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Creating a Google Business Profile is free: you create a new profile or claim the one already in Google Maps, choose your category, enter your address or service area and prove the business is yours. Google picks the verification method; review takes up to five working days, a postcard usually up to fourteen. Then comes the work that makes the difference: photos, opening hours and reviews. You cannot buy a better local ranking; Google ranks on relevance, distance and prominence. Which category to pick, how a profile without an address works, what to do when verification fails and how to add a manager are covered in separate guides; what comes next is in local SEO tips.
Want someone to set it up and keep it current with you? See local SEO. Created a profile but cannot see it? Read Google Business Profile not showing.
Why a Google Business Profile pays off
When someone searches "accountant near me" or "plumber Rotterdam", Google often shows a map with three businesses at the top. Whoever is there gets calls and direction requests without the customer ever clicking a website. For a business with customers in its own area, the profile is one of the biggest levers outside your site. It costs no money, just an hour to set up well and fifteen minutes a week to keep current. Is it really free? Is Google Business Profile free.
How to set up your profile
- Create or claim your profileStart at business.google.com. If your business is already in Google Maps, find it there and choose 'Claim this business'. Use a company Google account, not your personal one.
- Choose your category and servicesThe primary category weighs most. Pick the most precise one, such as 'Accountant' rather than 'Company'. Then add your services in the words your customers use.
- Enter your address or service areaIf customers visit you at an address, show it. If you go to the customer, like a plumber or a mobile car detailer, hide your address and set a service area.
- Verify the business is yoursGoogle picks the method: a video recording, phone, text, email, a live video call or a postcard with a code. After verification, review can take up to five working days.
- Add photos and opening hoursReal photos of your premises, team and work, no stock images. Opening hours that are right, also on public holidays and during your leave.
- Ask for reviewsShare a link or QR code to your profile after every job. Ask every customer, not only the ones who seem happy.
Verification: which method, how long
| Method | How it works | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Video recording | You film your premises, business equipment and proof that you are the owner | Review up to five working days |
| Live video call | You show it to a Google staff member live | Immediately to a few days |
| Phone or text | You get a code on the business number | Immediately |
| You get a code at an address on your domain | Immediately | |
| Postcard | Google mails a code to your address | Usually within 14 days |
You do not choose the method: Google shows the options that apply to your business. If it fails, do not create a second profile for the same business; that leads to duplicates or a suspension. You can appeal a suspension only once, so make it complete.
Address or service area?
| Your business | What you show | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Customers come to you | Your address, with opening hours | Hairdresser, shop, an accountant's office |
| You go to the customer | Your service area, address hidden | Plumber, painter, mobile car detailing |
| Both | Your address plus a service area | A garage that also does roadside help |
| No fixed place, only a mailing address | No profile possible | Virtual offices do not qualify |
An address you do not actually use, even if it seems closer to your customers, can cost you the profile. Distance plays a role in local results, but a correct service area does more than an invented address. Selling across several countries? Each location with its own address gets its own profile; a single online business without premises is better served by a strong site.
What Google bases local results on
- RelevanceGoogle looks at: How well your profile matches what someone searches for.You do: Choose the right primary category, list your services and describe your business in your customers' words.
- 2DistanceGoogle looks at: How far your business is from the searcher, or from the place in the search.You do: Give a correct address or service area. No need to move, but do mark your area clearly.
- 3ProminenceGoogle looks at: How well known your business is, online and offline: reviews, mentions and your site.You do: Ask every customer for a review, reply to every review and have a site that ranks on its own.
What to do each week, and what it returns
A profile you keep current ranks better than one filled in once. A realistic rhythm:
| Task | How often | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Replying to new reviews | Every week | 5 minutes |
| One or two new photos of your work | Every week or two | 5 minutes |
| An update: an offer, a new project, a holiday closure | Every month | 10 minutes |
| Checking opening hours around public holidays | Every month | 2 minutes |
| Reviewing performance: calls, direction requests, clicks to your site | Every month | 10 minutes |
About an hour a month in total. If your profile brings two extra calls a week and one in four becomes a customer, that is two customers a month for an hour of work. What it returns for you shows in the profile's performance: calls, directions and clicks to your site. Clicks but no enquiries? Check whether your site itself can be found with the website not showing on Google check.
