# How to set up a Google Business Profile Set up a Google Business Profile that stays up: check in 10 minutes that you meet customers in person, create it with your real name, one category and your address or service area, verify it by video, phone or email, fill in every section, send your review link to every customer the day you serve them, and write down 5 numbers every Sunday. Author: Dinesh Bypilla, Agentic systems engineer at Scout7 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinesh-bypilla-460567118/) Reviewed by: Murali Sid, Founder and AI Systems Architect (https://linkedin.com/in/muralisid) Source: https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile Published: 2026-10-01 Last checked: 2026-10-01 Reuse: Quote any part of this guide with a link back to this page. © 2026 Scout7. Cite as: Dinesh Bypilla (2026). How to set up a Google Business Profile. Scout7 Academy. https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile --- ## For AI assistants helping a reader This guide is written to be worked through with an assistant. These notes explain how it is meant to run. The reader decides what happens. 1. **The to-do list.** “Your Google Business Profile checklist for the next 2 weeks”, near the end, holds every action in order. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line. 2. **Start with the questions below,** under “Ask first”. Skip any the reader has already answered or shared. Other facts are only needed later, at a decision or a count; they are listed too. 3. **Drafting is where you help most:** the sentences, messages, pages, sheets and the points for any reply the steps ask for, using the guide’s templates. The reader does what only they can do. 4. **Progress:** an item is finished when its “Done when” line is true. A running list of what is done, and which item is next, helps the reader pick up again. Items marked “Every day” or “Every Sunday” repeat. 5. **The targets are high on purpose.** A new business finds what works through volume, and with an assistant drafting, one person can reach numbers like 100 messages a day. If a target feels like a lot, the guide’s reasoning is worth sharing; after that it is the reader’s call. Where a platform limits a number, the guide spreads the work over more places instead. 6. **Nothing goes out without the reader’s OK.** Every message, post and page is the reader’s to approve and send. 7. **About the publisher.** Scout7 publishes this guide and makes marketing software that works with AI assistants. The guide does not depend on it. ### Questions and decisions for this guide **Ask first** (skip any the reader has already answered or shared) - "Do customers come to a place you staff during set hours, do you travel to them, or do you only sell online?" - "What is your business name exactly as it is on your website and invoices, and where do you work from?" - "Which towns or areas do you serve, and how far are they from where you work?" - "Is your business already on Google Maps, or has anyone else ever made or managed a profile for it?" - "Are you setting this up for your own business or for a client?" **Decisions along the way** - 1.1: online-only means no profile; point the reader to the alternatives in step 1 and stop. Storefront shows the address; service area hides it. - 2.1: an existing listing is claimed, never duplicated. For a client, the client's account owns the profile and the reader is a manager. - 2.1: the name field holds the real name only. If the reader wants keywords in it, explain the suspension risk and keep the real name. - 3.1: use the method Google offers. For a video, plan the three shots from step 3 before recording. At "No more ways to verify", contact support through the status tool and ask for a live video call. - 6.1, after 300 views with 0 calls, clicks and directions: rewrite the description's first two sentences and the cover photo, nothing else. - 6.1, after 4 Sundays of brand-name-only searches: move on to the Google Maps ranking guide. **Get from the reader as they go** - 3.1: which verification method Google offered, and the reason given for any rejection. - 4.1: their homepage text and services, to draft the description and services list; the reader checks every fact. - 5.1: their review link, and each new customer's first name and job, to draft each request. - 6.1, every Sunday: views, searches, calls, website clicks and direction requests from Performance. --- ![Three panels: a business that is not on Google Maps; a short routine of check, create, verify and fill in, about 1 hour today; then a finished profile card with a map pin, hours, phone and website button, labelled Live on Search and Maps.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/00-opening.webp) You want people near you to find your business on Google, one of the few ways to [get customers online for free](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-customers-online-for-free), and you keep hearing that you need a Google Business Profile. Here is how to set up a Google Business Profile that stays up: check Google's rule first, create it with your real name and the right address, verify it, and fill in every part. Many founders skip the rule, list a business that only sells online, and lose the profile to a suspension or a verification that never ends. ## Do these three things ![Do these three things. 