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

How to create and verify a Google Business Profile, fill it in, collect real reviews and set a service area. Plus why it matters for Maps and AI answers.

Nikolay Tolmachev, Founder, Tolman Studios

June 16, 20269 min readAds & SEO

In short

45%of US consumers used AI tools for local recommendations in 2026, up from 6% a year earlier (BrightLocal)

A Google Business Profile is free. It is what puts you on Google Maps, and you cannot pay Google for a better place there.
Create it at business.google.com/create, verify it (often with a 30-second phone video), then fill every field: category, hours, photos, services.
Ask every customer for a review with your own link and answer each one. Never buy, reward or filter reviews.

On this page

Short answer: a Google Business Profile is the free listing that puts your business on Google Maps and in the local results on Google Search. You create it at business.google.com, verify it (these days often with a short video from your phone), fill in every field and keep collecting real reviews. The setup takes about an hour of your time, by my estimate, plus up to 5 business days while Google checks it.

Its old name was Google My Business. Google renamed it in November 2021, which is why you still see both names around.

Why does a small business need one in 2026?

When someone searches "dentist Ružinov" or "hairdresser near me", Google shows a map with three businesses at the top. Those come from Business Profiles. Google says it ranks them mainly by relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance and prominence (how well known you are, including your reviews and rating). It also says plainly that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.

AI answers now read from the same place. In BrightLocal's July 2025 test of local questions, Google's AI Mode relied on Business Profile data as a main source. It often showed that data even when another site was cited. And people ask AI for local tips much more often than a year ago:

read reviews of local businesses: 97%; BrightLocal, Feb 2026, US
used ChatGPT or other AI tools for local recommendations (6% a year earlier): 45%; BrightLocal, Feb 2026, US
only use a business with four stars or more (55% in 2025): 68%; BrightLocal, Feb 2026, US
expect the owner to reply to reviews: 89%; BrightLocal, Feb 2026, US

These numbers come from a survey of 1,002 people in the US. I haven't found a comparable study for Slovakia or Austria, so take them as a rough direction for Europe.

How do I create a Google Business Profile?

Before you start, search for your business name on Google Maps. Sometimes your business is already there, added by Google or by a customer. Then you claim it instead of creating a second one. If someone else has already verified it, Google lets you request ownership.

Use the right Google account. Sign in with an account the business controls, ideally on your business email. Not the personal Gmail of an employee who might leave next year.
Open business.google.com/create and type your business name exactly as it appears on your sign and your invoices.
Pick your main category. It is the most important field, and there is more on it below.
Say whether customers can visit you. Yes for a salon, shop or clinic with a staffed address. No if you always go to the customer.
Add a service area if you travel to customers: cities or postal codes, up to 20.
Add your phone number and website. Use the number on which people really reach you.
Click Finish and verify. Google shows the options it allows for your business.

How does verification work?

You can't freely choose the method. Google offers different options for different businesses: a phone call or text, email, a video recording or a live video call. More rarely it sends a postcard. If video recording is on the list, Google itself recommends it. Reviews take up to 5 business days. Postcard codes mostly arrive within 14 days.

For the video, Google's rules are simple but strict:

One continuous take of at least 30 seconds. No cuts, no editing. You record and upload it from your phone inside the profile.
Where you are: street signs, the building number, the shop next door.
That the business exists: your sign with the same name as the profile. A business without a shop shows its tools or equipment.
That you run it: open the till, a staff-only room, or unlock your branded van. A service-area business can also show a trade licence, invoice or utility bill in the business name.
What to leave out: ID, bank and tax numbers, other people's faces.

What should I fill in first?

Hours

Being open when someone searches is the fifth factor above. Set your regular hours, then add special hours for Christmas, Easter and your holidays. Nobody likes driving to a locked door that Google called open.

Photos and video

Google accepts JPG or PNG photos between 10 KB and 5 MB, ideally 720 x 720 pixels or more. Videos can be up to 30 seconds and 75 MB. Start with your logo and a cover photo. Then add the outside of the building so people recognise the door, the inside and your real work. I would always choose real photos from your phone over stock photos.

Services and description

List your services in the services editor, with prices if you're happy to show them. The description allows 750 characters and no links. Write it the way you'd describe your business to a new customer on the phone.

How do I get reviews without breaking the rules?

Ask everyone, right after the job is done. Your profile gives you a review link and a QR code. Send the link in your thank-you message, or put the QR code at the counter.

