How to get your business on Google Maps
When someone searches for a service “near me”, Google shows a map with three businesses before any websites. Those businesses all have one thing: a Google Business Profile. It’s free, and here’s how to set one up properly.
What a Google Business Profile is
A Google Business Profile is the box that appears on Google Maps and in search results with your name, phone number, opening hours, photos and reviews. It’s free, and you manage it yourself. For a local business it’s often the first thing a customer sees, before they ever reach your website.
1. Start with the right Google account
Sign in to a Google account, ideally one using your business email, then go to business.google.com/create. Google’s own guide walks through each step: add or claim your Business Profile.
2. Check you don’t already have a listing
When you type your business name, Google may suggest an existing listing. If it’s yours, pick it and claim it rather than making a duplicate. If someone else has already verified it, Google lets you request ownership.
3. Choose your main category carefully
Your primary category tells Google what you are: “Painter”, “Hair salon”, “Wedding venue”. Pick the most specific one that fits, because it decides which searches you appear in.
4. No shop? You can hide your address
If customers don’t visit you (most tradespeople, cleaners, mobile hairdressers, caterers), set up as a service-area business. Google says you “should only choose to not show your address if your business is a service-area business”. You then list the towns or postcodes you cover; Google’s guide allows up to 20 and suggests staying within about two hours’ drive of your base.
5. Add your phone number and website
Use the number customers should actually call, and link your own website rather than a Facebook page if you have one. A website gives Google more to go on about what you do and where.
6. Verify it
Your profile only shows to customers once it’s verified. After you press Finish, Google offers the verification options available to you. Do it straight away rather than choosing “Verify later”.
7. Fill in everything, then keep it alive
Add opening hours, services, a description in plain English and plenty of real photos of your work. Then keep it current: update holiday hours, add new photos and reply to reviews.
8. Ask for reviews, the right way
Reviews help people choose you. Google lets you share a review link or QR code with customers (Google’s review tips). But never offer anything in return: Google treats rewarding reviews as fake engagement, which it says is “strictly prohibited”.
Your profile and your website work together
The profile gets you seen; your website is where people decide. Make sure your site loads fast on a phone, says clearly what you do and where, and makes it easy to call or get a quote. Our website checklist covers the rest. If you’d like help, our Business package includes help setting up your Google Business Profile.
