How to Set Up and Optimize Your Google Business Profile
How do you set up a Google Business Profile so it brings calls?
Set up a Google Business Profile by adding or claiming your business at business.google.com, verifying it, then completing every field: your real name, address or service area, a specific primary category, hours, phone, website, services, description and photos. Keep it accurate and reply to reviews, and it becomes the listing nearby customers call from.
Key takeaways
- Google does not charge for a Business Profile, and only a verified profile can show your details on Maps and Search.
- Your primary category should be the most specific one that describes the whole business.
- Google's rules require your real-world name and a real address or service area; extras in the name can get the profile suspended.
- Keep hours, phone number and photos current, because customers act on what the profile says.
- A profile needs a few minutes of upkeep each week: reply to reviews, check the details, add photos.
In this guide
This guide shows how to set up and optimize a Google Business Profile yourself: the set-up steps, a field-by-field checklist, and the upkeep that keeps it working. Google Business Profile is the current name for what used to be Google My Business, so any “Google My Business tips” you find are about the same thing. It is one part of local SEO, and the part to do first.
How do you set up a Google Business Profile?
In four steps. The last one takes longest, because you wait for Google.
Setting up the profile
- 1. Check whether a profile already exists
Search your business name and city in Google Maps. A listing may exist even though you never made one. If you find it, select “Claim this business”. If someone else has already verified it, you can request ownership, and Google gives the current owner three days to respond.
- 2. Add your business if there is none
Go to business.google.com/add and follow the on-screen instructions. Have your exact business name, address, phone number and website to hand, and check the address against Google's address rules before you continue.
- 3. Say whether customers come to you
If customers visit your premises, show the address. If you travel to them and serve nobody at your address, Google says to remove the address and enter your service areas: up to 20, set by city or postal code, not as a radius, and within about two hours' drive of your base. If you do both, enter both.
- 4. Verify
Google decides which verification methods you are offered, and you cannot change them: a phone call or text, an email, a video recording, a live video call, or a code by post. Google says its review takes up to five business days and that most posted codes arrive within 14 days. While you wait for a posted code, do not edit the name, address or category, or the code will stop working.
How to optimize your Google Business Profile: the checklist
Work down this list once, properly. Each line says what Google asks for in that field.
Google Business Profile checklist
- Business nameExactly as on your sign and stationery. No taglines, service lists or directions. Google says unnecessary information in the name could result in suspension.
- Primary categoryThe most specific category that describes the whole business. You choose from Google's list and cannot create your own.
- Additional categoriesA few, only for real departments or services. Google says not to select one for every product or service.
- Address or service areaA precise real-world address, or your service areas if you travel to customers. No P.O. boxes, and no rented mailing address you do not work from.
- HoursYour regular customer-facing hours, plus special hours for holidays. Google suggests confirming holiday hours even when they match your normal ones.
- Phone numberA number that reaches this location directly and is under your control. Local where possible, not a central call centre.
- WebsiteA link to your own site, and to the page for this location if you have several. Links that redirect somewhere else are not allowed.
- DescriptionUp to 750 characters on what you offer, what makes you different and how long you have been in business. No web addresses, and keep prices and promotions out of it.
- ServicesList what you actually do so customers can see it before they call. Menus are for food and drink businesses.
- PhotosA logo, a cover photo and real photos of the premises and your work. Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, ideally 720 by 720 pixels.
- AttributesFactual details such as Wi-Fi or outdoor seating. Select the ones that apply.
- Category featuresDepending on your category, Google offers extras such as a booking button or menu and reservation links. Switch on the ones you will keep working.
- Opening date and social profilesAdd the month and year you opened, and one link for each social platform you use.
Google's guidelines say the name should reflect the business's real-world name and that unnecessary information in it could result in suspension. They also say P.O. boxes are not acceptable and that a virtual office is not eligible for a profile.
Which Google Business Profile categories should you choose?
Choose one primary category that says what the business is, as narrowly as Google's list allows. Then add a few more only where they describe a real part of the business.
Google's test is simple: a category should complete the sentence “This business is a…”, not “This business has a…”. Its own example is choosing “Nail salon” over “Salon”. As a hypothetical example, a dental clinic would pick the category that names a dental practice, and add another only for something it runs as a distinct service. It would not add a category for every treatment. Those belong in the services list.
Two cautions. Google's guidelines say not to use categories as keywords, and not to borrow the categories of nearby or related businesses. And changing a category may bring a request to verify the business again.
Google says to use as few categories as possible to describe the core business, to make them as specific as possible, and not to use them solely as keywords. It also says an added or edited category might lead to a new verification request.
Source4Google Business Profile Help5Google Business Profile Help
What upkeep does a Google Business Profile need?
A little, regularly. A profile left alone goes out of date, and customers act on what it says.
| When | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Every week | Reply to new reviews | Replies are public, and the reviewer is told you answered |
| Every week | Check the name, hours and phone number are still right | Wrong details send customers elsewhere |
| Before each public holiday | Set special hours | Customers can see the holiday hours are confirmed |
| Every month | Add new photos and a post about an update, offer or event | Posts older than six months are archived |
| The day something changes | Update the profile | Google reviews edits before publishing, and changes can take up to three days to appear |
Reviews are the upkeep task with the most rules attached. See how to get more Google reviews within the rules. If you are changing your name or moving premises, read changing your business name or address on Google before you edit anything.
Does a complete profile help you rank?
Yes, as a starting point. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local search results. Completeness gets you into the running. Where you finish also depends on distance and on how well known you are, which is the subject of how to rank higher on Google Maps.
Related serviceLocal SEO service
We set up your Google Business Profile properly, for every location you have, and keep categories, services, hours, photos and posts current.
See the serviceIs Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Google says a Business Profile lets you manage how your business shows up on Maps and Search at no charge. You do not pay Google to create, verify or edit it.
Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google Business Profile is the current name for the product once called Google My Business. You manage the profile from Google Search or the Google Maps app while signed in to the Google Account that owns it.
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
Google says its review takes up to five business days after you complete the steps, and occasionally longer. A code sent by post mostly arrives within 14 days. Some profiles are verified instantly.
Can I have a Business Profile if I work from home?
Yes, if you meet customers in person, for example by travelling to them. Google's guidelines say a service-area business should hide its address, and give the example of a plumber who runs the business from a home address. An online-only business does not qualify.
Can I have more than one profile for my business?
Only if you have more than one real location. Google allows one profile per business and says not to create separate profiles for each service you offer. A duplicate profile is hidden from Search and Maps.
Have your profile checked against Google's rules.
Send us your website and business name, and our free audit will show what is missing from your profile and what to fix first.
The authors
Who wrote and checked this guide
Written by
Jamiez Nguyen
Founder & CEO
Jamiez Nguyen founded Taskcover and leads strategy and client growth. He started it in 2017 as a team doing search work behind the scenes for other agencies, then opened it to businesses in the USA, Canada and Australia.
Reviewed by
John Edward
CTO
John Edward leads the technical side of Taskcover: how sites are built, how fast they load, and how search engines read them.
Updated Fact-checked About the people at Taskcover
Sources
Where the facts in this guide come from
Facts last checked on October 12, 2026.
- 1Get started with Google Business ProfileGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 2Add or claim your Business ProfileGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 3Verify your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 4Guidelines for representing your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 5Manage your business categoryGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 6Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businessesGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 7Edit your Business ProfileGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 8Manage your Business Profile photos & videosGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 9Create & manage posts on your Business ProfileGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 10How to set Special hoursGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 11Tips to improve your local ranking on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 12Find your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 13Manage customer reviewsGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 14Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issuesGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