Google's policy forbids:

offering discounts, gifts or money for a review, or for changing a bad one;
asking only happy customers (people call this "review gating");
discouraging negative reviews;
reviews from employees or anyone with a conflict of interest;
buying reviews, or posting on a competitor's profile to hurt it.

In the EU, fake reviews are also illegal. Since 28 May 2022 the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 lists submitting or commissioning false consumer reviews as an unfair commercial practice. I'm not a lawyer, but the short version is clear: don't.

Replying. Your reply is public and the reviewer gets a notification. Keep it short and specific, use their first name and sign with yours. For a bad review, thank them, admit what really went wrong and offer to solve it by phone. Never post private details. If a review breaks Google's rules, flag it. Google doesn't remove reviews just because they are negative.

Do Google posts help?

You can publish updates, offers and events on your profile. Posts older than 6 months are archived unless they have a date range.

Don't expect posts to change your ranking. Sterling Sky tested this in 2021 with three profiles and 441 tracked keywords each. They posted once a week for 9 weeks and saw no measurable change. It is an old and small test, but I haven't seen a better one. My view: posts are for people already looking at your profile. One post every two weeks with a real photo is plenty.

What if customers don't come to me?

Then you're a service-area business: a plumber, a cleaner, a mobile hairdresser, a tutor who visits. Remove your address from the profile and set up to 20 areas by city or postal code. Google says the whole area shouldn't reach beyond about 2 hours of driving from your base. You can't draw a radius. An electrician based in Senec might list Bratislava, Pezinok, Trnava and Senec itself.

If you do both, like a café that also delivers, you can show the address and a service area. A business without a permanent sign at its address counts as service-area. And a business that never meets customers in person, such as an online-only shop, can't have a profile at all.

What does a complete profile include?

Before you call it done

The name matches your sign and invoices, nothing added
The most specific main category, plus only real extra ones
Address shown only if customers come to you, otherwise a service area
Regular hours and special hours for the next holidays
A phone number you really answer, and your website
Logo, cover photo, outside, inside and at least 5 photos of your work
Services listed, description written in plain words
Review link saved on your phone, ready to send
Every review answered, the bad ones included
At least one other person added as manager, so you're never locked out

Who should own the profile?

You. Keep it in your business's Google account. If someone helps you, me included, add them as a manager in the profile settings and never share your password. Then you can remove their access in one click.

Your profile sends people to your website, so the website has to be good too. Here is what to check on your business website. I set up and look after Business Profiles as part of my ads and SEO work. If you'd like me to look at yours, write to me.

Questions people ask

Is a Google Business Profile free?

Yes. Google charges nothing for the profile, and its help page says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Ads on Google Maps are a separate, paid product in Google Ads.

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

No. If customers do not come to you, remove the address and set a service area instead: up to 20 cities or postal codes, about 2 hours of driving from your base at most. Google still uses your address for verification, but it is not shown.

How long does verification take?

Google says verification reviews take up to 5 business days, rarely longer. If you get a postcard, most codes arrive within 14 days.

Can I delete a bad review?

No. You can flag a review that breaks Google's rules, for example a fake one or one from a competitor. A review that is simply negative stays. A calm, specific reply is your best tool.

Do Google posts improve my ranking?

Probably not. A 2021 test by Sterling Sky found no measurable ranking effect after 9 weeks of weekly posts. Posts help people who are already looking at your profile.

Sources

Create a Business Profile on Google, Google Business Profile Help, checked 16 June 2026
Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help, checked 16 June 2026
Verify your business with a video recording, Google Business Profile Help, checked 16 June 2026
Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help, checked 16 June 2026
Manage your service areas, Google Business Profile Help, checked 16 June 2026
Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help, checked 16 June 2026
Prohibited and restricted content (fake engagement), Google Maps User Contributed Content Policy, checked 16 June 2026
Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (US, 1,002 consumers, published 11 Feb 2026), BrightLocal, checked 16 June 2026
Local Search Ranking Factors 2026 (expert survey, published 6 Nov 2025), Whitespark, checked 16 June 2026
How AI search uses listings sources (published 22 Jul 2025), BrightLocal, checked 16 June 2026
Do Google Posts impact ranking? (published 26 Jul 2021), Sterling Sky, checked 16 June 2026
Directive (EU) 2019/2161 (fake consumer reviews banned since 28 May 2022), EUR-Lex, checked 16 June 2026

Facts and prices are as of the dates in the sources.

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Nikolay Tolmachev

Founder, Tolman Studios

I build websites, AI chatbots and ads for small businesses, working from Slovakia. Before that I spent over 4 years managing IT projects. I hold PMP and Certified ScrumMaster certificates.

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