How to Create a Google Business Profile (Step by Step)

To create a Google Business Profile, first search Google Maps and Google Search for your exact business name and address to rule out a profile that already exists, then go to business.google.com to claim it or start a new one, add your name, category, address or service area, and complete one of Google’s verification methods. The step most guides skip is the search you do before you touch business.google.com at all: Google’s own help pages confirm an unverified profile can already exist for a business to claim, so a real share of “new” profiles are really unclaimed ones waiting to be found, and starting a second profile on top of one that already exists is a common reason a Google Business Profile ends up suspended, duplicated, or stuck behind a competing claim.

This guide walks through that search, the fields Google asks for, the difference between a street address and a service area, what each verification method actually requires, and what to do in the first week after your profile goes live. If you are building a profile as part of a wider local SEO citation builder push rather than a one-off task, treat this as the anchor: everything else, from your directory listings to your NAP consistency, points back to the identity this profile establishes.

Step 1: Check for an Existing Profile Before You Create One

Search Google Maps and a plain Google search for your business name plus your city. Look for:

• An unclaimed profile with a “Own this business?” or “Claim this business” prompt
• A profile under a former owner, an old name, or a closed status
• A duplicate created by a data aggregator or a directory feed, sometimes with an old address or phone number attached

If you find one, claim it instead of creating a new one. Claiming an existing profile keeps whatever reviews, photos, and history are attached to it; starting fresh abandons all of that and risks a duplicate-listing conflict once Google’s systems notice two profiles pointing at the same real-world business. If a competitor or a former employee is squatting on your name with false information, that is a different problem: see how to report a fake Google Business listing rather than trying to out-create it.

How to Create a Google Business Profile: Step by Step

Once you have confirmed no usable profile exists, the setup flow at business.google.com follows this order:

1. Sign in with the Google account your business will use long-term, not a personal account you might lose access to later.
2. Enter your business name. Use the exact name your business goes by in the real world, on your sign, invoices, and website. Google’s own naming guidelines restrict what you can add here; see keywords in your business name before you type anything extra into this field.
3. Choose your business category. This is the single field that does the most work for how Google decides which searches you show up for. Pick the primary category that most precisely describes what the business is, not everything it does. Our guide to Google Business Profile categories covers how to pick and add categories correctly.
4. Add your location. Enter a street address if customers visit you, or set up as a service-area business if you travel to customers instead (details below).
5. Add contact details. Phone number and website, if you have one.
6. Choose your verification method and complete it (see the section below).
7. Fill in the remaining fields Google offers once the profile exists: hours, attributes, services, and a description.

Address vs. Service Area: Pick the Right Setup

Not every business should show a public street address, and picking the wrong option here creates problems later.

	Storefront / office business	Service-area business
Customers visit you	Yes	No, you go to them
Public address shown	Yes	No, hidden by design
What you enter instead	Full street address	The cities, ZIP codes, or region you serve
Typical examples	Retail, restaurants, clinics, salons	Plumbers, cleaners, mobile detailers, electricians, towing
Verification address	Same as the public address	Still required, just not shown publicly

A service-area setup still needs a real address behind the scenes for verification, even though it never appears publicly. Getting this wrong in either direction, showing an address that should stay private, or hiding one customers actually need to find, is one of the more common fixes we see when auditing a profile as part of a build.

Verifying Your New Profile

Google offers several verification methods, and which ones you are offered depends on your business type and history with Google:

• Phone or SMS. Google calls or texts a code to your business number; fastest option when it is offered.
• Email. A verification link sent to the email address tied to the profile.
• Postcard by mail. Google mails a code to your business address, typically arriving within 14 days, then you enter it on the profile.
• Live video call. A Google representative verifies your location over video; you need to show exterior signage, the interior, and proof you manage the business.
• Instant verification. Available in specific cases, such as an already-verified website in Google Search Console.

Google reviews the submitted information after verification completes, which the company says can take up to five business days. If video is the only option offered to you, or you would rather avoid it, our guide on verifying a Google Business Profile without video covers what determines eligibility for the other methods and what to do if video is genuinely your only path. (Source: Google’s Business Profile verification guidance, accessed 2026-09-25.)

What to Do the First Week After Verification

A verified profile with empty fields still leaves visibility on the table. In order of impact:

1. Complete every profile field, not just the required ones: services, products, attributes, and a written description.
2. Add photos covering exterior, interior, team, and product or work shots.
3. Confirm your category is still the most precise available option, not just the first one you picked during setup.
4. Check your NAP matches everywhere else you already appear. Run your name, address, and phone number through our free NAP checker to see how consistent you already are across the web before you add anything new.
5. Start building the citation footprint behind the profile. A brand-new Google listing with no matching listings anywhere else is a thinner trust signal than one backed by consistent, verifiable listings on the directories that matter for your market. That is the ongoing work a citation building service is built to handle.

For the next layer of profile work once these basics are in place, from your description to your posting cadence, move on to Google Business Profile optimization. And if this profile is going up for a business that has never had any online presence before, citations for a new business covers the order that actually works.

Common Setup Mistakes to Avoid

• Creating a duplicate instead of claiming. Always search first; see Step 1 above.
• Choosing a category for marketing appeal instead of accuracy. The category with the most search volume is not automatically the right primary category if it does not precisely describe the business.
• Showing an address for a business that should be service-area only, or the reverse, hiding an address customers genuinely need.
• Using a personal Gmail account with no backup admin, which becomes a real problem if that person leaves the business.
• Leaving the profile at “verified” and stopping there. Verification is the start of the Google Business Profile relationship with Google, not the finish line; ongoing accuracy, especially NAP consistency with every other place your business is listed, is what the profile depends on from here.

A profile built in this order, checked for an existing listing, categorized precisely, addressed correctly for how customers actually reach you, and verified through the right method, gives everything downstream, from local SEO rankings to the primary category Google uses to match you to searches, something accurate to build on.

Why the Order Above Matters More Than Any Single Field

Every step in this guide sits in that order for a reason: each one narrows what can go wrong in the next. Searching for an existing profile before creating one prevents the duplicate that would otherwise take weeks to untangle. Picking the precise category before writing a description means the description reinforces what Google already understands about the business, instead of trying to compensate for a vague or overly broad category choice. Deciding address versus service-area setup before verification means you are never stuck re-verifying because the wrong option got chosen under time pressure.

None of this is a one-time task, either. Profiles get suggested edits from other users, categories occasionally need revisiting as a business adds or drops services, and an address change, a rebrand, or a new phone number all ripple out to every other place the business is listed, not just Google. That ripple effect is exactly what a citation building practice exists to manage: one accurate record, kept consistent everywhere it appears, rather than a profile that drifts out of sync with the directories, maps, and apps a customer might actually use to find the business first.