Google Business Profile: How to Create and Optimize It

Your Google Business Profile, which many people still call Google My Business, is often the first thing a customer sees of you: hours, directions, photos, rating and reviews, on Google Search as well as Maps. This guide covers the whole life of the profile, from creation to performance tracking, with the official procedures and examples for restaurants, hair salons, dental practices and garages.

In short: to create a Google Business Profile, add or claim your business at business.google.com, verify it (call, text, email, video or postcard), then fill in everything: a precise primary category, regular and special hours, attributes, a 750-character description and real photos. Then maintain it every week with a post, new photos and a reply to every review.

Google My Business vs Google Business Profile: what changed

Google Business Profile is the current name of Google My Business. The tool is still free. What mostly changed is where you manage it: the profile is now edited directly from Google Search or the Google Maps app, while signed in to the account that owns it.

The profile feeds two displays. The local pack, with a map and a few businesses, appears for searches like "hair salon Boston" or "garage near me". The business panel appears when someone searches your name. In both cases, customers compare your information, photos and reviews with the business next door.

Two practical consequences. If you do not claim your profile, it can still exist, created by Google or by a user, with wrong information. And if a former manager or an agency still holds it, you need to recover access before any optimization work.

Create or claim your profile step by step

Creation starts at business.google.com/add, with a Google account you will keep for the long term (ideally a company address, not an employee's). Search for your business first: if it already exists, claim it instead of creating a second one.

1. 1
   Search for the existing business

   Type the exact name and town. If the profile is already managed by someone, Google offers to request access from the current owner. Do not work around it by creating a duplicate.

2. 2
   Enter your real name

   The name must be your trading name, as shown on your storefront. No town, slogan or added keyword ("Martin Garage", not "Martin Garage cheap tires Leeds").

3. 3
   Choose the primary category

   Choose what you are, not what you sell. You will refine with additional categories later.

4. 4
   Address or service area

   A business that receives customers shows its address. A tradesperson or home service that does not receive customers hides the address and sets a service area.

5. 5
   Phone, website and verification

   Add a number that actually gets answered and your website, then start verification.

Google's rules are strict here: one profile per business, no PO boxes, no virtual offices, and a name without slogans, locations or service descriptors. They are detailed in the guidelines for representing your business on Google. A profile that breaks them can be edited or suspended, which costs far more than the hoped-for gain of a keyword in the name.

Verify your profile: methods and timelines

Verification proves to Google that you manage the business, and it is what unlocks publication of your edits. Google decides which methods to offer based on your business and its history: phone call or text, email, live video call, recorded video or postcard.

The review usually takes up to 5 business days after submission and a verification code expires after 30 days, according to the verification help page. Never share that code with a third party, even a contractor who manages your profile.

For video verification, prepare what Google typically asks for: the exterior with your signage and the street, the interior or your work equipment, and proof that you manage the premises (opening the till or a staff-only area, business documents). A single continuous take without editing works better than a polished clip.

Fill in the information that matters

A complete profile answers a customer's questions before they need to call. Google itself states that complete, accurate information helps relevance, the first of its three local ranking factors.

Categories. One primary category and up to 9 additional categories, with a description capped at 750 characters, according to the help page on editing your profile. Do not use categories as keywords: add only those that describe a real activity.

Hours. Regular hours, then special hours for every public holiday, annual closure or renovation. This is the most expensive mistake: a customer who finds the door locked while Google said "Open" often leaves a review.

Attributes. Outdoor seating, Wi-Fi, wheelchair access, payment methods, service options: some you tick yourself, others are filled in from what visitors report. Available attributes depend on your category.

Description. What you do, for whom, where, and what sets you apart. No links, no promotions, no keyword lists.

Useful links. Website, appointment booking, reservations, menu or ordering, depending on your business.

The restaurant specifics (menu editor, reservation and ordering links) are covered in our checklist to optimize a restaurant's Google profile.

