Check you are eligible first
Google says a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. It lists online-only businesses as ineligible. A shop, a cafe or a salon qualifies. So does a plumber who visits customers or a florist who delivers.
If you only work online or by phone and never meet customers, Google may refuse or remove the profile. A suspended profile is hard to recover, so settle this before you start.
Service-area businesses hide the address
If you travel to customers and they do not visit you, you are a service-area business. You can hide your address and list the areas you cover instead.
Google allows up to 20 service areas, and says the area should not be more than about two hours of driving time from where you are based. A profile for “the whole UK” is not allowed. List the places you really reach.
A business that has both a shopfront and travels to customers can show its address and also list service areas.
Verify the profile
Create or claim the profile with the Google account you will keep using, then follow Google’s verification steps. The options it offers depend on the business, so use whichever it shows you.
Use an account that belongs to the business owner, not to a former employee or a supplier. If someone else helps you set it up, add them as a manager rather than sharing your password.
Fill in what customers look for
| Part of the profile | What to do |
|---|---|
| Business name | Use your real trading name, the one on your shopfront or van. Do not add keywords or locations to it. |
| Category | Choose the one that best describes what you mainly do. Add others only for work you really offer. |
| Services | List what you do in plain words, with prices where you are happy to give them. |
| Opening hours | Keep them accurate, and update them for bank holidays and closures. |
| Photos | Use your own photos of your premises, work or team. Do not use stock images. |
| Description | Say what you do and for whom in a few clear sentences. No offers or web addresses. |
| Website | Link to the most relevant page, usually the homepage, and keep your name, phone number and address the same as on the site. |
Ask for reviews honestly
Ask every customer, not only the ones you think will be pleased. Google bans review gating, which means selectively asking for positive reviews. It also bans paying for reviews or offering discounts, free goods or services in return.
UK law is firm on this too. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans fake reviews and hidden incentivised reviews, and the CMA has published guidance on it. Reviews must reflect real experience.
Reply to reviews politely, including negative ones. Do not write reviews for your own business or ask friends who never used it to do so.
Keep it useful
- Check your opening hours and phone number every few months.
- Add new photos when you finish good work or change your premises.
- Use posts for real news, such as an offer, an event or a new service.
- Reply to questions and reviews within a few days.
- Update the profile when you change prices, services or areas.
A profile helps people find you locally, but it cannot promise a position in Google’s results.
I can set it up for you
Google Business Profile setup is an optional extra from £49, one-off. I create or claim the profile, add categories, services, a description, hours and photos, link your website and help you through verification. I check you are eligible first, because Google decides, not me.
Posts and photo updates after setup count as small updates on the monthly care plans. A profile is yours, and I only ever act through the access you give me.
Further reading
Official guidance behind the practical advice. Service inclusions are confirmed in your written quote.