Google Business Profile setup: a step-by-step guide for small businesses

A Google Business Profile is the listing that shows your business in Google Search and Google Maps, with address, opening hours, category and photos. A Google Business Profile setup means claiming the listing, entering exact details and verifying the business. Then keep it current.

Your profile feeds the local results on Google, the map box with a short list of businesses that appears for searches such as electrician near me. Google Business Profile Help, 2026 says these results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how closely your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known your business is.

The profile helps with relevance, because it tells Google what you do, where you work and when you are open. Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. The profile cannot buy you a place, but a complete and accurate listing gives Google the information it needs to match you to searches.

Start by signing in with a Google account that belongs to the business, not to one employee who may leave. Then work through the steps below in order.

1. 1

   Choose the account

   Use a Google account that the business controls, so the listing stays reachable when staff change.

2. 2

   Enter the business name

   Write it exactly as it appears on your sign, invoices and van.

3. 3

   Choose the category

   Pick the category that matches most of your work, for example electrician.

4. 4

   Add the address or service area

   Enter a full address only if customers visit your location. Otherwise, list the areas you serve.

5. 5

   Verify the business

   Verification tells Google that you are authorised to represent the business. Google says it makes the profile more likely to appear in search results, so do it early.

6. 6

   Add hours and photos

   Enter regular hours and special hours for public holidays, then add photos of the team, the vans and finished work.

Verification is the step owners often postpone, so plan it in the first week rather than at the end. Good photos do not replace it.

These fields shape what customers see first. Google asks for your full address if customers can visit your location, for your business hours including special hours, for the category that describes what kind of business you are, and for attributes such as parking or Wi-Fi. The table shows one way to fill them in for an electrical firm with three fitters, an office in an industrial estate and jobs across the district.

Check each field against your own business rather than copying the example. A plumber with a shop and a customer counter needs different hours and a different address rule. Read the whole profile on a phone once before you save it, so you see exactly what a customer sees.

Photos show what a profile cannot say in words. Google describes photos and videos as a way to show what you offer and tell the story of your business. For a small firm, that means the team, the vans and finished work, not stock images. Phone photos are enough if they are sharp and taken in daylight. Write the services in the same words as on your website, so the two match.

• A team photo, with the people customers will meet.
• Photos of finished jobs, taken with the customer’s permission.
• A photo of the entrance, so customers find the right door.
• Services written with the same names as on your website.

A profile that never changes tells customers little about the business as it is today. A fixed monthly check is more reliable than edits made when you remember. Once the basics are right, the routine is short.

1. 1.Add public holiday and special hours a few weeks before each holiday.
2. 2.Upload one photo of recent work.
3. 3.Check that the category and services still match what you do.
4. 4.Read new reviews and reply where it fits your business.

Put the check in your calendar on a fixed day, for example the first Monday of each month, and make a short note of what you changed.

The Insights section shows how people found your profile and which actions they took. Read it for trends over months, not for exact counts from one week. One detail matters for calls: the calls figure counts clicks on the call button, not the phone calls that follow. Google Business Profile Help, 2026 defines the figure as the number of clicks on the call button.

Compare the same month across years rather than week by week. Treat the figures as a direction, not as a head count.

Next step: open your profile on your phone, search for your trade in your area, and compare what you find with the table above. If you want a second pair of eyes, contact us for a short check.