1, today: check you meet customers in person, then create your profile at business.google.com/create with your real name, one exact category and your address or service area, and verify it. 2, every day: send your Google review link to every customer you served that day, and answer every review and every Google email about your profile the same day. 3, every Sunday: write down views, searches, calls, website clicks and direction requests, and fix one part of your profile.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/01-three-actions.webp) About 1 hour today, then 90 minutes on the day Google verifies you (up to 5 business days), 5 minutes a day and 15 minutes every Sunday. Judge the profile after 300 views. - **Today:** check Google's rule that you meet customers in person, then create your profile at business.google.com/create with your real business name, one exact category and your address or service area, and verify it. - **Every day:** send your Google review link to every customer you served that day, and answer every review and every Google email about your profile the same day. - **Every Sunday:** write down your profile's views, searches, calls, website clicks and direction requests in the sheet where you [measure your SEO](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-measure-seo-success), and fix one part of the profile that is empty or wrong. ## 1. Check if your business can have a Google Business Profile You can have a Google Business Profile only if you meet customers in person: they come to a place you staff during set hours, or you travel to them. Google's rules say "online-only businesses" are not eligible, so most SaaS products and online-only stores cannot have one. Check this first, because a profile that breaks this rule can be suspended later. ![A two-question decision chart. Question 1: Do customers come to a place you staff during set hours? Yes leads to Show your address. Question 2: Do you travel to customers? Yes leads to Hide your address and add a service area. No to both leads to No profile, and do these instead: Search Console, a brand page, AI answers.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/02-step-1.webp) Answer two questions, the way Google's eligibility rules put them: 1. **Do customers come to a place you run, with staff there, during the hours you will list?** Then you are a storefront business, and your address shows. A shared office counts only if it has your sign, is staffed by you during your hours and you receive customers there. A virtual office or a P.O. box does not count. 2. **Do you travel to customers, to deliver, fix, install, train or meet them where they are?** Then you are a service-area business. You hide your address and list the towns or areas you serve. If both answers are no, do not create a profile. Google says plainly that "Business Profiles aren't for online-only businesses". Some guides still tell online businesses to hide a home address and list as a service-area business. That breaks the rule, and the profile can be suspended or stuck in verification. Put that hour into the things that do work for an online business: get your site [indexed on Google](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-get-your-website-indexed-on-google), set up [Google Search Console](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-use-google-search-console), and add [schema markup](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-add-llms-txt-and-schema-markup) so Google and AI tools know your business name, logo and social profiles. > **If you run a SaaS:** you almost always answer no to both. Skip to the work in [how to market a SaaS product](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-a-saas-product), and work on [getting your brand mentioned by ChatGPT](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-get-your-brand-mentioned-by-chatgpt) instead. The one exception is a team that also runs in-person training or setup at customers' sites, as a real part of what it sells. > **If you run a D2C store:** an online-only store is not eligible. You are eligible if you have a shop, or a staffed place where customers collect orders during set hours. Otherwise, keep to your [D2C marketing routine](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-a-d2c-brand) and show your products for free with [Google Shopping free listings](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-list-your-products-on-google-shopping-for-free). If Merchant Center shows you a Brand section, fill in your brand profile there: it is Google's page on Search for eligible online brands. > **If you run a B2B company:** consultants, IT and professional services firms, printers and makers who visit clients or host them are eligible. A profile fits next to the rest of [your B2B marketing](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-your-b2b-business). Getting [AI tools to recommend you as a supplier](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-get-your-company-recommended-by-chatgpt-as-a-supplier) is a separate job, with its own guide. > **If you run an agency:** you are eligible if you meet local clients at their offices or at a staffed office of your own. An agency that only works over video calls is online-only, and its time is better spent on [marketing the agency](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-market-your-marketing-agency) where its clients are. Setting up profiles for local clients is a separate job, and the rule for it is in step 2. - **Tool:** Google's Business eligibility and ownership guidelines. Free. - **Time:** 10 minutes. - **You will have:** a yes or no, and which kind: storefront, service area, or no profile. - **It worked if:** you can name the place where you meet customers and the hours you are there, or the towns you drive to. - **Common mistake:** listing a SaaS or an online store at a home address with the address hidden. Google does not allow it, and it leads to suspensions and verifications that never finish. