How to create your Google Business Profile
First, check whether your business already has a profile. Search for the business name on Google and in Google Maps. If you search for Amplify, for example, you'll see our profile on the right-hand side on a computer and at the top on mobile.
Never create a new profile if one already exists. A duplicate muddles Google's information, and it can turn into a long correspondence with Google's support. Trust me, that's a conversation you'd rather do without.
No profile exists
If no profile shows up, you can create a new one at business.google.com. Use the Google account the business should own the profile with, not an employee's private account.
A profile exists that someone else owns
If the profile already exists, you need to get access to it rather than create a new one. Select "Own this business?" on the profile and request access. The current owner is notified by e-mail and has 3 days to respond. If you don't get a reply after 3 days, you may be able to claim the profile yourself (Google).
Get your Business Profile verified
A profile has to be verified before you can edit the information and reply to your customers. Google decides which methods you're offered, and it depends on the type of business, public information, region and opening hours (Google). You can't choose freely yourself.
1. Video
On a live video call, you show Google's support where the business is located, such as signs outside, your products or your equipment, and that you run the business, such as access to staff-only areas. The call takes place during the business's opening hours. If your business can be verified by video, Google recommends that method (Google).
2. Phone or text
You get a code via a call or a text to the business's number. An answering machine or an automated menu can't receive the code (Google). In my experience, text is easiest. With a call, it can be hard to catch the first digits.
3. E-mail
You get an e-mail with a code or a link. It's the easiest method, and you're rarely offered it. If you are, choose it.
4. Postcard
Google sends a code to the business's address. Most codes arrive within 14 days, and the code expires after 30 days. Don't change the business name, address or category while you wait, and don't request a new code. If you do, the code on the postcard will no longer work (Google).
Once you've completed verification, Google reviews the information. This takes up to 5 working days and, in rare cases, longer (Google).
Problems with verification
I've created and verified a lot of Business Profiles over the years. Here are the mistakes I see most often.
A phone number that shouldn't be shown
Some people use a private mobile number for verification because the business's number can't receive texts. It's tempting, because it's quick. Don't.
Once you've verified the profile with that number, it's as attached to it as Patrick Swayze is to Baby in Dirty Dancing. In my experience, it ends with a lengthy correspondence with Google's support and a new verification by postcard. Until then, your private number is on the profile.
The same change sent again and again
Google takes security very seriously. If Google rejects a change, sending it again and again won't help. In the worst case, the profile gets suspended, and then you have to prove to Google's support that it complies with the guidelines.
The wrong business name
Everyone wants to appear in the three local results on the map, the "local 3-pack". So some people try to name the profile after what they want to be found for. A carpenter might call the profile "Roofing" or "Extensions", for example.
Don't do it. The name has to be the business's real name, as it appears on the sign and the invoice (Google). If you're caught, you risk having the profile suspended.
What you need to fill in
A profile needs to be filled in, and it needs to be kept up to date. Go through these points:
- Category (one primary and possibly several additional ones)
- Description
- Website
- Service areas
- Opening hours and special opening hours on public holidays
- Additional information, such as accessibility and payment
- Services
- Products
- Photos and video
- Links to social media
- Posts
If you're already working on SEO for your website, use the same words for your services in the profile as you use on the site.
You can add a link to each of your social media profiles directly in the profile (Google). The advice used to be to place the icons in the footer of your website and hope Google found them. That's no longer necessary.
The purpose of a Google Business Profile
Appearing in the local results
The main purpose is to appear in the local results and on Google Maps. Google says local results are mainly determined by three things (Google):
- Relevance: how well the profile matches what's being searched for.
- Distance: how far the business is from the person searching.
- Prominence: how well known the business is, based on things like links to your website and the number of reviews.
You can't pay for a better ranking in the local results (Google).
Visibility in your local area
If you want to be visible in your local area, the profile is a must. It's one of the first things that shows up when someone searches for a business like yours nearby.
Good customer experiences
With a completed profile, customers quickly find your address, phone number and opening hours. If you've ever spent time looking for a business's opening hours, you know how frustrating it is.
Posts on your profile
Posts keep the profile current and give customers a reason to act now. You can create three types of post (Google):
- Updates: news about the business with text, a photo or video and a button with a link.
- Offers: sales and promotions with a title, dates and times. You can add a coupon code and terms.
- Events: events with a title and start and end dates.
Photos and video in your posts
Photos and video catch the eye. Use real photos of your products, your shop and your staff rather than stock photos. Write a short text that speaks directly to the customer, and finish with a button that tells them what to do.
8 tips for a good Google Business Profile
- Fill in everything that can be filled in, from web address and opening hours to services and products.
- Update your opening hours for public holidays and closing days, or you'll end up with disappointed customers and bad reviews.
- Add your most important services or products, and link to the page on your website they relate to.
- Use several categories for your products if you have several, so they're shown together on the profile.
- Create posts about offers, events and news, and use photos or video in them.
- Add new photos on an ongoing basis, not just when you set up the profile.
- Reply to your reviews, both the good and the bad. Google itself says that replying to reviews shows you listen to your customers (Google).
- Ask satisfied customers for a review, and never give them discounts or gifts for writing it.
Keep an eye on the numbers
Under Performance in the profile, you can see how many people have viewed your profile on Google Search and Google Maps, and whether they used a mobile or a computer. You can also see what they did: called, clicked through to the website or asked for directions. And you can see which searches the profile appeared for.
Follow the numbers month by month. If views drop, first check whether the information is still correct and whether new competitors have appeared in the area.
Google Business Profile and SEO
Can a Business Profile help your SEO? It's one of the questions I get most often. Here's my answer.
- It sends visitors to your website. The link to your website, your products and your posts take customers on to the right pages.
- Google better understands what you do. Categories, services and description make it clear what you specialise in. That's relevance, the first of the three points above.
- Local searches matter. If you run a dental clinic, a carpentry firm or a restaurant, you want to be visible in specific areas. Then the profile is part of your local SEO. If you have lots of locations, programmatic SEO can give you a landing page for each of them.
- You can appear in three places. Imagine a customer sees your name in the organic results, in a paid ad and on the map with local businesses. In my experience, the chance of a click is about as high as Brazil qualifying for the World Cup.
- Reviews count. Google says that more reviews and good ratings can help your local ranking (Google). Good reviews are also the first thing a new customer sees.
How the profile has changed
| Before | Today |
|---|---|
| The profile was called Google My Business. | It's called Google Business Profile. |
| Customers could message you in a chat on the profile. | The chat closed on 31 July 2024 (Google). |
| Social icons only appeared on the profile if Google found them on the website. | You add the links directly in the profile. |
| Verification was usually done by postcard. | Google offers video, phone, text, e-mail or postcard and chooses the methods itself. |
Get help with Google Business Profile
I hope this guide has given you a better idea of what a Business Profile can do for your business.
Does it all seem a bit much? At Amplify, I or one of my colleagues are ready to help. Call 70 60 50 28, write to info@amplify.dk or fill in our contact form.