How to Set Up a Google Business Profile and Get It Verified

What a Google Business Profile is and who can have one

A Business Profile is a free listing that Google shows in Maps and in the local pack of search results. It is separate from your website, though it links to it. Google decides whether your business is eligible, and the rule that matters most is in-person contact: the business must meet customers face to face during its stated hours, either at its own location or by travelling to them.

Getting this classification right at the start avoids most verification failures later. Google's review checks that the business type, address and evidence all tell the same story.

Do I have a Google Business Profile already?

Many businesses have a profile they never created. Google builds listings from public data, and previous owners, staff or agencies may have claimed one. Check before you create anything, because a duplicate profile is a common reason verification is refused.

1. Sign in to the Google account you use for the business and open business.google.com. If any profiles are linked to that account, they are listed under your profiles.
2. Search your business name and town on Google. If you manage the profile with the account you are signed into, a management panel appears above the listing.
3. Search the name, phone number and address on Google Maps, including old trading names and old addresses.
4. Ask anyone who has worked on your marketing which Google account they used. Old agency accounts are the usual hiding place.

If a listing exists and nobody on your side controls it, you will see an option to claim it, or a message saying someone else may manage the profile with a Request access button. That is covered in the guide to taking over a Business Profile. If it exists but does not show up in search, see Business Profile not showing.

How to set up a Google Business Profile

Go to business.google.com/create while signed in to the business account, then work through the screens. The details you enter are what verification is checked against, so be exact.

• Business name. Your real-world name as it appears on your signage, invoices and website. Do not add keywords or locations, such as Example Bakery Best Cakes Leeds; that breaks Google's guidelines and often triggers extra review or suspension.
• Category. The most specific primary category that describes what you are, such as Bakery rather than Shop. You can add secondary categories later. See choosing categories.
• Location question. Answer yes to adding a location only if customers can visit you there during your hours.
• Address. The full postal address, formatted exactly as your national postal service writes it, with the unit or suite number if you have one.
• Phone and website. A number that is answered by a person at the business, and the homepage or location page of your site.

Google Business Profile without an address

If you work from home or travel to customers, choose not to show a location to customers and instead add service areas, such as towns or postcode districts. Google still asks for your address so it can verify you, but it is not published. You can list up to 20 service areas; Google advises keeping them to roughly two hours' drive from your base. The service area guide covers this in detail.

Verification methods and how long they take

Once the profile is created, Google offers one or more verification methods. Google chooses which methods you see, based on the business type, location and history, and you cannot change that choice.

After you submit, Google reviews the evidence. Google says this generally takes up to five business days, sometimes longer. Some profiles verify instantly, for example when the website is already verified in Google Search Console with the same account.

What a good verification video shows

• Outside: your signage or street sign, and the nearby buildings, so the location can be matched to the map.
• The business: products, tools, branded van or equipment in use.
• Proof you manage it: unlocking the door, the till, a staff-only area, or business paperwork with sensitive details covered.

For a service-area business, show your work vehicle with its branding and registration area, your tools, and a document such as a business bank letter or insurance certificate with the name and address visible.

Why your Google Business Profile is not getting verified

The most common pattern is a mismatch: the name on the profile differs from the sign over the door, the address is formatted differently from the website, or the phone number goes to a call centre. Google's reviewers compare everything they can see. If the profile is suspended rather than unverified, use the suspended profile guide instead.

Matching your website to the profile

Your website should state the same name, address and phone as the profile, in plain text on the contact page and footer. Adding LocalBusiness structured data makes the match explicit. For a service-area business, leave out the street address and describe the areas served instead:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Plumber",
  "name": "Example Plumbing",
  "url": "https://example.com/",
  "telephone": "+44 1632 960961",
  "areaServed": ["Leeds", "Wakefield", "Harrogate"],
  "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Leeds", "addressCountry": "GB" }
}
</script>

Check the phone number really is identical everywhere with a quick search of the live page:

curl -s https://example.com/contact | grep -oE "\+44 ?[0-9 ]{10,13}|0[0-9]{4} ?[0-9]{6}" | sort -u

More on this in NAP consistency and local schema.

The fix, step by step

Edge cases worth knowing

• Moving premises. Change the address on the existing profile rather than creating a new one; expect to verify again.
• Two businesses at one address. Each needs its own signage and separate phone number to be eligible for separate profiles.
• Practitioners. Individual dentists, solicitors or estate agents can sometimes have their own profiles alongside the practice.
• New businesses with no signage yet. Wait until the location is open and signed before verifying by video.
• Many locations. Ten or more locations can use bulk verification. See multi-location profiles.

Keeping the profile verified and accurate

• Keep at least two owners on the profile, both with business-controlled accounts.
• Change the name, address or category only when the business really changes, and expect re-verification when you do.
• Update hours, including holiday hours, before they apply.
• Check the profile monthly for updates Google or the public have suggested, and accept or correct them.
• Keep website contact details and structured data in step with the profile.

The Business Profile guide covers optimising a verified profile.