Rooted Square TechnologiesA Google Business Profile checklist for local owners
Your Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your business on Google Search and Google Maps. To set it up well, claim it, verify it, fill in every field accurately, keep your hours current, add real photos, and answer customers the same way every time. This checklist walks through each step in order.
- The profile is free and you own it once you claim and verify it.
- Accuracy matters more than volume: wrong hours or a wrong service area cost you customers.
- If you travel to customers, you can hide your address and list the areas you serve instead.
- A profile needs occasional attention, not daily work.
How do I claim and verify my profile?
Search for your business name on Google. If a listing already exists, look for the option to claim it. If not, create one. Google then asks you to verify that you really run the business. It offers several ways to verify, and which ones you see depends on your business and can change, so follow whatever it shows you. You generally cannot pick the method yourself, and some businesses are asked to complete more than one step. Use an account you control and will keep, not a former employee's or a friend's, so you never lose access.
What must be accurate on the profile?
Your business name, categories, hours, website and contact details have to be true and match your website. Use your real business name as it appears on your signs, site and paperwork, with no slogans, keywords or service details added. Pick the most specific category that describes what your business is, and keep the number of categories low. Set holiday and special hours before they happen. Inconsistent details between your profile, your site and other listings confuse customers and search engines alike.
What if I work at customers' locations or from home?
If you travel to customers and do not serve them at your address, Google lets you remove your address from the profile and list the areas you cover instead. Do not publish a home address you want kept private. You describe areas by city or postal code rather than a radius, Google limits how many areas you can list, and it expects them to be reasonably close to where you are based. List only places you genuinely serve. A long list of far-off towns invites doubt and rarely helps. Match the areas on your profile to what your website says. Some kinds of business, such as those selling age-restricted products, may need to show a storefront address, so read Google's current rules for yours.
Which photos and descriptions should I add?
Real photos of your work, your team if you have one, and your vehicle or equipment help customers trust you. Avoid stock images. Write a plain description of what you do and who you do it for, and list your services in the words customers use when they ask for you. Keep the description factual: Google asks you to leave out promotions, prices and links. Add photos over time rather than all at once, and remove anything out of date. Never post a photo of someone else's work as your own.
How do I keep the profile working over time?
Check it when something changes, and otherwise look at it now and then. Update hours for holidays, remove services you no longer offer, and respond to customer feedback politely and specifically. Google allows you to encourage customers to leave honest feedback, so ask every customer, in your own words, at a natural moment such as when a job is done. Do not ask only the people you think are happy, do not discourage criticism, and do not require staff to hit a quota. Do not offer rewards, discounts or anything in return, and never write feedback yourself or have others write it for you. All of that breaks Google's rules and can get feedback removed.
What we'd look at first
Local & AI Search
If you would rather have your profile, directory listings and feedback requests set up and kept consistent by someone else.
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Common questions
Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?
Do I still need a website if I have a profile?
What do I do about an unfair negative review?
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