How to create a Google Business Profile, step by step
With a Business Profile, your company appears in Google Search and on Google Maps, with address, opening hours and reviews. The profile is free. Here is what information you need, how verification works and which mistakes lead to a suspension.
In short
You create the profile for free at business.google.com/create: enter your business name, category, address or service area, phone number and website, then verify. Google decides which verification method you get, for example a short video. According to Google, the review takes up to five business days. Only then can customers see the profile. Use the name on your signage and hide the address if you don't serve customers there.
What is a Google Business Profile?
The Business Profile, formerly "Google My Business", is your company's listing in Google Search and on Google Maps. It shows the name, address or service area, phone number, opening hours, photos and your customers' reviews. When someone searches for your name or "electrician Zurich", these profiles appear in Search and on Maps. Google states explicitly that you can add your profile for free. Your business may already be on Maps because someone added it. In that case, you take over the existing profile.
Who is eligible for a profile
The requirement is in-person contact with customers during your stated hours: customers come to you, or you go to them. According to Google, online-only shops, virtual offices, PO boxes, rental or for-sale properties and classes held at other people's premises are not eligible. One profile per location is allowed, and only one even across several Google accounts.
What you need before you start
With this information to hand, you can create the profile in one go.
- Your own Google account with a business address. Google recommends an account using your company's email domain. Everyone who helps out later gets their own account; there is no need to share passwords.
- Your business name as it appears on your sign. Exactly as customers see it on your signage, website and letterhead.
- A fitting primary category. For example "Electrician" or "Dental clinic". Up to nine more can be added later.
- Address or service area. An address needs permanent signage that stays up all year. If you travel to your customers, note down the towns or regions you serve.
- Phone number, website and opening hours. A number you can be reached on during opening hours. It can also be used for verification by call or text.
Which profile type fits you?
The most important decision when creating the profile is whether customers visit you at an address. That determines what the profile shows.
| Your situation | Examples | Profile setting |
|---|---|---|
| Customers come to you | Examples: Restaurant, hairdresser, dental practice, shop | Profile setting: Show your location with its address. The address needs permanent signage with your name. |
| You go to your customers | Examples: Electrician, painter, cleaning company, landscaper | Profile setting: No customer location, but a service area with up to 20 towns or regions (roughly two hours' drive). The address stays hidden. |
| Both | Examples: Bike workshop with pick-up service, joinery with showroom | Profile setting: Show the address and add a service area as well. |
| No in-person contact | Examples: Online-only shop, virtual office | Profile setting: Not eligible according to Google. Such a profile can be suspended. |
Create a Google Business Profile in seven steps
This is how creation works on a computer. The button names come from Google's help, as of October 2026.
- 1
Sign in
Open business.google.com/create and sign in with the Google account that will manage the profile.
- 2
Enter your business name
Type the name. If Google already suggests your business, select it: the profile then already exists, and you claim it instead of creating a second one.
- 3
Choose a category
Search for your business category and click "Next". Choose the one that completes the sentence "This business is …" most precisely.
- 4
Set your location
Google asks whether there is a location customers can visit. With "Yes", enter the address or drop a pin on the map. With "No", enter your service area.
- 5
Add contact details
Enter your phone number and website address, then "Next" and "Finish".
- 6
Start verification
Choose "Verify now". Google shows the methods available for your business. You can also choose "Verify later", but customers only see the profile after verification.
- 7
Complete the profile
In the profile editor, add opening hours, a description (750 characters at most), photos and services. Google usually reviews edits within 10 minutes, sometimes it takes up to 30 days.
Google changes buttons and flows regularly. The linked Google help, checked on 24 October 2026, is authoritative.
Verification: which methods exist
Verification proves that the business is yours. You can't pick the method freely: Google determines it automatically, based on factors such as business type, region and opening hours. Sometimes several steps are needed. Video recording. Google recommends it when it is offered ("Business video"). You film with your smartphone, unedited and without interruption, for at least 30 seconds. The video must show the location (street signs, house number, neighbouring businesses), the business (permanent sign with the profile name) and that you manage it (for example the till, kitchen or storeroom). For businesses that travel to customers, the video shows street signs or landmarks, tools, a vehicle or clothing with a logo and, for example, unlocking the company van. ID, bank or tax numbers and other people's faces must not appear in the video. Phone or text, email, live video call, postcard. Google offers these methods depending on the case. The video call is only possible during opening hours. The postcard usually arrives within 14 days; its five-digit code expires after 30 days. Until then, don't change the name, address or category. According to Google, the review takes up to five business days, in rare cases longer.
