On this page
What is free, what is paid, and what is a scam
Google charges nothing for a Business Profile. You create it, prove your business exists by video, phone, email or postcard, and fill in your address or service area, opening hours, services and photos. How to do it step by step is in the guide to create a Google Business Profile.
| What | Cost | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Creating and verifying the profile | 0 euro | nobody |
| Photos, posts, services, opening hours | 0 euro | nobody, it costs your time |
| Asking for reviews with a fixed link | 0 euro | nobody; make the link with the Google review link generator |
| A better spot in the regular results | not for sale | nobody, not even Google |
| An ad marked Sponsored | per click | Google Ads, see Google Ads cost |
| Management by an agency | per month or hour | the agency, if you want one |
| A call saying your listing expires | whatever they ask | not Google: hang up |
Your spot on the map depends, Google says, on three things: how well your profile matches the search, how close you are to the searcher, and how prominent your business is, partly through the number of reviews and how positive they are. Ads change none of that. How they work for a local business is in how does Google Ads work for local businesses.
Zero euro to Google, two hours of your own
What a working profile costs a month
- To Google
- 0 euro
- Your time, 2 hours at 50 euro
- 100 euro
- Ads
- only if you want
- TogetherAll of it time, nothing to Google
- 100 euro
Where your two hours a month go
- Asking for reviews 30 min
- Replying to reviews 30 min
- Posts and photos 45 min
- Keeping details current 15 min
Where the real cost sits
A profile that works gets the right primary category, all your services, real photos, reviews you ask for after each job and a reply to every review. Count half a day to set it up and two hours a month to keep it up. At 50 euro an hour that is 100 euro a month of your own time; outsource it and you pay those hours to an agency. Ask which tasks are included and whether you stay the owner of the profile.
How to get more reviews without being pushy is in get more Google reviews. A profile works better with a website that shows the same name, address and phone number, with a page per service, the way our own web design Ghent page serves one city. That tells Google where you belong, and customers find the detail that does not fit on a profile. See what Google currently finds of your site with the website not showing on Google tool. If the profile does not show at all, money is rarely the reason and verification, a suspension or your details almost always are: see why is my Google Business Profile not showing.
The callers selling what is free
Many small businesses get calls or emails saying their Google listing will expire, is incomplete or can be put in first place for a fee. Google does not call to sell you your profile and does not sell a better position. Give no login details and add nobody you do not know as a manager: whoever gets access can change your address, phone number and replies to reviews. Whoever promises to lift you with bought reviews sells something Google forbids as well; see can I buy Google reviews.
A free profile that works, in one afternoon
- A primary category that says what you are, not everything you also do.
- Your real address, or a service area if customers do not come to you.
- Name, address and phone exactly as on your website.
- Ten real photos: your place, your team, your work.
- A reply to every review, the negative ones too, within a week.
Without a website, or from home
Do I need a website for a Google Business Profile?
No, a profile works without a site. A site showing the same details and your services does help Google understand where you belong.
Can I make a free profile if I work from home?
Yes. If customers do not visit you, choose a service area and hide your address. A virtual office or a mailing address does not qualify.