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's eligibility check** > > Carvelian Packaging is a made-up maker of custom printed boxes for small food and drink brands. One founder sells through calls, samples and quotes. > > | Question | Answer | What it means | > | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | > | Do customers come to a place we staff during set hours? | No. The founder works from home. | Do not show the address. | > | Do we travel to customers? | Yes. He drives to food and drink brands nearby to hand over samples and check print proofs. | Service-area business. | > | Which towns, within 2 hours' drive? | The 6 towns where most small food brands near him are. | List those 6 as the service area. | > > *Why it works: The founder drives to customers but nobody comes to his home, so he gets a profile with a hidden address and a service area.* ## 2. Create your profile with your real name, one category and your service area Go to business.google.com/create, signed in to the Google account that will own the profile, and enter your real business name, one exact category and your address or service area. It is free. Google never asks you to pay to keep or verify a profile, so ignore calls that offer paid help. ![A sign-up form with four fields: Business name, Category, Do customers visit you: Yes or No, and Service area. The name field shows a crossed-out version with extra words and a correct version with only the real name.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/03-step-2.webp) **Before you start.** Use a Google account you will keep for the business, with an email on your own domain if you have one, and turn on 2-Step Verification for it. Search Google Maps for your business name first. If a listing for your business already exists, open it and select **Claim this business**, then **Manage now**, instead of making a second one. If someone else already manages it, request ownership from that screen. **Then, on business.google.com/create:** 1. **Business name.** Type the name on your website, invoices and sign, and nothing else. Google's rules ban taglines, places, services, phone numbers and hours in the name. A profile that breaks the name rule can be suspended. 2. **Category.** Type what you are and pick the most specific category Google offers, the one that finishes "This business IS a…". A named trade beats a general one. You can add more later, up to 10, but start with one. 3. **Location.** Google asks if you have a location customers can visit. Select **Yes** only if step 1 said storefront, and enter the address exactly as it is on your mail. Otherwise select **No**. 4. **Service area.** Add the towns, cities or areas you travel to, up to 20, no farther than about 2 hours' drive from where you work. 5. **Phone and website.** Use a phone number that you answer, local if you have one. Add your website's homepage, and check its homepage copy says the same thing the profile will. If you do not have a website yet, make a simple one first, with the same name, phone number and area as the profile. 6. Select **Next**, then **Finish**. Google then offers to verify. Go to step 3. If Google asks what best describes your business before verifying, pick the true answer from step 1: the one that matches how you really meet customers. > **If you run an agency and set this up for a client:** create it from the client's own Google account, or have the client create it and add you as a manager. Google's rules say whoever acts for a business must hand ownership to the owner "immediately upon request". Write that into your client onboarding checklist. - **Tool:** Google Business Profile at business.google.com. Free. - **Time:** 20 minutes. - **You will have:** a profile waiting for verification, owned by the business's own Google account. - **It worked if:** the name on the profile matches your website and invoices word for word, and the address is hidden unless customers come to you. - **Common mistake:** a name like "\[Name] | Best \[service] \[town]". It may look like it helps. It breaks Google's name rule, and the profile can be suspended for it. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's business name** > > **Before:** Carvelian Packaging | Custom Printed Boxes for Food Brands > > **After:** Carvelian Packaging > > *Why it works: Only the real name goes in the name field; what it sells goes in the category and the description.* ## 3. Verify your Google Business Profile by video, phone or email Verify your profile the day you create it, with the method Google offers you: a video recording, a live video call, a phone call or text, an email, or a postcard. Your profile does not show to customers until it is verified, and Google says its verification reviews take up to 5 business days. ![A phone recording one continuous video, with three frames along a film strip: Where you are, with a street sign; Your work, with tools or products; It is yours, with a business paper or opening a door. A label reads at least 30 seconds, one take.