How to put your business on Google and Google Maps (free, step by step)

Why it matters so much

Local search is enormous in the United States. According to the Google data we pulled with SEOClave on November 10, 2026, «bakery near me» is searched 3.35 million times a month, «dentist near me» 1.83 million, «hair salon near me» 1.5 million and «plumber near me» 823,000. For searches like these Google shows a map with a few businesses first and the websites after. If you don't have a profile, you're not on that map, however good your website is.

Google My Business or Business Profile: are they the same?

Yes. What many people still search for as Google My Business (165,000 searches a month in the U.S.) is now called the Google Business Profile: the same tool, and it's still free. You'll see both names around, even inside Google's own help pages.

What you need before you start

• A Google Account. If you create a new one, Google recommends signing up with your business email domain. A business account beats one tied to an employee: if they leave, you don't lose the profile.
• In-person contact with customers: either a storefront or office customers can visit, or you travel to them (plumber, electrician, cleaner, mobile detailer). Google's guidelines say a business must have a physical location customers can visit or travel to customers where they are. An online-only business doesn't qualify.
• Your real-world business name, as it appears on your sign or your paperwork. Google's guidelines don't allow taglines, hours, phone numbers, URLs or service descriptions in the name.
• A real address. P.O. boxes and mailboxes at remote locations aren't acceptable, and neither is a virtual office where you rent an address but don't operate.
• A service area, if you go to your customers. If you have no storefront where you receive customers, you hide your address and list the cities, ZIP codes (Google's pages say «postal codes») or areas you serve, up to 20. Google recommends not extending your area farther than 2 hours' driving time from your business.
• A phone number and, if you have one, your website. The page doesn't say a website is required, but it helps.

Step by step: create your profile

1. 1Sign in to your Google Account at business.google.com/create.
2. 2Enter your business name. If your business already exists and someone else has verified it, don't create a second profile: request ownership (see below).
3. 3Choose your main category. It's the heaviest single choice: pick the most specific one that fits («Bakery», not «Food store»).
4. 4Say whether you have a location customers can visit. If you do, enter the address or place the marker on the map.
5. 5If you also serve customers at their location, set your service area.
6. 6Enter your phone number and website, then click Finish.
7. 7Choose how to verify: now or later.

Those are the steps from Google's official help, read on November 10, 2026. As Google puts it, customers can only find your profile after you complete verification.

How to verify your business

Your profile isn't shown to anyone until you verify it. Google decides automatically which methods you get, based on your business type, public information, region and business hours, and you can't change them:

After you complete the steps, Google reviews your information, and that takes up to 5 business days, with rare cases taking longer. Some profiles verify instantly through Search Console or bulk verification.

If your business already shows up on Google Maps

Google may already have a listing for your business, created by a customer or from its own data. Don't create another one: Google advises creating only one Business Profile for the metropolitan area you serve, and multiple profiles for the same business in the same area can get your account suspended. Search for your business on Google Maps, open the listing and claim it or request ownership.

What can get your profile suspended

• Adding extra words to your business name, like «Ana's Bakery – Birthday Cakes Austin». Google says including unnecessary information in the name isn't permitted and could result in suspension.
• Using an address where you don't operate: a P.O. box, a mailbox at a remote location or a virtual office.
• Creating several profiles for the same business.

The full rules are in Google's guidelines for representing your business, read on November 10, 2026.

After you create it: how to show up better

Creating and verifying is only the start. Who shows up first on the map comes down to relevance, distance and prominence, and Google says plainly that you can't pay for a better local ranking. Complete every field, add real photos and ask your customers for reviews, without paying or discounting for them. If you also have a website, make sure it loads well on mobile and says which cities you serve: you can check it with our free audit.