If your business isn’t showing up on Google Maps or in the local pack when someone searches for what you do, there’s a good chance you either haven’t set up a Google Business Profile yet, or it was set up quickly at some point and never properly finished. This guide walks through exactly how to set one up properly from scratch.
Why This Matters Before Anything Else
For most local businesses, your Google Business Profile is doing more work than your website in the early stages of someone’s search. It’s often the first thing a potential customer sees, your name, your reviews, your opening hours, before they ever click through to your site. Getting it set up correctly is the foundation everything else in local SEO builds on.
Step 1: Search for Your Business on Google
Before creating anything new, search your business name on Google. Sometimes a listing already exists, created automatically by Google or claimed by someone else in the past, and you’ll need to claim it rather than create a duplicate. Duplicate listings actively hurt your visibility, so this step matters more than it sounds.
Step 2: Create or Claim Your Listing
Go to google.com/business and either claim your existing listing or start a new one. You’ll need to enter your business name exactly as it appears elsewhere online (consistency here matters for local SEO), your address or service area, and your business category.
Step 3: Choose the Right Business Category
This is one of the most commonly rushed steps, and it has a real impact on which searches you show up for. Choose the most specific and accurate primary category available, “Marketing Consultant” rather than just “Business Service,” for example, and add secondary categories that genuinely apply.
Step 4: Verify Your Business
Google needs to confirm you’re a genuine business at the address or service area you’ve listed. Verification is usually done by postcard sent to your business address, though phone or email verification is sometimes available depending on your business type. This step can take a few days to a couple of weeks, so it’s worth doing early rather than leaving it until you need the listing live urgently.
Step 5: Complete Every Section, Not Just the Basics
This is where most businesses stop too early. A complete profile includes:
- Business description, written naturally, not stuffed with keywords
- Full opening hours, including holiday hours
- Services or products listed individually, not just mentioned in the description
- Photos of your premises, team, and work, real, unstaged photos perform better than stock images
- Your website URL and booking link if applicable
Step 6: Set Up Review Collection
Reviews influence both your ranking and whether someone actually contacts you once they’ve found you. Set up a simple, consistent way of asking happy customers for a review, right after a job’s completed or a purchase is made is usually the best moment. If you’re not sure how to ask without it feeling awkward, the guide on how to ask for Google reviews without feeling awkward covers exactly that.
Step 7: Keep It Active
A profile that’s set up once and never touched again gradually loses momentum. Posting updates, responding to reviews, and keeping your information current all signal to Google that the business behind the listing is active and trustworthy. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth the ongoing effort, the guide on whether Google Business Profile posts actually work covers what genuinely moves the needle.
Once your profile is live and complete, the next question is usually why it isn’t converting views into enquiries, which is exactly what the guide on why your Google Business Profile gets views but no enquiries covers.
For the official version of this process straight from Google, their own Business Profile help centre is worth bookmarking, useful for anything that changes after this guide is published.
Where to Start
If you’ve set this up yourself and you’re still not showing up where you’d expect, or you’re not sure whether it’s been done properly, a free Seed Session is a good place to get an honest second opinion.
Leave a Reply