# How to create a Google profile for your business (Google Business Profile)

> Create the listing for your business that appears on Google and Maps, verify it and keep it up to date. With the rules to follow on the name, the address and reviews.

Source: https://simplebuild.it/tutorial/profilo-google-business
Author: SimpleBuild, Build simple. Deliver value.
Category: Websites and online presence
Procedure verified on: 2026-09-29

The **Google Business Profile** is the listing that appears when someone looks up your business on Google or Maps: name, hours, phone, website, photos and reviews. You create it with a Google Account, then you **verify** it to prove the business is yours. Only after verification can you really manage it and reply to reviews.

## Before you start

Get ready:

- a **Google Account** (Google suggests using, if you have one, an email address on your business domain);
- the **exact name** of the business, as customers know it;
- the **address** of your premises, if customers come to you; or else the list of areas where you work;
- a **phone number** that you answer yourself;
- your **website** address, if you have one.

Read the rules first: Google's **guidelines** say what is allowed. The main ones:

- **Name**: the real one, used with customers and on your sign. No keywords, slogans, phone numbers or web addresses.
- **Address**: the real premises where customers can come. P.O. boxes are not allowed.
- **If you work at customers' locations** (plumber, technician, cleaning…): you must hide your address and set the area you serve.
- **Phone**: a number run directly by the business.
- **Categories**: as specific as possible, and few of them. They describe what the business *is*, not what it *has*.

## Create the profile

On a computer:

1. Sign in to your **Google Account** (or create one).
2. Go to the page to **create a profile** for your business (from Google's help or from business.google.com).
3. Type the **business name**. If it shows up in the list of suggestions, the listing may already exist: see further down.
4. Search for and choose the business **category**.
5. Click **Next**.
6. When asked whether you have a location customers can visit, answer **Yes** or **No**. If you answer Yes, enter the address or place the marker on the map.
7. If you also work away from your premises, set the **service area**: Google accepts up to 20.
8. Enter the **phone number** and the **website** address.
9. Click **Finish**.
10. Choose **Verify now** or **Verify later**.

## Verify the business

Verification proves to Google that the business is yours. You don't fully choose the method: Google offers the ones available based on the type of business, the area and public information. You always start from the **Get verified** button.

- **Phone or text**: you receive a code and enter it in the profile. You must be able to answer that number yourself: automated phone systems don't work.
- **Email**: follow the instructions in the message you receive.
- **Live video call**: you must be at the premises, during opening hours, with a phone or tablet with a camera. You will be asked to show, for example, the outside sign, nearby businesses, your equipment and staff-only areas.
- **Postcard**: Google mails a code to the business address. According to the help page, it usually arrives within 14 days and the code is valid for 30 days.

After you submit, Google can take **up to 5 business days** to review the verification. If the verification button appears again, verification didn't succeed: try another of the methods offered.

## If the listing already exists

Sometimes the listing for your business already exists, created by a customer or by a former collaborator.

1. Go to **business.google.com/add**.
2. Enter the business name and address and select it from the list.
3. If you see the message "Someone else may manage this Business Profile", click **Request access**.
4. Fill out the form and click **Submit**.

The current owner receives the request. If they don't reply within the time Google indicates, you get an email to go ahead: click **View request** and then **Verify**.

## Keep it up to date

After verification you can edit hours, phone, website, photos, products and services.

**On a computer:**

1. Go to **business.google.com**.
2. Select **Edit profile**.
3. Make your changes and select **Save**.

**On a phone, with the Google Maps app:**

1. Open **Google Maps**.
2. Tap **Business**, at the bottom right.
3. Tap **Edit profile**, make your changes and tap **Save**.

Google reviews changes before publishing them: they don't always show up right away.

## Reply to reviews

Replying calmly and politely, even to negative reviews, shows customers that you listen to them.

1. Open your profile on **business.google.com**.
2. Select **Read reviews**.
3. Next to the review, select **Reply**.
4. Write your reply and select **Reply** to post it.

The reply appears under the business name, and whoever wrote the review is notified. Before it appears, the reply may be checked by Google.

If you don't have an address of your own for your website yet, start with [how to register a domain](https://simplebuild.it/tutorial/registrare-dominio). To receive email at an address on your domain, see [how to set up your domain email on iPhone and Outlook](https://simplebuild.it/tutorial/email-dominio-iphone-outlook).

## If it still doesn't work

- **It doesn't offer the verification method you want**: that's normal, the methods depend on the business and the area. Use one of those offered.
- **The postcard doesn't arrive**: check that the address is written correctly and in full, with any apartment or unit number on the second line.
- **Verification is rejected**: reread the guidelines. A name with extra words, a home address shown for a business without premises, or a number that isn't yours are frequent causes.
- **A change doesn't appear**: Google is reviewing it. From the help page you can check the status of the change.
- **No method works**: from Google's help you can contact Business Profile support.
- **You'd rather have help** setting up the listing, the categories and the link to your website: a technician can guide you step by step, but the listing must stay under your own Google Account.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a collaborator manage the profile too?

Yes. Google lets you add other owners and managers to the profile. It is best, though, that the primary owner remains your own Google Account.

### I work at customers' homes and have no shop: can I have a profile?

Yes. Answer "No" to the question about a physical location, list the areas where you work and, as Google's guidelines require, don't show your home address to customers.

### Can I add words like "cheap" or the city name to my business name?

No. Google's guidelines ask you to use the real name of the business, without keywords, slogans, phone numbers or web addresses.

### My business already appears on Google but I didn't create it: what do I do?

You can claim it. If someone else already manages it, Google lets you request access from the current owner.

## Sources

- [Sign up for a Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/10514137?hl=en)
- [Verify your business on Google (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en)
- [Guidelines for representing your business on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en)
- [Edit your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3039617?hl=en)
- [Read and reply to reviews (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050?hl=en)
- [Request ownership of a Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/4566671?hl=en)
- [Get started with Google Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7039811?hl=en)