Getting Started with Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the single most important asset in local search. It is the listing that appears when someone searches your business name, when they look for services like yours on Google Maps, and when they type queries like “dentist near me” or “best pizza in [your city].” For the majority of local businesses, the Google Business Profile drives more phone calls, website visits, and direction requests than any other marketing channel.
Despite its importance, many small business owners either have not claimed their profile, have left it incomplete, or set it up once and never touched it again. Each of those mistakes costs real revenue. This guide walks you through the complete setup process, shows you how to optimize every section, and explains how to use the built-in features most businesses ignore.
Why Your Google Business Profile Matters
Google dominates local search. When a potential customer needs a service in their area, Google is where they start, and the Google Business Profile is what they see first. The map pack — that cluster of three business listings that appears at the top of local search results — captures a disproportionate share of all clicks and calls.
Businesses with complete, optimized profiles are:
- 2.7 times more likely to be considered reputable by consumers
- 70% more likely to attract location visits
- 50% more likely to lead to a purchase
Your profile is also free. Unlike paid advertising, there is no cost to claim, optimize, and maintain it. The investment is your time, and the return is substantial.
Step 1: Claim or Create Your Profile
Before you can optimize anything, you need to claim ownership of your listing.
If Your Business Already Has a Listing
Many businesses already have a Google Business Profile that was auto-generated from public data or created by a previous owner. Here is how to claim it:
- Go to Google Business Profile Manager.
- Sign in with the Google account you want to use to manage the profile. Use a business email if possible, not a personal account you might lose access to.
- Search for your business name and address.
- If the listing exists, click “Claim this business” or “Request access.”
- Google will ask you to verify that you are authorized to manage this business.
If Your Business Does Not Have a Listing
- Go to Google Business Profile Manager.
- Click “Add your business to Google.”
- Enter your business name exactly as it appears on your signage and legal documents.
- Select the most accurate business category from the dropdown.
- Enter your address if you serve customers at your location. If you are a service-area business (like a plumber or mobile dog groomer), you can hide your address and define your service area instead.
- Add your phone number and website URL.
- Proceed to verification.
Verification Methods
Google needs to confirm that you are a real business at the location you claim. Common verification methods include:
- Postcard by mail: Google sends a postcard with a 5-digit PIN to your business address. This typically takes 5-14 days. Do not change any profile information while waiting for the postcard, as this can trigger a new verification cycle.
- Phone call: Available for some businesses. Google calls your listed phone number and provides a verification code.
- Email: Available for some businesses. Google sends a code to the email address associated with your domain.
- Video verification: Google may ask you to record a short video showing your business location, signage, and operations.
Step 2: Complete Every Section of Your Profile
An incomplete profile sends a signal to both Google and potential customers that your business may not be fully established or trustworthy. Go through each section methodically.
Business Name
Use your real-world business name — the one on your storefront, business cards, and legal documents. Do not add keywords, locations, or taglines. “Denver’s Best Smith Plumbing — 24/7 Emergency Service” will get flagged and potentially suspended. “Smith Plumbing” is correct.
Categories
Primary category: This is the single most influential field in your profile. Choose the category that most precisely describes your core business. If you are a pizza restaurant, select “Pizza restaurant,” not just “Restaurant.” The more specific, the better.
Secondary categories: Add every category that genuinely applies. A bakery that also serves coffee and sells custom cakes might use “Bakery” as primary and add “Coffee shop,” “Cake shop,” and “Custom cake shop” as secondary categories. But do not add categories for services you do not actually offer.
Business Description
You get 750 characters to describe your business. Use them all. Write a clear, natural description that covers:
- What your business does
- Who you serve
- What makes you different
- The areas you serve
Include your core keywords naturally, but do not stuff them. This description does not have a huge direct impact on rankings, but it influences whether a potential customer decides to call you or keep scrolling.