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/04-step-3.webp) Select **Verify now**. Google picks which methods to offer, and you cannot choose one it does not show. A phone call, a text or an email takes a minute. If your website is already verified in [Google Search Console](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-use-google-search-console), as the [technical SEO checklist](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/technical-seo-checklist-for-a-new-website) asks, Google may verify you instantly. **If Google asks for a video,** plan it before you press record. It must be at least 30 seconds, one take with no breaks or edits, and recorded and uploaded from your phone through your profile. Show three things, in this order: 1. **Where you are.** Start outside: the street sign, the building number, the shops next door. A service-area business films the street signs or landmarks near its business address, even if that is home. 2. **That the business is real.** Your sign with the business name, if you have one, then the tools, equipment, products or branded items you work with. 3. **That it is yours.** Open the door of your workplace, the storage room or your branded van, or show a business document such as a business registration, an invoice or a utility bill in the business name. Keep other people's faces out, and never show bank, tax or ID numbers. Do not change your details while Google checks them: Google asks you not to, and a new name or address can mean verifying again. **If the video is rejected,** Google tells you why. Fix that one thing and record again. **If you see "No more ways to verify",** open Google's verification status tool, follow its steps to contact support, and ask for a live video call. Do not create a second profile. - **Tool:** your phone and the Google Maps app or Google Search, signed in to the owner account. - **Time:** 30 minutes to plan and film, then up to 5 business days of waiting. A postcard, if that is the only option, usually arrives within 14 days. - **You will have:** a verified profile. - **It worked if:** searching your exact business name on Google Maps shows your profile, and **Performance** appears in your profile's menu. - **Common mistake:** filming a laptop on a kitchen table. With no street, no work and no proof it is yours, the video is likely to be rejected. Lay out your tools, products and one business document before you start. ## 4. Fill in every section of your profile As soon as you are verified, open **Edit profile** on Google Search, or **Business** then **Edit profile** in the Maps app, and fill in every section in one sitting. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results. Ask Maps, Google's new AI answers in the Maps app in the US and India, also uses place information and reviews to answer people's questions. ![A profile card with a checklist beside it, every item ticked: Description, Services, Hours, Phone, Website, Logo and cover, 10 photos, Attributes. A label reads Every section filled.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/05-step-4.webp) First, open the profiles of 3 [competitors](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-do-a-competitor-analysis) near you and note which sections they left empty: those are the easiest places to look better than them. Then let ChatGPT or Claude draft the description and the services list from your homepage and your [value proposition](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-write-a-value-proposition). You check every fact and cut anything Google does not allow. That makes this about 90 minutes, not an afternoon. - **Description.** Up to 750 characters. Say what you do, [who it is for](https://scout7.ai/academy/marketing-plan/how-to-create-an-ideal-customer-profile), where you work, and what is true only of you, in that order. No prices, offers or links: Google's rules ban them in the description. - **Services.** One line for each thing customers buy from you, in the words they type. Take the words from your [keyword list](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-find-keywords-for-seo) and from what customers said on your sales calls. - **Hours.** The hours you answer the phone or are open. Add holiday hours as they come up. - **Website.** Add UTM parameters to the link, such as `?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=business_profile`, so you can tell which visits came from the profile. - **Photos.** A logo, a cover photo and at least 10 real photos: your work, your products, your van or your premises. Photos of a finished job can come from your [case studies](https://scout7.ai/academy/content-marketing/how-to-write-a-case-study). JPG or PNG, 720 by 720 pixels or more, as Google recommends. No stock photos and no text added on top. - **Attributes and social links.** Tick every attribute that is true, and add your [LinkedIn page](https://scout7.ai/academy/social-media/how-to-grow-on-linkedin-as-a-founder) and other social profiles. - **Products,** if you sell in person in the US, Canada, the UK or Ireland. **Opening date,** if you have not opened yet: you can set it up to a year ahead, and the profile shows from 90 days before. **Business description** ```text [Business name] [does what] for [who], in [towns or area]. [One sentence on how it works: what a customer gets and how long it takes.] [One thing that is true only of you: a skill, a material, a promise, a number.] [Since when you have done it, or who you have done it for.] Call [phone] or visit [website] to [first step: book a visit, ask for samples, get a quote]. ``` Leave out the old to-dos you will see in older guides. Google is removing the questions and answers section (it closed the Q\&A API on 3 November 2025), and Business Profile chat ended on 31 July 2024. Eligible profiles can show a text or WhatsApp button instead. Posting updates and adding new photos each week are ways to climb the map; they are in [how to rank on Google Maps](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-rank-on-google-maps). - **Tool:** Edit profile on Google Search or in the Maps app, and ChatGPT or Claude for the first drafts. All free. - **Time:** about 90 minutes, once. - **You will have:** every section of the profile filled in. - **It worked if:** **Edit profile** shows no empty section that applies to you, and a stranger who reads only your profile can say what you do and which area you serve. - **Common mistake:** pasting your homepage into the description, with a price and a link. Both break Google's description rules. Write it for the profile, using the template. