Set up your Google Business Profile the right way

The short answer

To set up a Google Business Profile, go to business.google.com/add, or find your business on Google Maps and choose “Claim this business.” Enter your exact business name, primary category, address or service area, phone and website. Then complete the verification method Google offers you, which as of 2026 may be a video recording, phone or text code, email, live video call or postcard. Once verified, fill in every section, start asking customers for reviews, and post updates regularly.

The setup takes under an hour. Verification can take from minutes to a couple of weeks. The details you enter on day one, especially your name, category and address, decide whether you show up in local results and whether your profile survives Google’s checks. Here is the full process, with the points Atlanta businesses most often get wrong.

Before you start: check what already exists

Search Google Maps for your business name and city. Many businesses already have an unverified profile created from public data or by a customer. If one exists, claim it rather than creating a duplicate. If it is already verified by someone else, such as a former employee or an old agency, Google lets you request ownership from the current owner.

Use a Google Account the business controls, ideally a shared company address, not a personal Gmail that leaves with an employee.

Step-by-step setup

1. Start the profile. Go to business.google.com/add and select “Add your business to Google,” or claim the existing listing on Google Maps.
2. Enter your business name exactly as customers see it on your signage, website and invoices. Google’s guidelines don’t allow taglines, service descriptions or locations in the name. “Peachtree Plumbing” is fine. “Peachtree Plumbing Best Atlanta Plumber 24 Hours” breaks the rules and can get the profile suspended.
3. Choose your primary category. Pick the most specific category that describes what your business is, not everything it offers. You can add a few secondary categories, but fewer, accurate categories work better than many loose ones.
4. Add your address or service area. See the next section. This is where most problems start.
5. Add your phone number and website. Use a local number customers can actually reach. Link to your home page or the most relevant location page.
6. Verify. Choose from the methods Google offers your profile.
7. Complete the profile once verified: hours, description, services, photos and attributes.

Storefront or service-area business?

Google treats these differently, and getting it wrong is a common reason for suspensions.

Google does not allow profiles at virtual offices or rented mailboxes. A co-working space only qualifies if it has your signage and is staffed during business hours. In a metro as spread out as Atlanta, it is tempting to add a “location” in Alpharetta, Marietta or Sandy Springs to appear in more searches. If you don’t actually staff and serve customers there, don’t. Use your service area and your website’s location pages instead.

Verification as of 2026

Google chooses which verification methods your profile can use, based on factors like your business type and location, and you can’t change them. The options include:

• Video recording. Google recommends it when available, and as of 2026 it is the method most new profiles see first. The video must be one unedited, continuous take of at least 30 seconds, recorded and uploaded from a phone through your profile. Show where you operate (signage, street signs or landmarks), proof the business exists (equipment, workspace or branded vehicles) and proof you manage it (unlocking the door or van, or a business document).
• Phone or text. A code sent to your business phone. It can’t reach an automated phone menu, so make sure someone can answer.
• Email. A link sent to an address on the verification screen.
• Live video call. With a Google support person, from your business location during business hours.
• Postcard. A 5-digit code by mail, now offered to fewer businesses. Most arrive within 14 days and the code expires after 30 days.

Google says verification reviews can take up to five business days, sometimes longer. While you wait, don’t change your name, address or category, and don’t request a second postcard, which cancels the first code. If “Get verified” appears again, try once more or choose another method.

Complete every section

• Hours. Your regular customer-facing hours, plus special hours for holidays.
• Description. Up to 750 characters, no links. Say what you do, who for and where, in plain language.
• Services or products. List each main service with a short description.
• Photos. Your exterior and signage if you have a storefront, your team, your work and your vehicles. Real photos beat stock images.
• Attributes. Options such as accessibility features or online appointments, where they apply.
• Website link with tracking. Add a UTM tag to your website link so analytics shows how many visits come from your profile.

Keep your name, address and phone number identical on your website, social profiles and directories. Inconsistent details confuse customers and search engines.

Want a second pair of eyes on your profile and local rankings? Book a free 30-minute call. We look at what you have now and tell you what we’d change first. No obligation.

Reviews: how to ask, and what not to do

Reviews affect both your local ranking and whether someone calls you. Build a simple routine:

1. Get your review link from the profile (“Ask for reviews”).
2. Ask every customer after a job is done, by text or email, with the link.
3. Reply to every review within a few days. Thank positive reviewers by name. Respond to negative reviews calmly, briefly and with an offer to talk offline.

Google’s policies are strict here. You may not offer discounts, gifts or payment in exchange for reviews. You may not “selectively solicit positive reviews,” so no asking only happy customers, and no screening survey that sends only satisfied people to Google. Don’t pressure customers to review on the spot, and don’t set review quotas for staff. Reviews that break these rules can be removed, and the profile can be restricted.

Posts: keep the profile active

Posts appear on your profile in Search and Maps. Google offers three types: updates for news, offers with dates and an optional coupon code, and events with start and end times. Each post can include a photo and a button such as “Book” or “Learn more.” Google archives posts after six months unless they have a date range, so a steady rhythm matters. A realistic plan for a busy business is two posts a month: a recent project, a seasonal tip, a new service or an event. Posts can be scheduled ahead.

Common mistakes on Atlanta profiles

• Duplicate profiles created by different staff over the years, splitting reviews between them.
• A home address showing publicly for a service-area business that never meets customers there.
• A service area covering all of Georgia. Keep it to the areas you really serve, such as specific counties or cities across metro Atlanta.
• The profile owned by a former agency or employee. Make sure at least two people at your company have owner or manager access.
• Old hours and phone numbers after a move or a new phone system.

Keep it current

Check the profile monthly. Customers and Google can suggest edits to your details, and Google may apply them, so look for changes you didn’t make. Update hours before holidays, add fresh photos, answer new reviews and watch the performance report for calls, direction requests and website clicks. Note that changing your name or address after verification may trigger verification again.

For Atlanta businesses that want help with the bigger local picture, see our Atlanta SEO services or our SEO service, billed month to month with no long-term contract. Your profile, your website’s location pages and your reviews work together, and the profile is usually the fastest place to start.

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