Manage Google Business Profile: Sign In, Find, Add Managers

You manage a Google Business Profile by signing in to the Google Account that owns or manages it and then editing it from Google Search or from the Business tab in the Google Maps app (Google points larger multi-location businesses to its Business Profile Manager tool). There is no separate login for the profile itself. Our take: most “I can’t find or manage my Google Business Profile” problems are really “I’m signed in to the wrong Google Account” or “only one person ever had access,” so the best management habit is boring: one business-controlled account, at least two owners, and a quarterly look at the People and access list.

This guide covers how to find and open your profile, how to add and remove managers, what owner and manager mean, what happened to the standalone mobile app, managing several profiles, and the habits that prevent lockouts. Everything about Google’s process is taken from Google’s own Business Profile Help pages, which we link as we go. Where we could not open a Google page, we say so.

How to sign in to your Google Business Profile

Google’s help states it plainly: “To edit your business info, you need to sign in to the Google Account that’s linked to your Business Profile” (Edit your Business Profile). And to find the profile at all, you must sign in to the Google Account associated with it (Find your business on Google).

That has three practical consequences:

• Which account matters. Many owners have a personal Gmail, a work account and a leftover account from a former employee. Only the account that was verified or invited sees the management controls. If the controls are missing, try another account before assuming the profile is gone.
• Any email address works. Google’s getting-started page says you need a Google Account to sign up and can use an existing one with any email address (Get started with Google Business Profile). It also suggests linking a company email address to your account to make managing the profile easier.
• Verification comes first. Google says only verified businesses can show their business info on Maps and Search, and editing comes after you verify. If you are still unverified, see our guide to verifying a Google Business Profile.

How to find your Google Business Profile

Google’s own instructions, from Find your business on Google:

1. On Google Search: while signed in, search for your business name and city, or search for “my business”.
2. On Google Maps (web): search for your business name and city.
3. In the Google Maps app: tap Business at the bottom right. If you manage more than one business, tap the down arrow at the top and select the one you want.

Once you see your profile, the management options appear on it. On Search you select Edit profile, then Save after your changes. In the Maps app you tap Business, then Edit profile, then Save (Edit your Business Profile).

If you cannot find it

Google’s page has no dedicated troubleshooting section, so here is what its text supports:

• Check you are signed in to the right Google Account. This is the most common fix.
• A profile can be suspended or disabled. Google’s page on fixing suspended or disabled profiles says the public cannot reach it and the owner and managers cannot act on it, and that you appeal through its appeals tool. See Google Business Profile suspended for the next steps.
• If the business is not verified: Google says only verified businesses can show their business info on Maps and Search.
• If someone else already verified your business, you will not get management controls until you are added or your access request is approved. Our ownership guide covers requesting access.
• If a customer can see it but you cannot, compare the name and address on the public page with your records using the free NAP checker. It helps to know what Google actually shows before you hunt for the account.

Business Profile Manager, Search and Maps: which one to use

Google describes three ways into the same profile:

Where	Best for	What Google’s help says
Google Search	Quick edits to one profile	Select Edit profile on your own profile while signed in
Google Maps app	Managing from your phone	Tap Business at the bottom right, then Edit profile
Business Profile Manager	Many profiles at once	Google says to use it to manage profiles in bulk, for larger businesses with multiple locations

The user controls described below, People and access, are reached from your profile under More, then Business Profile settings. For one location, Search and Maps are usually enough for day-to-day edits (our reading, not a Google rule). If you are managing a growing list of locations, Google points you to the Business Profile Manager tool.

What happened to the Google Business Profile app

People still search for a “google business profile app,” so here is what we can and cannot say.

What Google’s pages we could open say: you manage your profile from Search and from the Business tab in the Google Maps app, and the Business Profile Manager is the tool for bulk management. Those pages do not describe a separate standalone app for single profiles.

What we could not confirm from Google: that the older Google My Business mobile app was retired, and when. The Google page that covers that transition did not load properly with our tools. The retirement was reported by a trade publication, Search Engine Land, as the app having stopped functioning in 2022, and that is a third-party report. Our practical advice does not depend on the date: if a store listing offers an app called Google My Business or a Business Profile app, check it against what Google’s help describes, and use Maps and Search directly. As a general precaution (our advice, not Google’s), do not type your Google password into an app from a publisher you do not recognize.

How to add a manager or user to your Google Business Profile

From Google’s page on adding and removing owners and managers:

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access.
3. At the top left, select the add-user icon.
4. Enter the person’s email address.
5. Under Access, choose Owner or Manager.
6. Select Invite.

