The map shows before your website does

When someone searches for a plumber, a bakery or an accountant nearby, Google usually shows a map with a few businesses before it shows any websites. That map draws on Google Business Profile, and setting up a profile costs nothing.

Storefront or service area?

This is the first decision to make, and it is the one most often made incorrectly. If customers come to your location, show your address. If you travel to them, Google's guidelines say you should hide your address and set a service area instead. You can list up to 20 service areas, and Google recommends keeping them within about two hours' drive of where you are based.

Create only one profile for the area your business serves. Google may suspend accounts that have duplicate profiles in the same area, and a virtual office can't be listed unless it is staffed during business hours.

Complete every section

• Choose the most specific primary category that fits your business, and add a few secondary categories.
• Enter accurate opening hours, including holiday hours.
• List your services, write a plain description and add your website link.
• Upload real photos of your work, your team or your location.

Reviews

Ask every satisfied customer for a review, and make it easy for them with a direct link or a QR code. Reply to every review you receive, including the critical ones. Google's policies don't allow you to offer anything in exchange for a review, so never offer discounts or gifts for them.

Support your profile on your website

• Use page titles that name your service and your city.
• Keep your business name, address and phone number identical everywhere you appear online.
• Add structured data that tells search engines what kind of business you are.
• Submit a sitemap in Google Search Console.

None of this guarantees a particular ranking, and nobody honest will promise one. It is the groundwork that local rankings are built on, and it is far easier to put in place at launch than to fix later.

A worked example

Take a mobile mechanic based in Mississauga who repairs cars in customers' driveways. Customers never visit an address, so the profile should be set up as a service-area business with the home address hidden. The service areas could include Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville and Etobicoke, all comfortably within two hours' drive. The primary category should be the closest match for mobile repair, supported by photos of real jobs, hours that match when the phone is answered, and a short description of the services offered.

The same mechanic shouldn't create a second profile for Brampton in the hope of appearing in more searches. Google's guidelines allow one profile per business for the area it serves, and duplicate profiles risk suspension.

Getting verified

Google needs to confirm that your business is real before your profile appears publicly. It chooses the verification method, which can include a video recording, a phone call or text message, an email or a postcard. Make sure the details you enter match your signage, website and documents, and avoid changing your business name or category while verification is in progress.

Keeping the profile active

• Post updates about new services, seasonal hours or special offers.
• Add photos from time to time, especially of recent work.
• Set holiday hours before every long weekend so that customers don't arrive to a closed door.

Measuring what works

The performance section of your profile shows how many people called you, asked for directions or clicked through to your website. Google Search Console shows which searches brought visitors to your site. Checking both once a month will show you which services people are actually looking for.

Common mistakes

• Adding keywords or locations to the business name, which goes against Google's requirement that the name match your real-world name and can lead to suspension.
• Choosing a broad category when a more specific one exists.
• Using a PO box or a virtual office as your address.
• Creating more than one profile for the same business in the same area.
• Leaving reviews unanswered for months.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?

Creating and managing a Google Business Profile is completely free.

I work from home. Do I have to show my address?

If customers don't come to you, Google's guidelines say you should hide your address and display a service area instead, so your home address never has to appear publicly.

How long will it take to appear in local results?

A verified profile can start appearing fairly quickly, but where it appears depends on relevance, distance and how established your business is. Reviews and accurate, complete information build that standing over time.

Should I reply to negative reviews?

Replying is worth doing, as long as you keep the response calm and brief. Thank the reviewer, acknowledge the problem and offer to resolve it privately, since future customers read your replies as closely as the reviews themselves.

Can other people change my profile?

Anyone can suggest an edit to a business listing on Google Maps, and Google sometimes applies those suggestions automatically. Check your profile regularly and correct anything that has changed.

Key takeaways

• Decide first whether you are a storefront or a service-area business, and set your address accordingly.
• Create one profile per business, using your real business name.
• Complete every section and keep your hours current, especially around holidays.
• Ask for reviews, reply to all of them, and never offer anything in exchange.