Photos and videos: show the real place

Photos are what convince a customer to walk in, and Google asks for images that are sharp, well lit and true to reality. Every profile has three slots: the logo, the cover photo and business photos (exterior, interior, products, team).

Aim for photos you take yourself on a regular basis rather than a single shoot: the storefront as seen from the street, the interior while in use, your work (dishes, haircuts, repaired cars), the team with their consent. Avoid stock images and overlaid text. Accepted formats, sizes, videos, cover photo selection and reporting customer photos are covered in our Google Business Profile photos guide.

Google Business Profile posts: updates, offers, events

Posts are short updates shown on your profile, and their main job is to give a hesitant customer a reason to act. Google does not list them among its local ranking factors: publish them to convert, not to "rank".

There are three types. Updates: information about the business, with text, photo or video and an action button (Book, Call, Learn more). Offers: a promotion with a title and start and end dates; a "View offer" button is added automatically. Events: a title with start and end dates and times. Posts older than 6 months are archived automatically unless a date range is set (source: help page on posts). Google reviews posts before they go live, a post whose description includes a phone number may be rejected, and some regulated sectors (alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, gambling, financial services) are restricted.

What to post by business type:

• Restaurant: seasonal dish or menu, Sunday brunch, tasting evening, exceptional closure.
• Hair salon or beauty institute: new service, new product line, slots freed up at the end of the week.
• Healthcare practice: holiday hours, new practitioner, practical access information (no promotions on treatments).
• Garage or tradesperson: pre-holiday service check, air-conditioning check, new equipment, service area.
• Hotel or shop: off-season stay offer, new arrivals, in-store event.

Common mistakes with posts:

1. Posting a burst and then nothing for months: the profile looks abandoned.
2. Only showing promotions: the profile starts to look like a flyer.
3. Writing a press release: one concrete sentence, a real photo and a button are enough.
4. Putting the phone number in the text: it is already on the profile, and the post may be rejected.
5. Forgetting the action button, which turns reading into a call or a booking.

A sustainable rhythm: ten minutes a week, same day each week, alternating updates, offers and events. In the first month, publish one post of each type, then check in Performance which ones drove clicks.

Customer reviews: getting them and replying

Reviews weigh on both the customer's decision and your profile's prominence, one of Google's local ranking factors. Two habits make the difference: ask every customer for a review, simply and without incentives, and reply to every review.

Asking everyone is the key point: Google forbids soliciting reviews only from satisfied customers, offering a benefit in exchange for a review, or pressuring people to write it on the spot. A QR code at the counter, a text after the appointment or a neutral line at the end of the service ("Your Google review helps us, whether you were happy or not") is enough. The methods are detailed in our guide to getting more Google reviews.

Replying to every review, positive or negative, shows future customers how you treat people. Our Google review response templates give you a starting point for each situation. If the volume is too much, Ma Belle Note drafts AI review replies in your business's tone, which you approve before they go live.

Track your profile's performance

The Performance tab shows how many people see your profile and what they do on it. The useful metrics for a local business are views, searches (the terms used to find you), calls, direction requests, website clicks and, depending on the business, bookings or menu clicks.

Check them once a month over a comparable period (the same month last year rather than the previous month if your business is seasonal). Three simple readings: searches on categories ("dentist Leeds") rather than your name show your visibility with new customers; a rise in direction requests after adding photos or special hours validates the action; stable views but falling calls often mean a phone number or hours need checking.

To go beyond the profile (consistent address across directories, website, local pages), read our guide to local SEO for restaurants and local businesses.

Maintenance checklist

• Once: profile claimed and verified, compliant name, precise primary category, attributes ticked, description written, logo and cover chosen.
• Every week: one post, one or two real photos, a reply to every new review.
• Before every public holiday or closure: special hours set.
• Every month: review performance, check edits suggested by users.
• Every quarter: reread the description, categories and links.

You can keep this rhythm on your own. If reviews take most of your time, Ma Belle Note brings collection, replies and tracking into one dashboard on your phone: you can try it free for 7 days, no credit card required.