Address and Service Area
- Storefront businesses: Enter your complete, accurate address. Make sure it matches your address on your website, social media, and all other online directories exactly.
- Service-area businesses: If you go to your customers instead of them coming to you, you can hide your address and define your service area by cities, counties, or zip codes. You can list up to 20 service areas.
- Hybrid businesses: If you serve customers at your location AND travel to them, you can display your address and define a service area.
Phone Number and Website
Use a local phone number with your area code, not a toll-free number. Google gives preference to local numbers because they reinforce geographic relevance. Your website URL should link to your homepage or a relevant landing page — not a Facebook page or a third-party directory.
Hours of Operation
Enter accurate hours for every day of the week. Then go further:
- Holiday hours: Update these before every major holiday. Customers who show up to a closed business leave bad reviews.
- Special hours: Use these for temporary changes, seasonal adjustments, or one-off closures.
- More hours: Some businesses can list additional hour types like “delivery hours,” “drive-through hours,” or “senior hours.”
Attributes
Google provides business-specific attributes that help customers find what they need. Depending on your category, these might include:
- Wheelchair accessible
- Free Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- LGBTQ+ friendly
- Women-owned
- Veteran-owned
- Accepts credit cards
Review every available attribute and select the ones that apply. These appear on your listing and help you show up in filtered searches.
Step 3: Add High-Quality Photos and Videos
Listings with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to websites than those without. Yet many businesses upload a single blurry photo and call it done.
What to Upload
- Cover photo: The image that appears most prominently. Choose a high-quality, well-lit photo of your storefront or your most representative product or service.
- Logo: A clean version of your business logo.
- Interior photos: Show what your space looks like inside. Customers want to know what to expect before they walk through the door.
- Exterior photos: Help customers recognize your building and find your entrance.
- Team photos: Humanize your business. Photos of your staff in action build trust.
- Product and service photos: Show what you actually sell or do. A restaurant should upload photos of its dishes. A salon should show its work.
- Videos: Short videos (30-60 seconds) showcasing your business, a service being performed, or a customer testimonial.
Photo Quality Guidelines
- Use original photos, not stock images. Google can detect and deprioritize stock photography.
- Minimum resolution of 720 x 720 pixels. Aim for higher.
- Natural lighting produces better results than harsh flash.
- Upload new photos regularly. A profile with recent photos signals an active, operating business.
Step 4: Use Google Posts
Google Posts is a built-in publishing feature that lets you share updates, offers, events, and announcements directly on your profile. Posts appear in your listing when someone searches for your business and can include text, photos, and call-to-action buttons.
Types of Posts
- Update posts: General news, tips, or announcements about your business.
- Offer posts: Promotions and discounts with a start and end date. These display with a special “Offer” tag.
- Event posts: Upcoming events with date, time, and description.
- Product posts: Highlight specific products with photos and pricing.
Best Practices for Google Posts
- Post at least once a week. Posts expire after 6 months (offers expire on their end date), so consistent posting keeps your profile fresh.
- Include a high-quality image with every post. Posts without images get significantly less engagement.
- Keep text concise — the preview shows the first 100 characters, so lead with the most important information.
- Always include a call-to-action button: “Learn more,” “Call now,” “Book,” “Sign up,” or “Order online.”
- Use posts to highlight seasonal services, new offerings, or timely information.
Step 5: Manage Questions and Answers
The Q&A section of your Google Business Profile allows anyone to ask questions about your business, and anyone can answer them — including people who have never been your customers. This is both an opportunity and a risk.
Take Control of Your Q&A
- Seed your own Q&A: Ask and answer the most common questions about your business yourself. Use a personal Google account to post questions like “Do you offer free estimates?” or “What are your payment options?” then answer them from your business profile. This pre-empts potential misinformation.
- Monitor for new questions: Check your Q&A section weekly. Answer every new question promptly and accurately.
- Upvote helpful answers: Both questions and answers can be upvoted. Upvote your own accurate answers to keep them at the top.
