How to set up a Google Business Profile (and get on Google Maps)

How much does it cost to get on Google Maps?

Nothing: setting up a Business Profile and showing up on Google Maps is free, and Google doesn't sell better spots on the map either. Google's help page says it plainly: "You can add or claim your business at no charge" (Add or claim your Business Profile).

The only thing you pay for is Google Ads, which works separately. Google Ads can appear above the map results. When paying makes sense is in the difference between SEO and SEM.

You can't pay to rank higher on the map, either. Google says you can't request or pay for a better local ranking.

Is your business eligible for a Business Profile?

Yes, if customers can visit your location or you travel to them, the way a plumber or a cleaner does. That's the rule in Google's guidelines for representing your business. It also decides which address goes on your profile, or whether you hide it.

• If customers come to you, use that location's real street address. P.O. boxes don't count.

• If you go to them, set a service area. Google says service-area businesses should hide their address.

• If you rent an address where you don't work, a "virtual office," that location isn't eligible.

A business that only sells online, with no location and no visits, doesn't meet that rule. For that business, what works on Google is its website.

How do you set up a Google Business Profile, step by step?

It's free and takes four steps, at business.google.com/add and from a Google account that belongs to you, not to whoever helps you. First, search for your business on Google Maps by name and city. If it's there, claim it instead of creating another; Google's help page has steps for each case.

• Go to business.google.com/add and sign in with your Google account.

• Click "Add your business to Google."

• Fill in the details on screen. Have your name, category, address or service area, phone and website ready.

• Choose a verification option and follow its steps.

If your business is already listed with no owner, find it on Google Maps and claim it, then click "Manage now" to start. These are the steps in Google's help page on adding or claiming a profile.

Use your business's real-world name, the one on your sign and your invoices. Google doesn't allow unnecessary information in the name, like taglines or store codes.

How do you set it up from your phone?

On your phone there are two ways, depending on whether your business is already on the map. If it is, you claim it in the Google Maps app; if not, you add it at business.google.com/add in your phone's browser. Google's help page gives these steps for the app:

• Open the Google Maps app and search for your business name.

• Tap your business in the results.

• In the profile, tap "About," then "Claim this business," then "Manage now."

• Choose a verification option and follow the instructions.

For a new profile, Google gives the same address as on a computer, with no separate steps for phones.

Once verified, you edit the profile in the app: tap "Business" at the bottom right, then "Edit profile." It's in Google's help page on hours.

How do you verify your profile, and how long does it take?

You verify with whichever option Google offers you, and review can take up to 5 business days. Google decides which options you see based on your business type, your region and your hours. Until you verify, you can't edit the profile and your photos don't show on Google.

• Pick the option shown: live video call, phone or text, email, or a postcard by mail. Google recommends the video call when it's available.

• Follow the steps and wait for the review. With a postcard, the code usually arrives in about 14 days.

• While you wait for the postcard, don't edit your business name, address or category. If you do, the code stops working.

In some cases verification is instant, for example if you already verified your site in Search Console. It's all in Google's verification help page.

What do you fill in after verifying?

What helps Google understand what your business is: category, hours and photos. You need a verified profile to edit details like your business name or hours. Here are the three details, with what Google's help pages ask for in each one:

Category

Choose one primary category, the one that best describes your business, and few additional ones. Google suggests completing the sentence "this business IS a…," and not adding a category for every product or service.

Hours

Enter the hours you actually serve customers, plus special hours for holidays. You change them under "Edit profile," on a computer or in the app.

Photos

Upload your logo, a cover photo and real photos of your place, your team or your finished work. Photos only show once your profile is verified.

How do you ask for reviews without breaking Google's rules?

Ask every customer, give nothing in return, and use your profile's review link or QR code. Google's rules on reviews are clear, and reviews that break them get removed. Google's help pages also recommend replying to all of them, negative ones too, in a friendly, brief tone.

• On a computer, open your profile and click "Read reviews."

• Next to "Get more reviews," click the share icon and copy the link or download the QR code. QR codes can only be created in a desktop browser.

• Send the link after every job, to every customer alike.

• Reply to every review and sign with your name or initials.

What you don't do, under the Google Maps content policy:

• Pay for reviews, "directly or in kind," or offer discounts or gifts in exchange.

• Ask only happy customers, or discourage negative reviews.

• Write them yourself, or have staff or family write them, or post them for your customers. Google removes content based on a conflict of interest.

Google's tips on replying are in how to get more reviews.

Why do your profile and your website have to match?

Because your customers will compare them, and if your name, address or phone change, they won't know which one is right. Matching them character by character is my working rule, not a written Google rule. What Google does say is that prominence also draws on how many websites point to your business.

• Use the same name, address and phone number on your profile, your website and your social media. Write them the same way, in the same format.

• Put your website address on your profile, and a link to your profile or a map on your website.

• If you serve customers at their location, state your service area on your website, the same one as on your profile.

On your website, those details can also be declared as LocalBusiness structured data. Google requires the name and address, and recommends phone, URL and hours (Local business structured data).

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Your business's real name",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main St",
    "addressLocality": "Austin",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "78701",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "telephone": "+1 512 000 0000",
  "url": "https://your-domain.com"
}

How do you optimize a Google Business Profile?

With complete, accurate details, a precise category and real reviews; a better spot on the map can't be bought. Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence (how to improve your local ranking). Of the three, you can influence two: relevance and prominence.

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searches for. Your category and complete details count here.

• Distance: how far your business is from the person searching. You don't control this one.

• Prominence: how well known your business is, in your reviews and in the websites that point to it. Your website helps here.

If your profile exists and doesn't show up, first check that it's verified and that your category is right.

How do you check that your profile is set up right?

With four checks that take a couple of minutes, in a browser where you're not signed in to your Google account. That way you see your profile the way a customer does, not the way you see it from your dashboard. You don't need any paid tool.

• Search Google Maps for your business name and city. If your profile shows with your name, category and hours, it's live.

• Open your website and your profile side by side. Compare name, address and phone, character by character.

• Open your review link on your phone. If the review form opens, the link works.

• If your website declares LocalBusiness, run it through Google's Rich Results Test and confirm there are no errors.

What this doesn't prove: where you rank for a search. That depends on where the searcher is, and a search from your own home doesn't measure it.

Would you rather have it done for you?

If you'd rather not do it yourself, it comes with the website plan that includes your Business Profile. You get your website plus your Google profile set up or reviewed, with matching details and in your name. The price is fixed and published.

If you already have a profile and a website, start with the free diagnostic. I review what's public and tell you in writing what doesn't match.

Frequently asked questions