Getting Your Google Business Profile Started

Sagentic Web Design • Published September 17, 2026

Google Business Profile is a free tool that controls how your business appears on Google Search and Google Maps. Most people searching on Google are looking for something near them, right now. If your business does not have a verified profile, you are invisible in those moments, and the competitor down the street gets the call instead.

This guide walks you through creating a brand new profile and getting it verified. The process changed significantly in 2026, so if you find an older tutorial somewhere else, it is probably out of date.

What Changed in 2026

Three things are worth knowing before you start.

The old Google My Business dashboard is gone. Google retired it in November 2024. You now manage your profile directly inside Google Search and Google Maps.
Video verification is now the default. For most new profiles, Google asks you to record a live walkthrough of your business on your phone.
You do not choose your verification method. Google decides which options you see based on your business type, address, category, and region. Some businesses are asked to verify more than once.

Before You Start

Gather all of this before you begin. Stopping halfway to hunt for a detail is how mistakes get made.

A Google Account you will control permanently. Use a business email address if you have one. Do not use a personal account belonging to an employee who might leave.
Your exact business name, spelled the way it appears on your sign and your license. No extra keywords, no city name, no slogans.
Your street address, if customers come to you.
The cities, counties, or ZIP codes you serve, if you travel to customers.
A phone number a real person answers. Automated phone menus cannot receive verification codes.
Your website address and your hours of operation.
The single best category that describes what you do.

Is Your Business Eligible?

Google does not give a profile to everyone. To qualify, your business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours.

Businesses that qualify:

A storefront where customers walk in.
A service business that travels to customers, like a plumber or landscaper.
A business that does both, like a restaurant with dine-in and delivery.
A seasonal business, as long as permanent signage stays up year-round.

Businesses that do not qualify:

Online-only businesses with no in-person customer contact.
Rental or for-sale properties such as vacation homes or vacant apartments. A leasing office is eligible; the units are not.
Lead generation companies.
Any business whose address is a P.O. box or a mailbox in a remote location.

If you are not eligible, stop here. Creating a profile anyway is the fastest route to a permanent suspension.

Creating Your Google Business Profile

Follow these steps to create and verify your listing:

Check Whether Google Already Knows About You

This is the step most people skip, and skipping it causes the worst problems. Google builds listings from public data, so your business may already have one you never created. Sign in to your Google Account, then search Google and Google Maps for your business name and city.

Claim It Or Create It

What you do next depends on what you found:

Nothing found. Go to business.google.com/add and select "Add your business to Google".
An unverified listing exists. Open it in Google Maps and select "Claim this business", then "Manage now". Do not create a second one.
A verified listing exists that someone else controls. Request ownership through Google rather than creating a duplicate.

Enter Your Business Name And Category

Use your real-world name exactly as it appears on your storefront. Do not add keywords or your city. "Smith Plumbing" is correct. "Smith Plumbing - Best Emergency Plumber in Cañon City" will get you suspended. For your primary category, choose the narrowest option that is accurate. This single field has more effect on your local visibility than anything else on the profile.

Set Your Address Or Service Area

Google will ask whether customers come to your location. Answer honestly.

Customers visit you at a physical place with permanent signage: enter your street address.
You travel to customers and they never come to you: do not enter an address at all. List the areas you serve instead.
You do both: enter your address and your service areas.

Add Your Contact Information And Hours

Enter the single main phone number for the business, your real website address, and the hours you are actually open. Google checks these against other sources, so accuracy matters more than you might expect.

Complete Verification

Google will present you with one or more verification options. Take whichever one you are offered. The methods are explained in detail below.

Wait For Review

Google reviews what you submitted, which takes up to five business days. Do not edit your profile while you wait. Changing your name, address, phone number, or category during review can restart the whole process. You will get a confirmation email when you are verified.

Verification Methods

Verification is how Google confirms you actually control the business you are claiming. Until it is complete, your listing does not compete in local search. Remember that Google chooses your method. If an option is not on your screen, it is not available to you.