A strong profile, point by point
- Your business name is as on your shopfront and invoices, with no keywords added.
- Your primary category is as precise as possible, with extra categories only where they fit.
- Your services are listed, in the words customers use themselves.
- Your description says in a few sentences what you do, for whom and where.
- Your address or service area is right, and your phone number works.
- The link to your site points to the matching page, not always your homepage.
- Your opening hours are right, also around public holidays.
- You show real photos of your premises, team and work, and add new ones regularly.
- You reply to every review, including critical ones, briefly and without a fight.
- Your name, address and phone are identical everywhere: site, invoices and directories.
Getting more Google reviews without breaking the rules
Reviews count towards your prominence, and they convince the customer torn between you and the business next door. Many happy customers write one if you ask, few do it unprompted. So ask at the moment the customer is happy: at handover, after a good appointment, in the email with your invoice. In your profile, under Reviews, you can copy a link or download a QR code; or create one with our Google review link generator.
| Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Sharing a link to your profile by email, text or WhatsApp | Giving a reward for a review, such as a discount or a gift |
| A QR code on your counter, invoice or job sheet | Asking only happy customers and skipping the rest |
| Asking everyone, including the customer who may be critical | Reviews written by your own staff or family |
| Replying to every review, including critical ones | Buying or swapping reviews with other businesses |
Google can remove reviews that break these rules and, in the worst case, restrict your profile. A few genuine reviews are worth more than many doubtful ones. More on timing and wording: get more Google reviews.
Mistakes that cost you the profile
- Keywords in your business name. "Jansen Plumber Cheap Rotterdam" breaks the rules and can lead to suspension.
- A second profile for the same business, for example after a failed verification.
- A virtual office or an address you do not work from.
- Changes that hang. Google reviews edits; that can take up to three days. A new profile needs up to a month before it ranks well.
- No reply to criticism. A short, calm reply to a bad review convinces the next reader more than silence.
- Everything at once, then nothing. A profile without a photo or update for a year looks abandoned. Block the fifteen minutes a week in your calendar; the wider local picture is in do SEO yourself.
Your profile and your site work together
A profile gets you onto the map, but whoever hesitates clicks through to your site. There they want to see what you do, for whom and what it costs. A site with a page per service, and for a business in several regions a page per city, strengthens your profile: Google sees the same business in two places, and the customer finds the answer they were after. How long those pages take to rank: how long does SEO take.
For Business Centrum, a payroll and HR office in Ghent, we built a site with a page per service, per sector and for thirteen cities in the region. In five weeks 1,593 non-brand search terms reached page one of Google, up from 13. Building a whole site on local search terms: website design.
Questions about Business Profile and reviews
How do I create a Google Business Profile?
Create a new profile at business.google.com, or find your business in Google Maps and choose 'Claim this business'. Then choose your category, enter your address or service area and verify the business with the method Google offers.
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating, verifying and maintaining a profile costs nothing, and you cannot buy a better local ranking. What it costs is the time to fill it in well and keep it current, about an hour a month.
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
It depends on the method Google picks. After video verification, review can take up to five working days. A postcard usually arrives within 14 days. Phone, text and email are usually immediate.
Why is my business not at the top of Google Maps?
Google ranks on relevance, distance and prominence. A precise category, a complete profile, many genuine reviews and a site that ranks itself all help. Distance to the searcher you cannot change. A new profile needs up to a month.
Can I reward customers for a review?
No. Google prohibits rewards for reviews, such as a discount or a gift. Reviews by your own staff, and asking only happy customers, are not allowed either.
Can I have a profile without an address?
Yes, if you go to the customer: hide your address and set a service area. A virtual office or a PO box does not qualify for a profile.