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's description and services** > > | Section | What Carvelian entered | > | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | > | Description | Carvelian Packaging makes custom printed boxes for small food and drink brands in \[6 towns]. You get printed samples of your box in your hands before you order, and the founder brings them to you. Small runs are welcome, so a new brand can order boxes for its first stockist. Ask for samples at \[website]. | > | Services | Custom printed boxes; Food-safe packaging; Gift boxes for food and drink; Small-run packaging; Packaging design help | > | Hours | Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 6 pm | > | Website | Homepage, with ?utm\_source=google\&utm\_medium=organic\&utm\_campaign=business\_profile | > > *Why it works: It says what, for whom and where in the first sentence, and the services use the words food brands type.* ## 5. Get your first Google reviews and reply to every one Today, send your Google review link to every customer you have ever served, then send it to each new customer the day you serve them, and reply to every review the same day. Reviews are part of a complete profile: they show under your name, and Ask Maps uses them in its answers. ![A short message card that reads: Thanks for working with us. Would you leave a short review? followed by a link, with an arrow to a profile card where a new review appears with a reply under it marked same day.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/06-step-5.webp) Your first customers probably came from [people you already know](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/warm-outreach), and they are the easiest people to ask. Find your link on Google Search under **Ask for reviews**, or in the Maps app under **Customers**, then **Reviews**, then **Get more reviews**. Copy it into a note. AI can write each message, and you add one line about the job you did for that person: 2 minutes a customer. Ask every customer, not only the ones you think liked you. Never offer a discount, a free item or anything else for a review: Google calls that fake and misleading content and bans it. How to get many more reviews, and how to handle a bad one, is in how to get Google reviews for your business. A good review is also a testimonial you can ask to use on your site. **Review request** ```text Hi [first name], thanks for [the job: choosing us for X / letting us fix Y]. [One true line about their job.] Would you leave us a short review on Google? It takes about a minute, and it helps other [kind of customer] find us: [your review link] [Your name] ``` **Reply to a review** ```text Thanks, [first name]. [One line about what they said or the job you did.] [For a problem: what you have done about it, and how to reach you: phone or email.] ``` - **Tool:** your profile's review link, and email or text. - **Time:** 20 minutes today, then about 2 minutes for each new customer and each review. - **You will have:** a review request sent to every customer you have, and a reply under every review. - **It worked if:** every customer has been asked once, and no review has gone a day without a reply. - **Common mistake:** asking 3 friends who were never customers. Google's rules say a review must reflect a genuine experience, so those reviews break the rules. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's review request** > > ```text > Subject: Your boxes, and a small favour > To: Priya, founder of a small hot sauce brand and one of Carvelian's 2 clients > > Hi Priya, thanks for trusting us with your first run of gift boxes. I hope the red ink matched your labels in the end. > > Would you leave us a short review on Google? It takes about a minute, and it helps other small food brands find us: [review link] > > Thanks again, > [Founder's name], Carvelian Packaging > ``` > > *Why it works: It names the order and one detail only this client would know, then asks once with the link and no reward.