How to get your business on Google Maps
If customers visit your premises, or you travel to customers to provide your services, your business may be eligible for a Google Business Profile. This is the free tool Google provides for managing how a business appears in Google Search and Google Maps. When people ask how to add a business to Google Maps, creating or claiming a Business Profile is what they are really asking about.
Once a profile has been created and successfully verified, your business information can appear across Google Search and Google Maps. Google decides what is shown, where and to whom, so no one can promise a particular position. What you can control is the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide.
A typical profile can include the following details:
- Business name
- Category
- Telephone number
- Website
- Opening hours
- Address or service area
- Photographs
- Services
- Customer reviews
Can every business be added to Google Maps?
Not every business qualifies. Google expects a Business Profile to represent a real business that makes in-person contact with customers during stated hours, either at a physical location or by travelling to them. A business that only ever operates online, with no face-to-face contact, will usually not meet that requirement, and Google may decline or later suspend a profile that does not fit its guidelines.
Read Google’s current eligibility rules before you begin, because they change from time to time. Have the basics ready: the business name you genuinely trade under, a real address or the areas you serve, a working phone number, and a website if you have one. Preparing these in advance makes the process quicker and reduces mistakes.
Before creating anything, check whether a profile already exists for your business. Creating a duplicate can cause unnecessary problems, including confusion over which listing customers should trust and difficulty with verification later.
Shops, restaurants, salons, clinics and offices receiving customers may qualify, as may tradespeople who visit customers. Google’s current policy excludes lead-generation companies, online-only businesses, some rental properties and ineligible virtual locations. A Companies House registered office is not automatically a qualifying customer-facing location.
How to add your business to Google Maps
Follow these eight steps in order. The wording of Google’s screens can change, but the underlying information it asks for stays broadly the same, so this checklist is a reliable way to prepare for how to register a business on Google Maps.
Check whether your business already appears on Google
Search Google or Google Maps using your business name and your town or city. Look at the results panel and the map pins. You may find a profile that you did not create, perhaps made by a customer, a previous owner or an automated source.
Search for your business before creating a new profile. If one exists, do not create another listing. Use Google’s claim or ownership process for the existing profile instead.
Sign in with a Google Account
A Google Account is required to manage a Business Profile. It does not have to be a Gmail address; an existing work email address can be used to create a Google Account. Where possible, use an account controlled by the business rather than a personal one, so that access does not disappear if a person leaves.
Never give anyone your Google password, including us. If you want help, you should remain the owner of your account and add other people through Google’s own access settings.
Add or claim your business
Start from Google’s official Business Profile flow. You can search for your business name to claim a listing that already exists, or choose to add a new one. Adding or claiming a Business Profile is free.
Always check that the address in your browser belongs to Google before signing in. The official starting point is business.google.com/add.
Enter your real business name
Use the genuine name your business uses in the real world, matching your signage, stationery and website. Do not add city names, service keywords, slogans or phone numbers to the name in an attempt to rank higher. Google treats that as misleading, and it can lead to edits being rejected or a profile being suspended.
For example, a business trading as Bright Marketly should enter Bright Marketly, not Bright Marketly Best Web Design London Cheap Websites.
Choose the most appropriate business category
Choose the category that most accurately describes your core business. Categories help Google understand what you do, so selecting unrelated ones just to appear in more searches is counterproductive.
Where it is genuinely relevant, you can add secondary categories later once the profile is set up.
Choose whether customers visit your location
Google asks whether customers come to your address. This decides what the public sees, so answer honestly. A storefront business shows its address; a service-area business travels to customers and can define the areas it covers instead. The section on storefronts and service areas below explains the difference in detail.
Add your phone number and website
Use contact information that genuinely represents the business. The website should belong to that specific business, and the phone number should connect customers to that business directly, not to an unrelated call handler or directory.
You can prepare a profile without having a website. If you do not have one yet, a professional website of your own gives customers a place to understand your services and contact you, with information you control.
Add accurate opening hours
Accurate hours help customers decide when to visit or call, and wrong hours lead to disappointed customers and poor reviews. Do not invent default hours simply to complete the field; enter the hours you actually keep.
