When someone searches for a hairdresser, a plumber or a café nearby, they usually turn to Google. The first thing they see is rarely a website. It is the box with a map, photos, opening hours and reviews. That box is controlled by Google Business Profile, and it is completely free to use. Even so, many business profiles sit half finished or completely untouched. That is a shame, because a well maintained profile is one of the simplest things you can do to become more visible locally. In this guide we cover what the profile is, how to create or claim it, how to optimize it, and which mistakes to avoid.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile is Google's free tool for controlling how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps. The service was previously called Google My Business, and many people still search for that name when looking for it. The profile itself is the information box that appears when someone searches for your business name, or when they search for services you offer in your area.
A complete business profile can show:
- Name, category and a short description of the business
- Address, phone number and a link to your website
- Opening hours, including holiday hours
- Photos of your premises, products and staff
- Customer reviews and your replies
- Posts with news, offers and events
Why the profile is free visibility
You pay nothing to appear here. Google takes the information from your profile and shows it in three important places:
Google Search
The knowledge panelWhen someone searches for your business name, your profile appears as a dedicated box with all the key information.
Google Maps
Map searchesCustomers looking for "hairdresser near me" find you on the map, with directions straight to your door.
The local pack
The top threeFor local searches, Google shows a map with three highlighted businesses at the top of the results. That is where you want to be.
For a local business, which often competes for customers in its own neighbourhood, this is some of the most valuable space on the entire internet. And it costs nothing.
How to create or claim your profile
Many businesses already have a profile without knowing it. Google often creates profiles automatically based on publicly available information. In that case the job is to claim the profile as yours, not to create a new one.
Check whether a profile exists
Search for your business name on Google and Google Maps. If you find a profile you do not control, you will often see the link "Own this business?".
Sign in with a Google account
Use an account the business controls, not a personal account that can disappear with an employee. Go to google.com/business to get started.
Claim or create the profile
If the profile already exists, claim ownership of it. If it does not, create a new one with your name, category and address.
Verify the business
Google needs to confirm that you actually run the business. This usually happens via video, phone, email or a postcard with a code.
Fill in everything
After verification, complete the entire profile. A complete profile makes a better impression and gets better visibility than a half finished one.
Optimization: how to get the most out of your profile
Choose the right category
Your primary category is one of the most important choices you make. Pick the one that describes your core business most precisely, for example "Tire shop" rather than just "Store". You can add secondary categories for other services you offer.
Upload good photos
Photos give customers a first impression before they have visited you. Upload pictures of your storefront, so people recognize the place, along with your interior, products and ideally the people who work there. Use real photos, not stock images, and add new ones regularly.
Keep your opening hours up to date
Wrong opening hours are one of the fastest ways to lose a customer. If the profile says open when you are closed, the customer stands in front of a locked door and remembers it. Remember to add special hours for holidays and other exceptions.
Write a good description and add your services
The description can be up to 750 characters. Explain in plain language what you do, who you help and where you are located. Also add your services or products as separate entries, so Google understands exactly what you offer.
A quick checklist for an optimized business profile:
- Precise primary category and relevant secondary categories
- At least 5 to 10 real, good quality photos
- Correct opening hours, including holidays
- A description that explains what you do and for whom
- Services and products added with short explanations
- A phone number and website that actually work
Reviews: why they matter so much
Many customers check reviews before choosing where to shop or book an appointment. The stars appear right in the search results, before the customer has clicked anything. Reviews are also part of what Google uses when ranking local search results: how many you have, what they say, and how regularly new ones arrive.
Just as important as getting reviews is replying to them. Thank people for positive reviews, and respond calmly and constructively to negative ones. A composed reply to an unhappy customer shows every other reader that you take feedback seriously.
How to ask for reviews
- Ask right after a job well done, while the experience is fresh
- Share the direct link to the review form, ideally by text message or email
- Use a QR code in your store, at the counter or on the invoice
- Make it a regular routine, not a one time effort
Never buy fake reviews, and never offer payment for positive ones. It violates Google's guidelines and can damage your profile. If you want a consistent, tidy process for collecting reviews, our Google reviews service can automate the whole job.
Google posts and updates
From your profile you can publish posts that appear directly in the search results. Use them for offers, news, events or seasonal messages, such as "booking is now open for winter tire changes". Posts have a limited lifespan, so think of them as a notice board you update regularly, not an archive. A profile that is updated regularly signals to both customers and Google that the business is active and open.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are the mistakes we see most often:
- Duplicate profiles: two profiles for the same business confuse both customers and Google. Merge them or report the duplicate.
- Outdated opening hours, especially around holidays
- Unanswered reviews, especially negative ones left standing without a reply
- A wrong or overly general category, which keeps you out of relevant searches
- Keywords stuffed into the business name, which violates Google's guidelines
- A profile set up once and never touched again
How the profile affects local ranking
Google decides which businesses appear at the top of local searches, but they have been open about what they weigh:
Three factors Google itself lists
Relevance: how well your profile matches what is being searched for. Category, services and description are your tools here. Distance: how close your business is to the person searching. You cannot control this, but a correct address and service area help. Prominence: how well known and talked about your business is, including through reviews, mentions and links online.
Google is explicit about the role of reviews here. In its own guidance on local ranking, Google states that review count and average score are factored in, and that more reviews and better ratings can lift a business higher in local search. A steady stream of genuine reviews is therefore one of the most concrete things you can do for prominence.
You cannot move your business closer to your customers, but relevance and prominence are things you can work on deliberately: a complete profile, the right categories, a steady stream of reviews and updated content. Combined with a good website and fast follow up on enquiries, for example with a chatbot that answers customers around the clock, it gives you a solid local foundation. The most important thing is simply to get started: claim the profile, fill it in properly and make maintenance a habit.
Want more Google reviews?
We help businesses collect reviews automatically, with tidy routines that follow Google's guidelines. You do the great work, we make sure your customers talk about it.