- Flag inappropriate content: If someone posts spam, misinformation, or inappropriate content in your Q&A, flag it for removal.
Common Questions to Seed
- Do you offer free consultations or estimates?
- What forms of payment do you accept?
- Do you offer financing?
- Is parking available?
- Do you serve [specific area or neighborhood]?
- Do you offer emergency or same-day service?
- Are you pet-friendly, family-friendly, or wheelchair accessible?
Step 6: Understand and Use Google Business Profile Insights
Google provides performance data for your Business Profile that shows how customers are finding and interacting with your listing. These insights are available in the Google Business Profile dashboard.
Key Metrics to Track
- Search queries: The actual terms people are typing into Google when they find your listing. This reveals what potential customers are looking for and can inform your broader SEO strategy.
- Views: How many times your listing appeared in Search and Maps results.
- Actions: What people did after finding your listing — called you, visited your website, requested directions, or messaged you.
- Photo views: How often your photos are viewed compared to similar businesses. If your competitors are getting more photo views, you need better or more photos.
- Direction requests: Where customers are coming from geographically. This can inform service area decisions and targeted advertising.
Turning Insights into Action
Insights are only valuable if you act on them. Here is how to use the data:
- If you see high views but low actions, your listing is appearing in search results but not compelling people to engage. Improve your photos, description, and reviews.
- If direction requests are clustered in an area you do not currently target, consider expanding your service area or running ads in that geography.
- If certain search queries appear frequently, make sure your website has dedicated content targeting those terms.
Step 7: Maintain Your Profile Over Time
Setting up your Google Business Profile is not a one-time task. The businesses that consistently rank in the map pack are the ones that treat their profile as a living asset.
Weekly Maintenance
- Publish a new Google Post (update, offer, or event)
- Check for and respond to new reviews
- Check for and answer new Q&A entries
- Monitor for suggested edits (Google and users can suggest changes to your profile; you need to accept or reject these)
Monthly Maintenance
- Upload 3-5 new photos
- Review your Insights data and note any trends
- Audit your business information for accuracy (hours, phone, services)
- Check that your categories still accurately reflect your offerings
Quarterly Maintenance
- Refresh your business description
- Review and update your list of services and products
- Check for new attributes that Google may have added for your category
- Compare your profile completeness and photo count to your top local competitors
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even well-meaning business owners make errors that hurt their profile performance:
- Keyword stuffing the business name. This violates Google’s guidelines and risks suspension.
- Using a virtual office or PO Box. Google requires a physical location where you conduct business or meet customers. Virtual offices are frequently flagged and removed.
- Ignoring negative reviews. An unanswered negative review looks worse than the review itself. Always respond professionally.
- Inconsistent information. Your name, address, and phone number must match exactly across your website, social media, and all directory listings. Even small differences (like “Street” vs. “St.”) can create confusion.
- Letting the profile go stale. A profile with no recent photos, posts, or reviews signals to Google that the business may be less active or relevant.
Your Google Business Profile Setup Checklist
Use this checklist to ensure you have covered every element:
- Claimed and verified your Google Business Profile
- Set the most specific primary category available
- Added all relevant secondary categories
- Written a complete 750-character business description
- Entered accurate address or defined service area
- Added local phone number and website URL
- Set hours of operation including holiday hours
- Selected all applicable business attributes
- Uploaded at least 10 high-quality, original photos
- Published your first Google Post
- Seeded Q&A with your most common questions and answers
- Reviewed Insights to establish a performance baseline
- Set a weekly reminder for profile maintenance
Your Google Business Profile is the front door of your online presence for local search. The time you invest in setting it up correctly and maintaining it consistently will pay dividends in visibility, trust, and customer acquisition for as long as your business operates. Start with the steps in this guide, commit to the weekly maintenance routine, and you will be better positioned than the vast majority of local businesses in your area.