Remember to update special and holiday hours, such as bank holidays and Christmas closures, whenever they apply.
Storefront or service-area business?
Examples of storefront businesses include shops, restaurants, salons, clinics and offices that receive customers. If customers genuinely visit the premises during opening hours, the location may be displayed on your profile.
Examples of service-area businesses include plumbers, electricians, cleaners, mobile services, landscapers and removal companies. If you travel to customers and do not receive them at your address, you can use service areas and hide your residential or business address from the public profile where appropriate.
Google allows service-area businesses to specify towns, cities, postal codes or other supported geographic areas. Google currently allows up to 20 service areas, and the overall area should stay realistically connected to what you can serve, which Google describes as about two hours’ driving from your base. Some businesses are both: they receive visitors and also travel, and can show their address while listing the areas they cover.
Do not use a fake or virtual business address
Google requires businesses displaying an address to use a genuine real-world business location. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are not eligible. A virtual office is generally not eligible unless the business actually operates there in accordance with Google’s requirements, including staffing and appropriate customer-facing use.
Co-working spaces carry additional requirements, including signage, staffing and receiving customers at the location. Do not manipulate map pins or use an address that is not yours; false locations can lead to suspension and wasted effort.
How Google Maps business verification works
Google requires businesses to verify ownership or authority before full profile management becomes available. Verification protects customers and genuine owners from impersonation. Google determines which verification methods are offered to each business, so two businesses in the same street may see different options.
Possible methods can include video recording, phone or SMS, email, a live video call, a postcard sent by mail and, in some cases, instant verification. Not every business receives every method, and Google may require more than one. We cannot select or guarantee a specific verification method.
Timings vary. Where postcard verification is offered, Google says most codes arrive within approximately 14 days; this is not a delivery guarantee. Codes expire after 30 days. Follow Google’s current instructions and do not share verification codes with anyone. Reviews can take up to five business days and sometimes longer. Avoid changing the name, address or category or requesting another code while waiting, as this can invalidate the existing code.
What might Google ask you to show in a verification video?
If Google offers video verification, you will usually be asked to record one continuous video on a phone. The exact instructions appear on screen, so follow them carefully. Items Google commonly asks for can include:
- The surrounding street or location, to show where the business is
- Business signage, where it exists
- Equipment, stock or vehicles that show you operate the business
- Products, branded materials and your workspace
- Evidence that you control the business, such as opening employee-only areas or accessing equipment
How to improve your Google Maps business presence
Creating a profile is only the beginning. Maintain accurate, consistent business information across your own website, Google profile and directory listings. Choose relevant categories, keep hours current and publish useful service pages with genuine local information. Clear photographs and an honest description help customers understand what you offer.
Ask real customers for genuine reviews without paying for them, and respond professionally. Useful website content and a complete profile are sensible local SEO foundations, not a promise of ranking. We do not claim to know Google’s ranking algorithm or control its results.
- Complete profile and accurate categories
- Real website with helpful service pages
- Consistent business information
- Genuine reviews, photographs and up-to-date hours
What to do after verification
Verification unlocks management of the profile, but a complete profile does more for customers than a bare one. Once Google confirms access, work through the details again and fill in anything that is missing.
Add a short, honest description of what you do, list your services, upload clear photographs of your premises, work or products, and keep your hours current. Respond politely to customer reviews, since a reply shows people that the business is active. Make sure the website and phone number are correct and match the details on your own site and other listings.
Be patient with results. A profile can help customers find an eligible business, but neither we nor anyone else can guarantee ranking or a particular place on the map.
- Add your logo and quality photographs
- Complete your description and services
- Check opening hours, website and telephone
- Set realistic service areas
- Keep information updated
- Respond to genuine reviews and publish relevant updates
What we do not promise
We are not Google, and we cannot influence Google’s decisions. We cannot guarantee that a profile will be approved or verified, that it will appear on Google Maps, or that it will rank in any position. We cannot bypass Google’s verification process, and not every business is eligible. Our optional service is practical help with preparation, information and website work, not a shortcut.