Google Business Profile setup: step-by-step for US owners

Short answer: A Google Business Profile is free. You create or claim it at google.com/business, enter your exact business name, pick a primary category, choose a storefront address or a service area, and then pass Google's verification. At the time of writing that is usually a short live video recorded in the Google Maps app. Filling in the profile takes about an hour and verification usually takes a few business days. If you would rather have it done for you, our Profile Setup is $399 one-time.

When someone in your town types "emergency plumber" or "dentist near me", Google shows a map with three businesses before anything else. Getting into that map does not need a website, an agency, or an ad budget. It needs a complete, verified Google Business Profile. This guide walks through Google Business Profile setup one step at a time, written for an owner doing it on a phone between jobs. It covers creating or claiming a listing, categories, the storefront versus service-area choice, video verification, hours, services, photos, and your review link.

What is a Google Business Profile?

It is your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps. Older guides call it Google My Business; Google renamed it in 2021 and the listing itself did not change. The profile shows your name, address or service area, hours, phone number, photos, services, and reviews. It is also where the "Call", "Directions", and "Website" buttons come from.

For most local businesses, this listing brings more phone calls than the website does, because people see it at the exact moment they need you.

What to have ready before you start

Setup goes faster when these are in one place:

• A Google account. A free Gmail address is fine, but use one the business controls, not an employee's personal login.
• Your legal or trading business name, spelled exactly as it appears on your sign, invoices, and license.
• Your street address, or the list of cities and ZIP codes you serve if you go to customers.
• A phone number you actually answer.
• Your website address, if you have one.
• Your opening hours, including any days you close early.
• Five to ten clear photos: the storefront or your van, the inside, your team, your work.

Step 1: Check whether Google already lists you

Search your business name and city on Google Maps before you create anything. Google often builds listings automatically from public records, and old owners or well-meaning employees sometimes create them too.

1. Go to google.com/business and sign in.
2. Type your business name. If it appears in the dropdown with your address, select it and choose claim or manage.
3. If someone else already owns it, choose request access. Google emails the current owner, and if they do not reply within a few days you can usually claim it yourself.
4. Only if nothing matches, choose add your business to Google.

Claiming instead of creating matters. Two listings for one business is the fastest route to a suspension.

Step 2: Enter your business name exactly

Use the real name only. "Miller Roofing" is correct. "Miller Roofing | Best Roofer in Tulsa | Free Estimates" is against Google's rules and gets flagged, sometimes months later after a competitor reports it. Keywords in the name do not help you rank for long, and the suspension costs you every call while it is down.

Step 3: Choose your categories

The primary category is the single most important setting on the profile. It tells Google which searches you belong in. You can add up to nine more secondary categories, but the primary one carries the weight.

Pick the category that describes what you do most, not the one that sounds biggest.

Categories only exist from Google's fixed list; you cannot type your own. If your exact trade is not there, choose the closest parent. Review the list once a year, because Google adds and merges categories.

Step 4: Storefront or service area?

Google asks whether customers visit you at your address. Answer honestly, because it changes what the map shows and what verification checks.

A service area can be a list of cities, counties, or ZIP codes. Keep it to where you really work. Listing an entire state does not get you shown across the state and can hurt trust with Google.

Do not use a P.O. box, a UPS Store mailbox, or a virtual office as a storefront address. Google's guidelines do not allow it and these are a common suspension trigger.

Step 5: Add your phone, website, and hours

Use a local number if you have one, and make sure it rings somewhere that gets answered. Add your website address if you have one; if not, leave it blank rather than pointing to a social page you rarely update.

Set regular hours for every day, including days you are closed. Then add special hours for holidays as they come up. A customer who drives to a closed store on Labor Day rarely returns.

Step 6: Get verified

Verification is where most owners get stuck. Google needs to confirm the business is real and that you run it. At the time of writing, the most common method for US businesses is a live video recorded in the Google Maps app on your phone. Google chooses the method, so you may instead be offered a phone call, a text, an email, or occasionally a postcard.

For the video, Google's guidance at the time of writing is:

1. Open the Google Maps app on your phone, signed in with the same account that manages the profile.
2. Start recording inside the app. Pre-recorded or uploaded videos are not accepted.
3. In one continuous shot, show the outside of the location with street signs or neighboring businesses, your permanent sign with the business name, and proof that you run the place, such as unlocking the door, opening the register, or showing branded tools and vehicles.
4. Keep it around a minute. Record in daylight, and do not include customers or their information.
5. Submit and wait. Google usually reviews it within a few business days, sometimes longer.

For a service-area business, the video is shot at your home base or workshop and focuses on your branded vehicle, equipment, and paperwork such as a license or an invoice with your business name.

If the video is rejected, read the reason Google gives, fix that one thing, and record again. Check Google's help pages for the current requirements, because the exact method changes from time to time.

Step 7: Add services, a description, and attributes

Once verified, finish the profile. Incomplete profiles are shown less often.

• Services: list each thing you do as its own item, with a short description. A plumber might list water heater installation, drain cleaning, and leak repair. You can add a price or price range if it is stable.
• Description: up to 750 characters in plain language. Say what you do, who you serve, and where. No promotions, no keyword lists.
• Attributes: tick the ones that apply, such as wheelchair accessible, women-owned, veteran-owned, online appointments, or free estimates.
• Opening date: adds credibility and is simple to fill in.

Step 8: Add photos

Profiles with real photos get more clicks and more calls than empty ones. Add at least ten at launch: the storefront from the street, the entrance, the inside, your team, your vehicles, and finished work. Take them with a phone in good light; stock photos are easy to spot and Google may remove them. Add a few new ones each month after that.

Step 9: Get your review link and start asking

In the profile dashboard, find Ask for reviews. Google gives you a short link that opens the review box directly. Put it in your invoice email, on a small card at the counter, and in a text you send after a completed job, with the customer's permission.

Ask every happy customer, not just a few. Never pay for reviews, never ask only satisfied customers while filtering out unhappy ones, and never write reviews for yourself. The FTC's consumer review rule, in force since late 2024, makes fake or paid reviews a federal matter with civil penalties, so check the current rules before running any review promotion.

Mistakes that get new profiles suspended

• Extra words in the business name.
• A category that does not match the real business.
• A mailbox, coworking desk, or virtual office listed as a storefront.
• Creating a second profile because the first login was lost.
• A verification video that does not show the sign or the inside.
• Listing an address you cannot access for the video.

What happens after you go live

The profile can appear on Maps within a day or two of verification. It will not jump to the top three straight away. Reviews, photos, posts, and a consistent name, address, and phone number across the web move it up over weeks and months. Our Google Business Profile optimization guide covers that next stage in twelve steps, and the local SEO guide for small business explains how the profile and website work together.

What we charge

If you would rather not spend an afternoon on it, our Profile Setup is $399 one-time. We create or claim the profile, walk you through Google verification, enter every detail, services, and hours, upload your photos and write the description, and give you a review link and a printable QR code for the counter. Profile Care is $299 per month for weekly posts and offers, replies to customer reviews, new photos, and a monthly report of calls, views, and direction requests. There are no long-term contracts, and the profile stays in your Google account.

Our team is based in India and works with US owners by email and video call. Details are on the Google Business Profile service page and the pricing page.

The short version

A Google Business Profile is free and is the first thing a local business should set up online. Claim an existing listing rather than creating a new one, use your exact name, pick the most accurate primary category, and be honest about storefront versus service area. Expect a live video verification in the Google Maps app, then fill in services, hours, description, and at least ten real photos. Share your review link with every happy customer and keep the profile current.