When someone searches for your kind of business nearby, Google shows a map with a few businesses on it. Your free Google Business Profile is how you get on that map. It's also one of the main places AI assistants learn about local businesses.
Google needs to check that your business is real, and that can take a few days. So we start today and fill in the details tomorrow.
- Go to business.google.com and choose to add your business.
- First, search for your business name. If it already appears (Google sometimes creates profiles automatically), claim that profile instead of making a new one.
- Type your business name exactly as you wrote it on day 3.
- Choose your main category. Pick the most specific one that fits: "Plumber" rather than "Contractor". This is one of the most important choices you'll make.
- Location. If customers come to you, add your address. If you travel to them, choose that option and add your service areas instead. Your home address stays hidden.
- Add your phone number and your website address, exactly as on your site.
- Verification. Google will ask you to prove the business is yours. Often that's a short video of your workplace, signage or tools, but it can also be a phone call, email or postcard. Follow its steps.
While you wait: keep going with the course. Nothing else depends on verification.
Common mistakes to avoid:
- Adding your town or service to your business name ("Joe's Plumbing Leeds Best Plumber"). Google treats this as spam.
- Creating a second profile if the first one gets stuck. Ask for help instead.
Done when: your profile is created and verification has started.