Guide for business owners
Google Business Profile basics
A Google Business Profile is your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps. To use it well, claim it, verify it, and fill in every part that fits your business, starting with your category, hours and phone.
By Hypher. Published .
In three steps
Find or create your profile
Go to google.com/business, sign in with a Google account you will keep, and search for your business name.
Verify it
Google picks how you prove the business is yours. Often it is a short video. Follow the steps it shows you.
Fill in every part
Add your category, hours, phone, website, a short description and real photos. Then keep them current.
What is a Google Business Profile?
It is the box that shows your hours, phone, map pin, photos and reviews when someone searches for your business, or for something like "auto repair near me". The same listing is what shows on Google Maps.
How do I claim my profile?
Go to google.com/business and sign in. Use a Google account the business will keep for years, ideally one tied to a business email, not a staff member's personal account. Search for your business. If it already exists, claim it. If it doesn't, create it.
If someone else already manages it, you can ask for access from the same screen. Google gives the current manager time to answer, and if they don't, it may let you take it over.
How does verification work?
Google decides which ways you can verify, and they change. A common one now is a short video: you film your sign or vehicle, where you work or your tools, and something that shows you run the business, like your register or paperwork. Review can take a few days.
Until you're verified, your edits may not show to the public.
Which settings matter most?
Your primary category matters more than almost anything else. Pick the one that best describes your main business, then add a few secondary categories that are also true.
- Hours, including holiday and special hours
- Phone number and website
- A short, plain description of what you do
- Services or a menu, if your category offers them
- Real photos: your place, your work, your team, your logo
What name should I use?
Use your real business name, the way it reads on your sign and your paperwork. Adding extra words like a city name or "best" breaks Google's rules and can get a profile suspended.
What if I don't have a storefront?
Set your profile up as a service-area business. You hide your street address and list the towns or areas you serve. Google's rules don't allow a PO box or a virtual office as your address.
How do I keep it in good shape?
Update your hours before every holiday. Reply to reviews. Add a new photo now and then. Check it after any change to your phone, website or address, because Google and the public can suggest edits to your listing too.
Where does Hypher come in?
Your Google profile and your Hypher page work together. A Hypher member page can link to your Google review page, and customers who use a Hypher code at your business are asked to leave you a Google review. See what members get.
Questions people ask
Does a Google Business Profile cost money?
No. Creating, verifying and managing a profile is free.
Do I have to show my home address?
No. If customers don't come to you, set up a service-area profile and hide the address.
Can more than one person manage the profile?
Yes. You can add managers from the profile settings. Keep yourself as the owner so you never lose access when someone leaves.
Someone changed my hours without asking. What happened?
Google lets the public suggest edits, and sometimes it accepts them. Check your profile regularly and change anything that's wrong back.
This guide is general advice, not a promise of results. Google, Bing, Apple and the AI apps change how they work often. If something here looks out of date, tell us.