Only owners can do this. Pending invitations appear under “Pending” on the same page, and you get an email if the person accepts. To cancel a pending invitation, find the person under Pending and select Cancel invitation.

Points from Google’s help that catch people out:

• Each person needs their own Google Account. Google Groups cannot be added as owners or managers. Sharing one login among staff is the opposite of what the page describes.
• There is a 7-day wait. New owners and managers must wait 7 days before they can delete or undelete a profile, remove other owners or managers, or transfer primary ownership. Google says you get an error if you try earlier.
• Users can see each other. Google says users in the account can find names and email addresses of the owners and managers.

Owner vs manager vs primary owner

Per Google’s owners and managers page:

Role	What it can do
Primary owner	The single owner who holds primary ownership; cannot remove themselves until primary ownership is transferred to someone else
Owner	Full control: manage profile info, add and remove users, change access roles, remove the profile
Manager	Mostly the same access as an owner, except they cannot add or remove users or remove the profile

A profile can have multiple owners but only one primary owner. It needs at least one other owner or manager before primary ownership can be transferred. Only owners can change the access role of other owners and managers.

To hand over primary ownership, or to request access to a profile someone else controls, use our separate guide on transferring Google Business Profile ownership, which we do not repeat here.

How to change a role or remove a user

Using the same path to People and access:

• Change a role: select the user, select the edit icon next to Access, choose the new role and Save.
• Remove someone else: select the user, then Remove person.
• Remove yourself: select yourself, then Stop managing, then Confirm.

Google adds that removed users can no longer change business info or perform admin tasks, but their past activity stays: their replies to reviews, posts, comments and other actions remain on the profile. The removed person gets an email. If you cannot select a user to remove, Google’s page says it might mean you only have manager-level access.

Removing a person is different from removing the profile. If your goal is to take the profile down, Google’s separate page on removing a Business Profile applies, and we summarize it in how to delete a Google Business Profile.

Managing several profiles

There are three ways to keep more than one profile in order, all from Google’s help:

1. The Maps app picker. In the Business tab, the down arrow at the top switches between businesses you manage.
2. Advanced settings. Under More, Business Profile settings, Advanced settings, Google lists the Business Profile ID, phone number visibility, labels, store codes and data sharing. Store codes are for keeping multiple businesses organized, and labels group profiles in a bulk-upload spreadsheet (they are not publicly visible). Data sharing is a profile-level setting, so if any owner or manager opts in or out, the whole profile follows that choice (Manage advanced profile settings).
3. Business Profile Manager for bulk work. Google recommends it for larger businesses with multiple locations.

Agencies have one more option. Google’s agency organizations page describes organization accounts that manage locations only after each location grants permission. A user cannot join an organization if their account directly owns or manages any locations.

Security habits that prevent lockouts

Google does not publish a “lockout prevention checklist” for Business Profiles, so these habits combine what its pages establish with our judgment:

• Keep at least two owners. Google’s rules say the primary owner cannot leave until ownership is transferred, and only owners can add users. If the only owner loses their account, nobody can fix the access list.
• Use an account the business controls. A profile tied to a former employee’s personal account is the classic lockout. Google suggests linking a company email address to the account that manages the profile.
• Protect the account itself. Google’s account security page recommends running Security Checkup, keeping your recovery phone and email current, using a passkey, and turning on 2-Step Verification, which it says helps prevent a hacker getting in even if they steal your password.
• Give the least access that works. A designer who only posts photos does not need the owner role. Managers cover the daily work.
• Review People and access quarterly. Remove people who left. Their past replies stay on the profile anyway.
• Never hand over a verification code. Google says it never asks for it.

What management has to do with the rest of your listings

Your Google profile is one record among many. When you change the address, phone number or business name in the profile, every local citation that still carries the old details becomes a conflict. Keep a single master record of your details, and when you edit the profile, check the rest against it with the NAP checker. Our guide to finding and fixing duplicate listings covers cleaning up after an old address or an abandoned profile, and consistent name, address and phone details are what make citations agree.

Sources used

We read these Google pages for this guide: Find your business on Google, Edit your Business Profile, Get started with Google Business Profile, How to add and remove owners and managers, Manage your Business Profile owners and managers, Manage advanced profile settings, Manage agency organizations and Make your account more secure. We could not open Google’s page about the retirement of the old mobile app, so that point rests on a named trade publication. Google changes menu labels over time, so verify against the live screen.