Video recording - the most common method

Google asks you to record a live walkthrough of your business on your phone. The rules are strict:

The recording must be unedited and complete, with no breaks.
It must be at least 30 seconds long.
It must be recorded and uploaded live from a mobile device through your Business Profile. You cannot record it earlier and upload it later. Pre-recorded video is rejected.
Do not show bank account numbers, tax numbers, identification numbers, private information, or other people's faces.

Your video must show three things. If you have a storefront:

Where you are. Street signs, building numbers, or neighboring businesses that prove you are at the address on your profile.
That the business exists. Your storefront or signage, with your business name clearly printed on something permanent. The name must match your profile.
That you manage it. Something only an employee could do. Open the register, unlock the kitchen or storage room, or use the point-of-sale system.

If you travel to customers instead:

Where you operate. Street signs or landmarks at your business address. If you work from home, film landmarks in your immediate neighborhood. Avoid empty land with no clear markers.
That the business exists. Your tools, equipment, workspace, business cards, or branded apparel.
That you manage it. Record yourself performing a service or unlocking a branded work vehicle. A business permit, invoice, or utility bill matching your business name also works.

Plan the walk before you press record. Know your path: start at the street sign, move to the building number, pan across your signage, go inside, and finish with the management proof. Rehearse it once without recording. To submit, open your Business Profile on your phone, tap "Get verified", then "Business video", and follow the prompts.

Other methods you may be offered

Phone or text. Nearly instant. Google calls or texts a code that you enter on your profile. Make sure a person can answer the line.
Email. Google sends a verification message to the address shown on your screen.
Live video call. A support representative walks through your business with you over video, during your posted business hours. Be ready to show your location, your equipment, and proof you manage the place.
Postcard. Still available to some businesses but far less common than it used to be. Google mails a five-digit code, usually within 14 days. While you wait, do not change your name, address, or category, and do not request a second code. Codes expire after 30 days.
Instant. Occasionally Google verifies immediately, usually when your website is already verified in Google Search Console under the same account.

Google will never ask you for your verification code. Do not share it with anyone, including people who help manage your profile.

When Verification Fails

It does not always work the first time. Here is how to read what Google is telling you.

The "Get verified" button comes back. Google could not fully verify your business. Try again, and try a different method if your profile offers one.
You see a "Review issues" notice. Your video was not accepted. Select it and Google will tell you exactly what was missing, such as the business name not being visible on the storefront or the surrounding area not being shown.
You are asked for more information. This usually follows recent changes to your business details. Work through the process again.

When you record a replacement video, include everything from the first video plus everything that was flagged. Do not record a shorter clip that only addresses the complaint.

After You Are Verified

Verification gets you on the map. Optimization gets you chosen. In your first week, add every service and product you offer, upload real photographs of your location and your work, write your business description in plain language, and add attributes that apply to you such as wheelchair access or veteran-owned.

After that, respond to every review, good and bad. Post updates and offers regularly. Answer questions in the Q&A section before a stranger answers them for you. Encourage a steady flow of reviews over time rather than a burst followed by silence.

Mistakes That Get Profiles Suspended

Putting keywords or a city name in the business name field.
Listing a virtual office, mailbox service, or P.O. box as your address.
Creating a second profile when one already exists.
Listing a home address for a business where customers never visit.
Using a phone number that does not belong to the business.
Making sudden changes to your name, address, or phone number right after verification.

A suspension can be appealed, but it requires documentation: photos of signage, utility bills, business licenses, and proof that you serve customers at the listed address. It is far easier to avoid a suspension than to argue your way out of one.

Let Sagentic Handle It

Sagentic Web Design manages Google Business Profiles for local businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies as part of our fully managed service. We audit your existing listings, identify duplicates and problems, build out and optimize the profile, prepare you for whichever verification method Google assigns, and coach you on responding to reviews.

Profile management and local search optimization are also available as standalone services for businesses whose website was built somewhere else.

Already have a listing and want us to manage it? Follow our guide on how to add an agency to your Google Business Profile.

If you have any questions, you can email us info@sagentic.com or fill out the contact form below.

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