Google Business Profile guide: how to set it up to show up on Maps, with reviews and photos
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows up on Maps and in search when someone looks for your business or your trade nearby. To make it work, verify it, pick the right primary category, keep hours and details current, add real photos and reply to reviews.
A Google Business Profile (it used to be called Google My Business) is the free listing that shows up on Google Maps and on the side of search results when someone looks up your business or your trade nearby. It shows your address, hours, phone number, photos and reviews, with “Directions” and “Call” buttons right there. For a lot of local businesses, it's the first thing a new customer sees, before the website.
Here's how to set it up properly, in the order that makes sense, plus the mistakes I see most often when I look at business listings.
Step by step, in order
- Claim or create the profile at business.google.com with a Google account that belongs to the business, not an employee's personal one. The listing often already exists because a customer or Google itself created it, so search for it before making a new one.
- Verify it. Google asks you to prove the business is yours; depending on the case, with a video of the location, a phone call or a code. Until it's verified, your edits won't show.
- Real name. The one on your sign, with no extra keywords or neighborhood tacked on.
- Primary category. This is the biggest decision: “Veterinarian,” “Steak house,” “Locksmith.” Pick the most specific one available and add only a few secondary categories you genuinely offer.
- Address or service area. If customers come to you, use the exact address. If you go to them, hide the address and list the towns or neighborhoods you cover.
- Hours, including special hours. Holidays, vacations, seasonal changes. A customer showing up to a locked door when Google said “open” is about the worst thing that can happen to your listing.
- Phone and website. A number someone actually answers and a link to your site, ideally to the page for that service or location.
- Services or products, each with a short line explaining it. This helps you appear in searches more specific than your category.
- Description: what you do, who for and what sets you apart, in plain words without keyword stuffing.
Photos are what get you picked
Photos are what people look at most on a listing. Post real ones: the storefront so people recognize it when they arrive, the inside, your crew at work, products or finished jobs. Skip generic stock images; customers notice, and it feels off.
You don't need a photographer, just natural light, a clean phone lens and a tidy space. And keep adding new photos over time, not all on day one and never again. Photos for your business website has tips that apply to your profile too.
Reviews: ask for them, reply to them, never buy them
Reviews matter to customers and to Google. The best way to get them is to ask at the right moment, when a customer leaves happy, with a direct link to leave one. I went into that in how to get more Google reviews.
Reply to all of them, good and bad. To the good ones, with a thank-you that isn't copy-pasted. To the bad ones, calmly and with an explanation. What you should never do: buy reviews, fake them or offer discounts in exchange for five stars. It's against Google's rules and can cost you the listing.
Mistakes I see all the time
| Mistake | What happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Two listings for the same business | Reviews and visits get split | Ask Google to merge or remove the duplicate |
| Outdated hours | Customers show up to a closed door | Update them whenever they change and add holidays |
| Category too broad | You show up for searches that aren't yours | Pick the most specific one available |
| A phone nobody answers | The call goes to the business next door | List the number that actually gets picked up |
| Listing and website don't match | Customers hesitate, and search engines do too | Same name, address and phone everywhere |
One business, several locations: Boca de Lobo
Boca de Lobo is a steakhouse with two locations in Buenos Aires. Its website has the QR digital menu, the specials and a locations section with each restaurant's details.
When a business has more than one location, each one needs its own Google listing with its own address, phone and hours, and ideally each listing links to the part of the website about that location. That way someone searching for a steakhouse in one neighborhood finds the right branch, and what the listing says matches what the website says.
See the Boca de Lobo projectYour listing and your website work as a team
The listing puts you on the map, but a customer who wants to know more clicks through to your website. If the site doesn't load or says something different from the listing, you lose them there. That cross-check is also what AI search tools use to decide whether to trust your business; I explained it in how to show up in AI search answers.
A quick way to spot problems is to look at your listing the way an outsider would. That's the everyday job of a platform I built for Argentina, LeadsLocales, which finds local businesses by trade and area along with their public contact details. If you go to your customers' homes, pair this with local SEO for service businesses.
Want me to take a look?
When I build a website for a local business, I review its Google listing too and make sure the details match on both. If you already have both, I can tell you what I'd fix first. I work remotely from Buenos Aires, Argentina (UTC−3). See what I do on the services page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes, creating and keeping a profile costs nothing. Google sells ads separately, but you don't need them to have a complete, well-built profile.
Can I have a profile without a storefront?
Yes. If you go to your customers, like a plumber or a mobile mechanic, you can hide your address and list the areas you serve. What you can't do is make up a location that doesn't exist.
Can I add keywords to my business name?
Better not. Google's guidelines ask for your real name, the one customers see on your sign or invoice. Adding “24 hour locksmith Dallas” to it can get your profile suspended.
What do I do about a bad review?
Reply calmly, without arguing, explaining what happened or what you'll do about it. Future customers read your reply more closely than the review itself. If it's fake or breaks the rules, you can ask Google to look at it.
If your Google listing is half-finished or you're not sure it's set up right, send me your business name and area. Message me on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 6193-3176 or email contacto@facundocampo.com.ar. I answer in English and Spanish, and I'll tell you what I'd change.