Create a Google Business Profile – and get found in Search and Maps

What the Google Business Profile is

The Business Profile is the box people see when they search Google for your business or for “bakery near me”: with your address, phone number, opening hours, photos, reviews and the button for directions. For many, it’s the first impression of your business – even before your website.

The profile is free. You maintain the details yourself, and Google shows them in Search and Maps. The more complete and up to date it is, the better customers can judge whether you’re right for them.

Step by step: create your profile

You need a Google account – ideally one that belongs to the business rather than to one individual person. Here’s how:

1. Open business.google.com/add and choose to add your business to Google.
2. Enter the name of your business exactly as it appears on your sign, letterhead and invoices – without extra keywords or slogans.
3. Choose the primary category that best describes your business.
4. Enter your address if customers come to you. If you go to your customers (for example, as a tradesperson without a storefront), enter your service area instead.
5. Add your phone number and website.
6. Choose one of the verification methods offered and complete verification.

Verification: how you prove it’s your business

Google wants to be sure you really belong to the business. Depending on the business, Google offers different options: a code by phone or text message, by email, a live video call, a video recording or a postcard with a code. Google decides automatically which methods you get – you can’t choose them yourself.

According to Google’s Help Center, the review usually takes up to five business days after you complete the steps. With a postcard, add the delivery time. In a video recording, you typically show your sign, your work area and proof that you run the business – such as tools, the cash register or keys.

Opening hours and special hours

Nothing annoys customers more than a locked door when Google says “Open.” Enter your regular opening hours for each day of the week and keep special hours up to date for public holidays, company vacations or a special Sunday shopping day.

You set up special hours in the opening hours section: choose the date, then mark it “Closed” or enter the different hours. Google often suggests upcoming holidays for you – a quick look before each holiday is all it takes.

Choosing the right categories

Your primary category helps decide which searches you show up in and which features your profile gets, such as booking buttons or a menu. Google recommends choosing as few and as precise categories as possible – along the lines of “This business is a bakery,” not “This business has coffee.”

Additional categories are meant for genuinely separate parts of your business, such as a café inside the bakery. Don’t create a separate category for every product or service.

Photos that make people want to visit

Photos show what words can’t: the counter in the morning, the finished kitchen, the friendly team. Google’s requirements are JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB, and it recommends 720 × 720 pixels; images should be sharp and well lit. New photos only appear once the profile is verified.

• Logo and cover photo
• Exterior, so people recognize you on site
• Interior or workspace
• Products or finished work
• The team at work

Description, services and ways to reach you

In the description, tell people in a few sentences what makes your business special: what you offer, for whom and in which area. Google doesn’t allow promotions for individual offers there – that’s what posts are for. Write the way you’d explain your business to a new customer on the phone.

Also add whatever your profile offers for your category, such as services, products, a booking option or the menu. Every extra detail answers a question before it’s even asked.

Posts and upkeep: keeping your profile alive

You can publish posts in your Business Profile – Google distinguishes between updates, offers and events. That way people learn about your weekly special, your open house or your new product right in the search results.

According to Google, posts without a set time period are archived after six months. So a new post every few weeks shows that your business is thriving. And reply to reviews – everyone who visits your profile sees that, too.

A profile isn’t a listing you create once and forget. A small routine keeps it up to date:

• Before every public holiday: check your special hours.
• Once a month: a new photo and a post about something current.
• Every week: read and reply to new reviews.
• Whenever anything changes: update your phone number, website and opening hours right away.
• Twice a year: take another look at your categories, description and services.