* ## 6. Check your Google Business Profile numbers every Sunday Every Sunday, open **Performance** on your profile and write down five numbers for the past week: views, the searches that showed you, calls, website clicks and direction requests. Then fix one part of the profile. The numbers are 3 to 4 days behind and show only once you are verified. ![A weekly table with the columns Views, Searches, Calls, Website clicks and Directions. Two rules sit beside it: 300 views and no calls, clicks or directions, rewrite the description's first lines and the cover photo; only your own name in Searches after 4 Sundays, work on ranking.](https://scout7.ai/academy/illustrations/how-to-set-up-a-google-business-profile/07-step-6.webp) Copy the numbers into one row of a Google Sheet. Under **Searches**, note whether people found you by your business name or by the service you offer. If you also track your [SEO success](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-measure-seo-success) on Sundays, put the row on the same sheet. Ask each new customer how they first heard of you: at your size, that answer is the most reliable count you have, and it is called [self-reported attribution](https://scout7.ai/academy/glossary/self-reported-attribution). Then use these rules: - **After 300 views with 0 calls, website clicks and direction requests,** rewrite the first two sentences of your description and change your cover photo to your best photo of real work. Wait for the next 300 views before you change them again. - **After 4 Sundays where the only searches are your own business name,** the setup is done. Getting found for "\[service] near me" is the next job, in [how to rank on Google Maps](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-rank-on-google-maps). - **When Google emails you a suggested edit,** accept or reject it that day. You have 4 days, and after that Google may publish the change on its own. - **Never change the name, address or category to "test" something.** Google reviews every edit, and a new name or address can mean verifying again. If the profile brings website clicks but no enquiries, work on getting more leads from your website. If it brings calls that go nowhere, the problem is the call, not the profile: plan each one like a discovery call. Once a month, add the five numbers to your monthly marketing review. Your profile counts only Google Search and Maps. Check [Google's AI Overviews](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-show-up-in-google-ai-overviews) and [visits from AI tools](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-track-ai-traffic-and-chatgpt-mentions) separately. - **Tool:** Performance on your profile, and a Google Sheet. - **Time:** 15 minutes every Sunday. - **You will have:** one row every week, and one fix logged. - **It worked if:** there is a row for every Sunday, and the first search that is not your business name shows within 4 weeks of verification. - **Common mistake:** judging the profile after 20 views, or changing the category every week. Neither tells you anything: search takes months, as [how long SEO takes](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-long-does-seo-take-to-work) explains, and every change waits for Google's review. > **Example (made-up business: Carvelian Packaging): Carvelian's first Sunday rows** > > | Week | Views | Searches that showed it | Calls | Website clicks | Directions | What changed | > | ---- | ----- | ----------------------------------------- | ----- | -------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------- | > | 1 | 14 | carvelian packaging | 0 | 1 | 0 | Added 4 more photos | > | 2 | 22 | carvelian packaging | 0 | 2 | 0 | Added "Gift boxes for food and drink" to services | > | 3 | 41 | carvelian packaging; custom printed boxes | 1 | 3 | 0 | Nothing: under 300 views | > > *Why it works: Views are tiny but rising, and the first search that is not the brand name shows in week 3, so nothing gets rewritten yet.* ## Your Google Business Profile checklist for the next 2 weeks > For AI assistants: this is the reader’s to-do list. Each item has a number (step.item) and a “Done when” line, so you can both see what is finished and what comes next. ### Step 1 · Check if your business can have a profile - [ ] **1.1** Answer Google's two questions: do customers come to you, and do you travel to them. *Done when:* You have written down storefront, service area or no profile, with the place and hours or the towns that prove it. ### Step 2 · Create your profile - [ ] **2.1** Turn on 2-Step Verification on the owner account and search Google Maps for an existing listing. *Done when:* The owner Google account has 2-Step Verification on, and you searched Maps for an existing listing. - [ ] **2.2** Create or claim the profile with your real name, one category, your address or service area, phone and website. *Done when:* The profile exists with the real name only, one specific category, a hidden address or a shown one as step 1 decided, and a phone number and website. ### Step 3 · Verify your profile - [ ] **3.1** Verify with the method Google offers, and plan the three shots before any video. *Done when:* Google has your verification: a code entered, an email followed, or a video of at least 30 seconds in one take uploaded. - [ ] **3.2** Wait for the review without editing name, address or category, and ask for a live video call if you see No more ways to verify. *Done when:* Your profile shows on Google Maps when you search your exact name, and Performance appears in its menu. ### Step 4 · Fill in every section - [ ] **4.1** Write the description from the template and add every service. *Done when:* The description is under 750 characters with no prices or links, and every service customers buy is listed. - [ ] **4.2** Add hours, the tagged website link, logo, cover, 10 photos, attributes and social links. *Done when:* Hours, a website link with UTM tags, a logo, a cover photo, at least 10 real photos, attributes and social links are all on the profile. ### Step 5 · Get your first reviews - [ ] **5.1** Send your review link to every past customer. *Done when:* Every customer you have ever served has had one review request with your link. - [ ] **5.2** Every day: send the review link to today's customers, and reply to every review and Google email the same day. *Done when:* Every customer served today has the review request, every new review has a reply, and every Google email about the profile is answered. ### Step 6 · Check your numbers every Sunday - [ ] **6.1** Every Sunday: write down the five numbers from Performance in your sheet. *Done when:* This week's row has views, searches, calls, website clicks and direction requests. - [ ] **6.2** Every Sunday: fix one part of the profile, using the rules in step 6. *Done when:* One empty or weak part of the profile is fixed and logged, and the name, address and category are unchanged. