Guide
How to Get Your Business on Google Maps (Step by Step)
Short answer
Create a free Google Business Profile at business.google.com/create, pick your business category, add your address or service area, phone number and website, then verify it. According to Google, customers can only find your profile on Google after you complete verification.
Before you start
- A Google account. Google suggests using an email on your business domain if you create a new one.
- Your exact business name, the way it appears on your sign, truck or invoices.
- A phone number customers can call, and your website if you have one.
Step by step
- Go to business.google.com/create and sign in.
- Enter your business name. If Google suggests your business and someone else already verified it, you can request ownership.
- Choose your category. Pick the one that best describes what you do, like “Concrete contractor” or “Website designer.” It’s one of the main ways Google matches you to searches.
- Say whether customers visit you. If you have a staffed storefront, enter the address. If you go to your customers, choose that you don’t have a customer-facing location.
- Add your service area. List the cities, ZIP codes or regions you serve. Google allows up to 20 and recommends staying within about two hours’ drive of your base.
- Add your phone number and website.
- Verify. Choose a verification option. You can verify right away or later, but your profile won’t show on Google until it’s verified.
Working from home? Hide your address
Many contractors and service businesses run from home. Google requires service-area businesses without a storefront to hide their address, and the profile then shows your service area instead. If you set this up during sign-up, your home address never appears.
How Google decides who shows up first
Google says local results are based mainly on three things:
- Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
- Distance: how far you are from the person searching.
- Prominence: how well-known your business is, including reviews and links from other websites.
Google is also clear that there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
What actually helps
- Fill in everything: hours, services, photos and a description.
- Ask happy customers for reviews, and reply to them. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help.
- Add real photos of your work, your team and your vehicles.
- Keep hours current, including holiday and storm closures.
- Link your profile and your website to each other.
Common mistakes
- Making more than one profile for the same business in the same area. Google may suspend accounts that do this.
- Stuffing keywords into the business name. Use your real name.
- Setting it up and never touching it again.
Sources: Google Business Profile Help, Sign up for a Business Profile and Tips to improve your local ranking on Google.
Questions, answered
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating and managing a Google Business Profile is free.
Can I hide my home address?
Yes. If customers don’t visit you, set up your profile as a service-area business. Google then shows your service area instead of your address.
Why isn’t my business showing on Google Maps?
The most common reason is that the profile isn’t verified yet. Google only shows profiles after verification.
Can I pay Google to rank higher on Maps?
No. Google says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Complete information, reviews and relevance are what count.