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

Your Google Business Profile is the listing that shows up on Google Maps and in the map box when someone searches for a local business. It’s free, and for a lot of local firms it brings in more calls than the website does. Setting one up isn’t hard. Setting one up well takes a bit more thought, because the choices you make at the start are a pain to change later. This resource takes you through it in eight steps, the same way I do it for clients. Allow about 45 minutes, plus a few days for Google to verify you.

What do you need before setting up a Google Business Profile?

A Google account you own and will keep, your business details written down exactly as they appear on your website and paperwork, and a few good photos of your work. That’s it. If you’re a trade, have your van or tools handy too, because Google often asks for a short video to prove you’re real. Google’s own guidelines for representing your business are worth a quick read before you begin, as breaking them is the most common reason listings get suspended.

Step 1: which account should you use, and do you already have a listing?

Use a Google account tied to your business that you’ll still have in five years. Whoever owns the account owns the listing. I’ve seen businesses lose their listing because it was set up on a web designer’s account, or an old employee’s, and that person moved on.

Before you create anything, search Google Maps for your business name. There may already be a listing, one you made years ago or one Google built on its own from things it found online. If there is, claim that one rather than starting a new one. Two listings for the same business confuse Google and can drag both down. If you’re not listed, go to business.google.com and click to add your business.

Step 2: what name and main category should you choose?

Your real business name, and the most specific category Google allows. Type the name exactly as it appears on your signage and invoices. It’s tempting to add extra words like “Smith Plumbing Liverpool Emergency Boiler Repairs”. Don’t. It breaks Google’s rules, competitors can report it and it can get your listing suspended.

The main category is one of the biggest things Google uses to decide which searches you show up for. If you’re a roofer, start typing and pick “Roofing contractor”, not “Contractor”. A good trick is to search for your trade in your area and look at the top three on the map. Their main categories are a decent clue to what Google expects. You can add extra categories later for other work you do, but only for work you really do.

Step 3: should you show your address or a service area?

It depends whether customers come to you. Google asks if you have a location customers can visit. If you’ve got a shop, salon, office or garage people walk into, say yes and show the address. If you go to your customers, like most trades, say no and set a service area instead. You still give Google an address to verify you, it just won’t be shown.

Keep the service area realistic. Listing every town in the North West won’t make you rank in all of them, because Google still leans heavily on where you’re based. Pick the areas you cover and want work from. If you want to win work further afield, that’s where area pages on your website come in.

Step 4: which phone number and website should you add?

The main number customers already use, and the home page of your website. Use a local landline if you have one, as it looks settled and matches what’s on your site. Whatever you choose, make sure your name, address and phone number match your website exactly, down to the spelling. Small differences confuse Google more than you’d expect.

Step 5: how does Google verify your business?

Usually with a short video, sometimes with a phone call, text or email code, and now and then with a postcard. Google picks the method, not you. For video, it wants one continuous clip showing your signage or van, your tools or stock, and something that proves you can access the place you’re based. Film it in daylight and don’t cut away.

Follow the instructions exactly, because the video ones catch people out. If it gets rejected, don’t panic and don’t create a new listing. Just try again with a clearer clip. Your listing won’t show fully until verification goes through, so keep going with the next steps while you wait.

Step 6: what should you fill in once you’re in?

Everything Google offers. Start with opening hours, including bank holidays, so nobody turns up to a locked door. Write a plain description of what you do and where, the way you’d explain it to a customer on the phone. Then open the services section and add each job you do with a short line about it. That’s the bit most people skip, and it helps Google match you to more searches.

Step 7: what photos should you add?

Real ones. Your van, your team, your premises and plenty of your own work. People look at the photos before they ring, and a listing full of finished jobs does a lot of the selling for you. Stock photos do nothing. Add a clear logo and a cover photo, then keep adding new pictures of recent jobs every few weeks.

Step 8: how do you add managers and start getting reviews?

To give someone access, open your profile settings, go to People and access and add them by email. Keep yourself as the owner and give helpers manager access, so you can remove them whenever you like.

Then start asking for reviews. Google gives you a short link to share. Send it to every happy customer by text while the job’s still fresh, and reply to every review you get, good or bad. My post on why Google reviews matter goes into how to make that a habit.

After that, keep it active. Add photos of recent jobs, post an update now and then and keep your hours right. A listing that’s looked after tends to do better than one set up and forgotten. Once it’s in good shape, read how to get into the Google Maps top 3 for what comes next. For clients I look after, the calls, direction requests and website clicks from the listing all show up in a live reporting portal, so you can see what it’s bringing in. If you’d rather I sorted the lot, my Google Business Profile setup service does exactly that.

Questions people ask me

Keep reading

Once you’re set up, how to get into the Google Maps top 3 covers how to climb the map. Reviews are a big part of that, so read why Google reviews matter for local businesses too. Bing has its own version of the map, and my Bing Webmaster Tools resource shows you how to get on it. And if you haven’t done it yet, set up Google Search Console so you can see how your website is doing alongside the listing.

Hi, I’m Pete

Want your listing set up?

I’ll set it up, get it verified and fill it in, with everything in your name. Or I’ll check the one you’ve already got.

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