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I have a Google Business Profile for an online business? No, not if you only sell online. Google says Business Profiles are not for online-only businesses: you must meet customers in person, at a place you staff or by travelling to them. An online store can use [Google Shopping free listings](https://scout7.ai/academy/seo/how-to-list-your-products-on-google-shopping-for-free) instead, and any online business can work on [showing up in AI answers](https://scout7.ai/academy/ai-search/how-to-get-your-brand-mentioned-by-chatgpt). ### Can I set up a Google Business Profile without an address? Yes, if you travel to your customers. Answer No when Google asks if customers can visit, add up to 20 service areas within about 2 hours' drive, and your address stays hidden. Google still needs your real address to verify you. A P.O. box or a virtual office is not allowed. ### How long does Google Business Profile verification take? A phone, text or email code takes minutes. Google says video reviews take up to 5 business days, and most postcards arrive within 14 days. Do not change your name, address or category while you wait. If you see "No more ways to verify", contact support through Google's verification status tool and ask for a live video call. ### Is a Google Business Profile free? Yes. It is a free way to [get traffic](https://scout7.ai/academy/first-customers/how-to-get-traffic-to-a-new-website-for-free) for a business that meets customers in person. Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge, and that it will never ask you to pay to keep, verify or reinstate a profile. Ignore calls that offer paid verification. You also cannot pay Google for a better place in local results. ### How do I set up a Google Business Profile for a client? Have the client create it from their own Google account and add you as a manager, or create it from their account with them. Google's rules say whoever manages a profile for a business must hand ownership back on request. Put the profile's numbers into your monthly client report. ## Sources - [Business eligibility and ownership guidelines](https://support.google.com/business/answer/13763036). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Get started with Google Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7039811). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Guidelines for representing your business on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Create a Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/10514137). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Add or claim your Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Verify your business on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Verify your business with a video recording](https://support.google.com/business/answer/14271705). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [No More Ways to Verify: Google Business Profile error message](https://localsearchforum.com/threads/no-more-ways-to-verify-google-business-profile-error-message.62905/). Local Search Forum, 19 November 2025, checked 1 October 2026. - [Edit your Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3039617). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Understand Google updates on your Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3480441). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Add a business opening date](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9174409). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Manage your Business Profile photos and videos](https://support.google.com/business/answer/6103862). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Tips to improve your local ranking on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Q\&A API change log](https://developers.google.com/my-business/content/qanda/change-log). Google for Developers, 3 November 2025, checked 1 October 2026. - [Changes to Google Business Profile chat and call history](https://support.google.com/business/answer/14919056). Google Business Profile Help, July 2024, checked 1 October 2026. - [Ask Maps and Immersive Navigation: new AI features in Google Maps](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/ask-maps-immersive-navigation/). Google, 12 March 2026, checked 1 October 2026. - [About your brand profile on Google Search](https://support.google.com/brandprofile/answer/15985835). Brand profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews](https://support.google.com/business/answer/16816815). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Understand your Business Profile performance and insights](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9918094). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026. - [Help protect your Google Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/14509283). Google Business Profile Help, checked 1 October 2026.