How to set up and verify a Google Business Profile (step by step)

Short answer: you create a Google Business Profile for free at google.com/business. Enter your business name, category, address or service area and contact details, then verify the business using whichever method Google offers you (often a short video). Once verified, you start appearing in Google Search and on Google Maps.

When someone searches “boiler repair near me” or “removals in Leeds”, a map with a handful of businesses appears at the top of the results. A Business Profile is the first, free step to being one of them.

Have this ready before you start

Filling in the profile takes 15 to 20 minutes. Have these to hand:

• Your business’s real, official name (as it appears on your signage and invoices)
• Your phone number (ideally the one you also use for WhatsApp, if your customers use it)
• Your website address, if you have one
• Your opening hours
• At least 5 to 10 real photos of your premises, your team and your work

Step 1: Create the profile

1. Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Google account you want to manage the business with.
2. Type your business name. If Google finds a matching listing, it will suggest it: claim it if it’s yours, otherwise create a new profile.
3. Choose your primary category. This is one of the most important settings. Pick the category that describes your business most precisely, such as “Cleaning service”, “Moving company” or “Heating contractor”.

Step 2: Address or service area?

You have two options:

• If customers come to you (a shop, office or salon): enter your address.
• If you go to your customers (cleaning, removals, building, repairs): hide your address and add the areas you serve instead.

If you run a service business from home, showing your home address is unnecessary and goes against Google’s guidelines. Use the service-area option.

Step 3: Contact details

Add your phone number and your website, if you have one. You can continue with just a phone number, but businesses with a website look more trustworthy and tend to rank better.

Step 4: Verify your business

Google wants to confirm that the business is really yours. Google decides which methods to offer you; the most common are:

• Video verification: you record a short, continuous video on your phone. It should show your signage or branded vehicle, your workplace, and something that proves the business is yours (such as an invoice or your logo on a vehicle).
• Verification by post: Google sends a postcard with a code to your address.
• Phone or email: some businesses are offered these faster options.

Try not to edit your profile until verification is complete; repeated changes can slow down the review.

Step 5: Fill in every section

The real work starts once you’re verified. Google shows complete profiles more prominently:

• Opening hours: enter your real hours, and set special hours for public holidays.
• Business description: explain in plain language what you do, where you work and what makes you different.
• Services: add each service you offer separately (for example “home cleaning”, “office cleaning”, “end-of-tenancy cleaning”).
• Photos: real photos of your work, your team and your vehicle. Avoid stock photos.
• Additional categories: besides your primary category, you can add two or three that fit your other services.

Common mistakes

1. Stuffing keywords into the business name. Names like “Mike’s Plumbing Leeds Cheapest 24/7” can seem to help in the short term, but they break Google’s guidelines and can get your profile suspended. Use your real name.
2. Different details in different places. Your name, address and phone number should be identical on your website, your social media and your profile. Inconsistencies erode trust, both Google’s and that of AI assistants.
3. Setting it up and forgetting it. Profiles with regular new photos and posts, and with replies to reviews, get more visibility.
4. Not asking for reviews. Ask every happy customer for a review. Review count and rating are among the strongest signals for ranking on Google Maps.

Next step: is a profile enough on its own?

A well-completed profile is the foundation of showing up in local search. But after clicking your profile, most customers look at your website. A site that loads fast on a phone and has one-tap call and message buttons turns the interest your profile generates into real customers.

If you’d like us to look at your profile and website together, message us on WhatsApp. You can also check whether your website is ready with our free site audit in 30 seconds.