioritised recommendations that you can put into practice with us or without us. We answer questions via Contact.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?

No. Google charges no fee for a Business Profile; adding it and claiming an existing listing cost nothing. The work lies in maintaining it, above all keeping the details current and replying to reviews. According to Google, you cannot buy a better position in the local results.

Can I create a profile without business premises?

Yes, provided you serve customers in person, for example at their own location. If you do not receive customers at your address, hide it and give a service area instead: no more than 20 cities, postcodes or areas, no radius. Purely online businesses and virtual offices do not get a profile.

May I ask customers for a review?

Yes. Google provides a link and a QR code for this. Prohibited are incentives such as money or discounts, instructions on stars or content, pressure on the spot, and deliberately asking only for positive reviews. Reviews from your own team or from relatives are also off limits.