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Google Business Profile basics for a new business

For a lot of local businesses, the Business Profile is what customers see first, before they ever reach the website. This guide covers setting one up without tripping the rules that get new profiles suspended.

Last checked October 15, 2026 · about 6 minutes to read · drafted and checked with AI help, here's how

Search for a plumber, a bakery or a tire shop near you and the first thing on the screen is usually a map with a few businesses pinned on it. Those listings are Google Business Profiles. They show your hours, phone number, photos, reviews and a link to your website, in Google Maps and in regular search.

Google's own page says creating a Business Profile and listing your business is free. The setup takes maybe half an hour. Verification can take longer, and that's where most new owners get stuck.

First, check that you qualify

Not every business can have a profile. Google's rule is that the business has to make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. That covers two kinds of business:

  • Storefronts, where customers come to you: a shop, an office, a salon, a restaurant.
  • Service-area businesses, where you go to the customer: plumbers, cleaners, mobile mechanics, landscapers.

Online-only businesses aren't eligible. If you sell only through your website and never meet customers face to face, a Business Profile isn't for you. Focus on Search Console instead.

If you're a service-area business and customers don't come to your address, Google says to hide or remove the address and list a service area instead. You can list up to 20 areas, and Google asks that they stay within about two hours' drive of where you're based. A business that serves people at its address and travels to them can show both.

Addresses Google won't accept

This trips up a lot of home-based and new businesses. Under Google's guidelines:

  • P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are never allowed, even if you pay for a "street address" version.
  • A virtual office you don't actually work from isn't eligible.
  • A co-working space counts only if it has clear signs for your business, receives customers, and is staffed by your own people during your business hours.

If you work from home and customers don't visit, set up as a service-area business with the address hidden. Google may still ask for your address during setup or verification, but it won't be shown publicly.

Filling it in

Your name is your real name

Use the name on your sign, your website and your paperwork. Nothing else. Google's guidelines specifically rule out adding service or product information, location information, slogans, phone numbers or web addresses to the name. "Northland Heating" is fine. "Northland Heating – Best Furnace Repair Duluth MN" is the kind of name that gets a profile suspended. It's tempting to copy a competitor who does it. But anyone on Google Maps, competitors included, can suggest an edit to a profile or report a misleading name, and Google may suspend it.

Categories

You pick one primary category and can add some additional ones. The primary category matters most, so choose the one that describes the core of what you do, not everything you could do. Google doesn't currently publish a maximum for additional categories; a few accurate ones beat a long list of loose fits.

Hours, phone and website

Use hours you'll actually keep and a number that a person answers. Link to the website for your business. If you have more than one location, Google wants each profile to link to a page that represents that location. Everything here should match your website exactly. If your site says you close at 5 and your profile says 6, one of them is wrong in front of a customer.

Verification

Before your profile shows up publicly, Google has to verify that the business is real and that you're the one managing it. The methods Google may offer are:

  • a phone call or text with a code
  • an email with a code
  • a recorded video you take of your business
  • a live video call with a Google support person
  • a postcard mailed to your address

You don't get to choose. Google's help page says the available methods are automatically determined by Google and can't be changed, and some businesses need more than one. If you're offered a video, follow the on-screen prompts closely. They tell you what Google needs to see. Before you start, think about what shows the business is real and yours, like a sign, your equipment or business paperwork, and have it handy.

Tip: Don't create a second profile because the first one is stuck in verification. Duplicates are their own problem. Work through Google's help page for your verification method, and contact Google's support from inside the profile if you're stuck.

After you're live

Edits get reviewed

When you change something, Google reviews it before it shows. Google says that usually takes about ten minutes but can take up to 30 days. Your edits show as Pending, Accepted or Not approved. Changing your category can trigger verification again, so get it right the first time.

Photos and updates

Add real photos of your work, your team, your storefront or your vehicle. They show a stranger what to expect better than any description. Keep holiday hours up to date. A customer who drives over and finds the door locked on a day Google said you were open may not come back.

Reviews: what you can and can't do

You're allowed to ask customers for honest reviews. What you can't do, under Google's policy:

  • Offer anything in exchange for a review: payment, discounts, free goods or services.
  • Discourage or prohibit negative reviews.
  • Selectively ask only your happy customers. This is sometimes called "review gating", like sending a survey first and only asking people who rated you well.
  • Pressure people to write a review while they're at your business.

Federal law covers some of the same ground. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews and rewards that depend on what a review says, among other things. The first-visitors guide lists what the rule covers and how to ask for reviews the right way.

Replying to reviews

You can reply publicly to any review, and your reply shows under your business name. Google checks replies before they appear, usually within ten minutes but sometimes up to 30 days. Reply to the bad ones calmly and briefly. The person reading your reply is the next customer, not the reviewer.

The phone calls to ignore

New businesses get a lot of calls from people claiming to be "from Google" or "your Google listing team". Google says it will never ask you for payment over the phone, never guarantee you a special spot in its products, and never pressure you to pay to keep, verify or reinstate your profile. Your profile is free, and nobody can sell you a guaranteed spot in it.

If you get one of these calls, hang up. You can report it through Google's form for scam calls or to the FTC at donotcall.gov.

Once the profile is done

Your Business Profile and your website should point at each other and agree on everything. Bing and Apple have their own versions of this listing, and Bing's can import your Google profile in a few clicks. That's covered in the Bing and IndexNow guide.

Sources

Just launched a site? List it on the debut board. It's free, there's no account, and new listings are reviewed before they go up.