The profile already exists: claim ownership
If your business appears on Google Maps with "Claim this business", it has not been verified yet. Click it, then "Manage now", and continue with verification. If someone else already manages the profile, for example a former agency or a former employee, Google tells you so. Choose "Request access" and fill in the form. The person managing the profile has three days to respond. If there is no response, the confirmation email may, depending on the case, let you verify the profile yourself. Google notes that this option is not always available. Never create a second profile for the same business. Duplicate profiles break the guidelines and can lead to suspension.
Several people manage the profile
A profile can have several owners, but only one primary owner. Owners can do everything, including adding people and deleting the profile. Managers can edit the profile and reply to reviews, but can't manage people. You add someone via the three-dot menu, the Business Profile settings and "People and access". If you work with an agency, the profile stays in your own account. Google requires agencies to advise their clients to do exactly that: your own account as owner, the agency as manager. New owners must also wait seven days before they can remove people, transfer primary ownership or delete the profile.
After verification: the first reviews
A new profile without reviews looks empty. After verification, ask your first satisfied customers for a review. You'll find the direct link in the profile under "Read reviews" → "Get more reviews"; instructions and templates are in the guide Creating a Google review link. Ask every customer, without incentives: Google explicitly prohibits them. How to build out the profile step by step afterwards, with categories, photos, posts and review replies, is covered in the guide Optimise your Google Business Profile.
Six rules that prevent a suspension
Most problems during setup come from details that break Google's guidelines for representing your business.
- 1.Your real name, nothing added. No keywords, places, slogans, phone numbers or opening hours in the name. "Smith Electrics" is right, "Smith Electrics – Electrician Zurich 24/7" is not.
- 2.No PO boxes or virtual offices. PO boxes and mailboxes at other locations are not allowed, and neither are virtual offices. Coworking spaces only with clear signage and your own staff on site during opening hours.
- 3.Hide the address if customers don't come. If you work from home and go to your customers, hide the address and enter only your service area.
- 4.One profile per business and location. Multiple profiles in the same region for different services are not allowed either. Without a fixed location, exactly one profile for the whole service area is permitted.
- 5.Few, precise categories. One primary category and only as many others as you need. You can't create your own categories.
- 6.Major changes only after verification. A move, a new name or a new primary category can trigger re-verification.
From profile to website
Once your profile is verified and has its first reviews, you can show them on your website too. With SwissTrustWidget it works like this:
- Find the profile: you search for your business by name in the SwissTrustWidget app. The search is limited to businesses in Switzerland.
- Data from Google: the widget takes the overall rating and review count unchanged from Google, plus up to five review texts in Google's sort order.
- Always up to date: new reviews appear on your website too after just over six hours at the latest, without you having to do anything.
- Embedding: one code snippet on your website is enough, whether WordPress, Wix, Jimdo or plain HTML.
How embedding works in detail and which other methods exist is explained in the guide Embedding Google reviews on your website.
Summary
A Google Business Profile is free and quick to create: at business.google.com/create, enter your name, category, address or service area and contact details, then verify. Google decides the method, for example a short video, and the review takes up to five business days. Only then is the profile public. Stick to your real name, hide the address if customers don't come to you, and never create a second profile. After that, the first reviews count: ask every customer, steadily and without incentives. The guide Getting more Google reviews shows how.
Your profile's reviews on your website
SwissTrustWidget shows the overall rating, review count and recent reviews from your Google Business Profile and keeps them up to date automatically. Try it free, without branding from CHF 49 one-time.
Create a free widgetSources
- Google help: Sign up for a Business Profile — Creation via business.google.com/create, visible only after verification, account with business email. Checked on 24 October 2026.
- Google help: Add or claim your Business Profile — Free; claim an unverified profile via "Manage now".
- Google help: Request ownership of a Business Profile — "Request access", three days for the current manager to respond.
- Google help: Verify your business — Methods determined by Google; review up to five business days; postcard, phone, email, video call.
- Google help: Verify with a video — At least 30 seconds, unedited; what the video must prove.
- Google help: Guidelines for representing your business — Name, address, PO boxes, virtual offices, coworking, one profile per location.
- Google help: Manage your service area — Hide the address, up to 20 service areas, roughly two hours' drive.
- Google help: Edit your business information — Up to nine additional categories, description of 750 characters at most.
- Google help: Manage users of a Business Profile — Owner, primary owner, manager; seven-day wait for new owners.
- Google help: Business Profile eligibility — Ineligible businesses; guidance for agencies.
About the author
SwissTrustWidget Team — we help Swiss SMEs build trust online with Google reviews. Questions? info@swisstrustwidget.ch