Websites & online business

How to set up and verify a Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile is what people see when they search for your business on Google Search and Maps. Setting one up is free, but small mistakes cause most of the trouble later: a keyword stuffed into the name, a home address shown by accident, or a review tactic that breaks the rules. Here's how to set it up properly the first time.

Published 11 November 2026 · NovaSoft Technologies, Sydney

The short version

Add or claim your profile, then verify it using whichever method Google offers you.
Use your real business name, and hide your address if you travel to customers.
Ask every customer for a review the same way, and never pay or reward anyone for one.
Keep your name, address, phone and website identical on your profile and your site.

Before you start

Use a Google Account that belongs to the business, not one tied to a single staff member. Turn on two-step verification for it. Anyone else who needs access should get their own login rather than sharing yours.

Decide what kind of business you are:

Storefront. Customers visit you at a staffed address.
Service area. You travel to customers, like a plumber or cleaner.
Both. You have premises and you also travel.

A P.O. box, or a mailing address you rent but don't work from (a virtual office), isn't eligible. You need a real place customers visit, or you need to travel to them.

Add or claim your profile

First check whether a profile already exists. Search for your business name and suburb in Google Maps.

If it exists and is unverified, open it, select Claim this business, then Manage now, and follow the steps.
If it doesn't exist, go to business.google.com/add and follow the on-screen steps.
If someone else has already verified it, you can't claim it directly. You'll need to request ownership from the current owner.

Verify it

Google chooses which verification methods you're offered. You can't change them, and you may need more than one.

Method	What happens	Good to know
Phone or text	You get a code by call or SMS	Automated phone menus can't receive the code
Email	You follow the steps in an email Google sends	Check the address shown on screen is one you can reach
Video recording	You record a short video of your location and proof you run the business	Google recommends it if you're eligible
Live video call	A Google representative guides you on a call	Only during your business hours, and not offered to everyone
Postcard	A code is mailed to your address	Most arrive within 14 days and codes expire after 30 days

After you finish, Google's review can take up to 5 business days, sometimes longer.

If you're waiting on a postcard, don't edit your business name, address or category, and don't request a new code. Either one makes the first code stop working.

Get the details right

These rules come from Google's guidelines for representing your business. Google can suspend profiles that don't follow them.

Name. Use your real-world business name, exactly as it appears on your signage, website and stationery. Don't add suburbs, services or taglines, such as "Smith Plumbing Emergency Plumber Parramatta".
Address. If you serve customers at your address, show it. If you travel to customers and don't serve them at your address, remove the address and set a service area instead.
Service area. Go to Edit profile, then Location, then Service area. You can add up to 20 suburbs, postcodes or regions. Google says the whole area shouldn't extend more than about 2 hours' drive from your base, and you can't set it as a radius.
Category. Choose the most specific primary category that fits, under Edit profile, then Business category. Add a few extra categories only for real parts of the business. Don't add categories just as keywords.
Phone. Use a number the business controls directly. A local number is better than a central call centre. Premium numbers aren't allowed.
Hours. Show your regular customer-facing hours. Appointment-only businesses shouldn't list opening hours.
Website. Link to your own website, not a page that redirects somewhere else.

Public holidays and closures

Set public holidays under Edit profile, then Hours, then Special hours. Google suggests confirming holiday hours even when they're the same as usual. Special hours cover closures of up to 6 days in a row. For 7 days or more, mark the business as temporarily closed instead.

Photos

Add a logo, a cover photo and a few real photos. Google accepts JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB. The recommended size is 720 by 720 pixels. Photos only show publicly once the profile is verified, and new uploads can take up to 48 hours to appear.

Keep your details consistent

Your business name, address and phone number (often called "NAP") should match exactly on your profile, your website, your invoices and your email signature.

If you move or change your number, update the profile, the website and any directories on the same day. Make sure the website the profile links to is one you control, on a domain registered in your business's name.

Reviews: what's allowed

Reviews matter, and the rules about them are strict. Google bans all of these:

Paying for reviews, or offering discounts, freebies or prize draws in return for one.
Offering anything to change or remove a negative review.
Asking only happy customers for reviews. This is sometimes called review gating.
Discouraging customers from leaving negative reviews.
Reviews from current or former staff, or anyone else with a conflict of interest.
Pressuring customers to review while they're on your premises, or setting staff targets for a number of reviews.

Australian law applies too. The ACCC says creating fake or misleading reviews is illegal, and so is suppressing or removing genuine negative reviews.

Asking for reviews the right way

On a computer, open your profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Copy the link or download the QR code. The QR code can't be made on a phone. Send the link to every customer the same way, such as in your thank-you email or on your invoice, whether or not the job went perfectly.

Replying

Once your profile is verified, you can reply to reviews from Read reviews. Replies are public and show as coming from the business. Reply to the negative ones too. Keep it short and calm, share no personal details, and offer to sort it out offline.

You can't delete a review just because you disagree with it. If one breaks Google's policies, such as spam, abuse or a review from someone who was never a customer, report it through Google's Reviews Management Tool. You can appeal once if it isn't removed.

If someone demands money to remove bad reviews

This is a known scam. A sudden wave of 1-star reviews arrives, then someone asks for payment to make them stop. Don't pay or reply. Take screenshots of the demands and report them to Google using its extortion report form.

If your profile is suspended

Google can suspend or disable profiles that don't follow its guidelines. The rules in Get the details right are the ones to check first.

1. Read the notice and work out which guideline you broke. Fix it first. 2. Gather evidence that matches the profile exactly, such as your business registration or a utility bill. The business name and address should match the profile. 3. Submit an appeal using Google's Business Profile appeals tool. You can only appeal each decision once, so make it complete. 4. Don't create a new profile for the same business while you wait.

This is the kind of website and online housekeeping NovaSoft helps small businesses with, if you'd rather not do it alone.

Common questions

Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?

No. Google says it doesn't charge for the service and will never try to get you to pay to have your profile verified or reinstated. Be wary of calls, emails or texts from anyone, including people claiming to be Google, offering to help with your profile for money.

I work from home. Will my address be shown?

Not if you set yourself up as a service-area business and remove the address. Google says you should hide your address if you don't serve customers there.

Can I add my suburb or main service to the business name?

Only if it's genuinely part of your registered, real-world name and appears that way on your signage and website. Otherwise it breaks Google's guidelines and can lead to suspension.

Can staff help manage the profile?

Yes. Under Business Profile settings, then People and access, you can invite people as owners or managers. Each person uses their own Google Account. Remove them when they leave.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. If you think you’ve lost money or personal information, contact your bank and the services named above straight away.

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