How to set up your Google Business Profile, step by step

Step 1: Search for your business first

Sign in with a Google account. Open Google Maps on your phone or computer and search your business name and city. If your business is already listed, tap Claim this business. If it is not listed, go to business.google.com/add and choose Add your business to Google. Adding or claiming costs nothing. If someone asks you to pay for it, do not.

Step 2: Enter your business name and category

Use your real business name, the same one on your board and your bills. Do not add extra keywords or your city to the name. Choose the main category that best describes what you do. It matters a lot for who sees you.

Step 3: Add your location or service area

If customers come to you, add your address and drop the pin correctly on the map. If you go to customers, you can set the areas you serve. Google will ask which of the two applies to you. If you work from home and go to customers, hide your address. Google does not accept a P.O. box or a virtual office address, so use the place where you really work.

Step 4: Add phone, website and hours

Add a phone number that you answer, your opening days and times, and your website if you have one. You can build one free at firmgenie.in/start. Keep the same name, address and phone everywhere online.

Step 5: Verify your business

Google needs to check that the business is real. Depending on your business, it may offer a phone call or text, email, a video, or a postcard. Google decides which options you see, and not every option is open to every business. For a phone code, you must be able to answer that number yourself, because an automatic answering system will not get the code. A postcard code usually arrives within 14 days and expires after 30 days, so enter it when it comes. After you finish, Google reviews your details, which can take up to 5 business days. Follow the steps in your profile and watch the status there.

Step 6: Add photos and a short description

Add a clear photo of the front of your shop, the inside, your products or your work, and your team. Write two or three plain sentences about what you do and who you serve.

Step 7: Ask for reviews the right way

Ask every customer to leave a review, not only the happy ones. Make a free QR poster at our review QR tool so it takes them one scan. Never offer money, gifts or discounts in return for a review. Google's rules do not allow it.

Your checklist

• ☐ Real business name, same as your board
• ☐ Correct main category
• ☐ Address with pin on the map, or service areas
• ☐ Phone number that you answer
• ☐ Opening days and times
• ☐ Website link, if you have one
• ☐ Verification finished
• ☐ Clear photos of the front, the inside, your products and your team
• ☐ A short description of what you do
• ☐ Review QR poster placed at your counter

Questions people ask

What to do next

This is one step in a longer path. See Start a business: what to do next for all seven steps, from testing your idea to your first customers.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices are + 18% GST. FirmGenie does not file trademarks or register companies.