When someone searches for a business like yours nearby, Google shows a map and a short list of profiles before any website. That profile shows your hours, photos, reviews and a button to call or get directions. If it is missing, incomplete or out of date, customers simply choose someone else.
This guide walks through each step in order: checking eligibility, adding or claiming your profile, getting the details right, and keeping it active.
Join the City Chamber of Commerce
According to Google’s guidelines for representing your business, a business qualifies if it has a physical location customers can visit, or if it travels to customers where they are. Plumbers, cleaners and mobile services count, as long as they serve customers in person.
If you travel to customers, set a service area and hide your address. A rented mailing address, P.O. box or virtual office where you do not operate or serve customers is not eligible. A virtual office can be listed only if it is staffed during business hours.
If no profile exists, go to business.google.com/add and follow the steps. If your business already appears on Google Maps, open it and choose “Claim this business,” then “Manage now.” Adding or claiming a profile is free, per Google’s add-or-claim instructions.
Google then asks you to verify that you own the business. Follow the option it offers. If someone else already controls your profile, you can request ownership from inside Google’s process rather than starting a duplicate.
Use your real-world business name, exactly as it appears on your signage and branding. Google’s guidelines for representing your business do not allow extra information such as taglines, keywords or locations in the name.
Pick the primary category that completes the sentence “This business IS a…”, and add only a few secondary categories. Then fill in hours (including holiday hours), your website, services and a clear description. Make sure your name, address and phone match your website and other listings word for word.
Add real photos of your work, team, products and premises, and keep adding new ones. Post updates and offers when you have news. An active profile shows customers, and Google, that you are open and responsive.
Reply to every review, positive or negative, in a calm and helpful tone. Our guide to getting more reviews explains how to ask for them the right way.
Depending on your category, you may be able to list products and services with prices, add booking or ordering links, and choose attributes that describe your business. Fill in everything that applies, because complete profiles give customers fewer reasons to look elsewhere.
Update your profile whenever something changes: new hours, a new service, a temporary closure. Out-of-date information is one of the fastest ways to lose a customer’s trust.
Your profile’s performance report shows how many people found you, which searches they used, and how many called, asked for directions or clicked through to your website.
Check it once a month. Rising views with falling calls usually means your photos, reviews or description need work. Falling views usually means visibility, categories or activity need attention.
Yes. Adding, claiming and managing a Business Profile costs nothing.
Yes, if you travel to serve customers in person. Set a service area and hide your address. A mailing address, P.O. box or unstaffed virtual office alone is not eligible.
No. Your profile name should match your real-world business name, as Google’s guidelines require.
Use Google’s request-ownership process from the profile rather than creating a second listing.
A strong Google profile works best alongside consistent listings elsewhere. A City Chamber of Commerce membership adds a trusted listing and marketing across twelve channels.
Join the City Chamber of Commerce