Get found on Google Maps: a Google Business Profile guide
When someone searches “accountant near me” or “coffee shop in Ware”, Google usually shows a map near the top of the page, often above the ordinary website results. It lists three local businesses, with their star ratings and buttons to call, visit their website or get directions.
Those businesses aren’t paying to be there. They’ve set up a free Google Business Profile. If your customers are local, it’s probably the most useful half hour you can spend on your marketing.
Here’s how to do it properly.
Before you start
You’ll need:
- A Google account. A dedicated business account is ideal, but any will do.
- Your business name, phone number and website address, if you have one.
- Your address, if customers visit you, or a list of the areas you cover if you go to them.
- A few good photos of your premises, your products, your team or your work.
Step 1: Create your profile
Go to google.com/business and click Manage now. Search for your business name. If it’s already listed, you can claim it. If not, add it.
Use your real business name, exactly as it appears on your signage, website or invoices. It’s tempting to add extras like “Smith & Co – Best Accountant Hertford”, but that breaks Google’s rules and can get your profile suspended.
Step 2: Pick the right category
Your main category matters more than anything else you fill in, because it tells Google which searches to show you for. Pick the most specific one that fits: “Italian restaurant” rather than “Restaurant”, or “Wedding photographer” rather than “Photographer”.
You can add a few secondary categories for the other things you do.
Step 3: Tell Google where you work
This depends on how you meet your customers:
- If customers come to you, at a shop, office, salon or studio, add your full address so you appear on the map with directions.
- If you go to your customers, you don’t need to show your address. When Google asks whether customers visit your location, say no, and add the towns and areas you cover instead.
If you do both, add your address and your service areas.
Step 4: Verify it
Google needs to check that your business is real before your profile goes live. It’ll offer you one or more ways to do this, often a short video showing your premises, signage or equipment, or a postcard sent to your address. Follow the steps it gives you. It can take anything from a few minutes to a couple of weeks.
Step 5: Fill in everything
A half-finished profile loses to a complete one. Once you’re verified, add:
- A description. Up to 750 characters on what you do, where and why people choose you. Put the most important part first, as Google often shows only the start.
- Your products or services, with a line about each.
- Opening hours, including holiday hours when they change.
- Photos. Your premises inside and out, your products, your work and your team. Real photos beat stock images every time.
- Your website, so people can find out more.
Step 6: Get reviews
Reviews have a big effect on both where you appear and whether people choose you. Your profile has an Ask for reviews link. Send it to happy customers by email, text or WhatsApp soon after they’ve bought from you, while the experience is fresh.
Two rules to stick to:
- Never pay or offer discounts for reviews, and never write your own. It’s against Google’s rules, and customers can usually tell.
- Reply to every review, including the bad ones. A calm, helpful reply to a bad review often impresses people more than a dozen five-star ones.
Keep it alive
Your profile isn’t a one-off job. Every few weeks, add new photos, post an update or offer, and check your hours are still right. Active profiles tend to do better than ones that were set up once and forgotten.
Want a hand?
If you’d rather not deal with it yourself, my Google Business Profile Setup gets it all done properly for you. And if you’ve got a profile that’s been suspended or taken over by someone else, I can help with that too. Send me a message and tell me where you’re at.