Is creating a Google Business Profile free?

Yes. Adding or claiming a Business Profile costs nothing. Be cautious of any third party that charges you simply to create one on your behalf.

Can I create a Google Business Profile for an online-only business?

No, not under Google's current eligibility rules. A business must make in-person contact with customers, either at a physical location or by traveling to them, to qualify. Brands, online-only retailers, and similar businesses without any face-to-face contact aren't eligible.

How long does verification take?

Google says verification reviews typically take up to five business days after you complete the steps, though it can occasionally take longer. In some cases, like verifying through Search Console, it can happen instantly.

What if someone else already manages my business's profile?

If a profile already exists and appears to be controlled by someone else, you can request ownership from the current owner through Google's official process rather than trying to create a duplicate listing.

Do I need my own Google account, or can my web developer's account work?

Use an account the business itself controls and will keep access to long after any particular employee or contractor is gone. Losing access to the Google account tied to your profile can be a real headache to recover from later.

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

Setting up a Google Business Profile is free, and most of the actual work is just answering Google's questions accurately. The steps below follow Google's own current process, with direct links to Google's official pages so you're never guessing at something that might have changed since this was written.

Before You Start

A Google Business Profile is the free listing that controls how your business appears in Google Search and Google Maps: your name, hours, location or service area, photos, and reviews all live here. It's separate from your website, though the two should always agree with each other.

Not every business qualifies. According to Google's business eligibility and ownership guidelines, a business generally has to make in-person contact with customers, either at a location people visit or by traveling to them, during its stated hours. That's the line that separates a storefront or service-area business from one that doesn't qualify. Google is explicit that brands, organizations, artists, and other online-only businesses aren't eligible for a profile at all, so if your business has no physical or in-person component, this isn't a path available to you.

You'll need a Google Account to create or manage a profile. Use one that the business will keep access to long term, not a personal account tied to a single employee who might leave. If your business already has a Google Workspace account, that often makes sense to use here.

Check Whether Your Business Is Already on Google

Before creating anything new, search for your business by name and city on Google or Google Maps. Skipping this step is how duplicate listings happen, and duplicates cause real problems with how your business shows up later.

What you find determines what happens next:

Nothing comes up. Your business genuinely isn't on Google yet, and you'll create a new profile from scratch.

An unclaimed or unverified listing exists. Someone, possibly an old data aggregator or a past customer, created a basic listing that nobody has verified. You can claim this listing rather than creating a second one.

A listing exists and looks like someone else already manages it. This happens more than you'd expect: a previous owner, a past marketing agency, or occasionally someone with no real connection to the business. Don't try to create a duplicate. Google provides an official request ownership process for exactly this situation, which notifies the current owner and gives them a window to respond.

Creating the Profile

If your business genuinely isn't on Google yet, start at Google's own entry point: Create or add your Google Business Profile. That link takes you to Google's own sign-in and setup flow, where you'll be asked to provide:

Your business name, exactly as it appears in the real world
Your primary business category (more on this below)
Your location or service area, depending on how your business operates
A phone number and website customers can actually use
Your business hours

Google's on-screen instructions are the authority here, not any written guide, including this one. Google updates its interface over time, so verify that what you see on screen matches what's described in Google's own Add or claim your Business Profile help article if anything looks unfamiliar.

Choosing a Category

Your primary category should describe what your business fundamentally is, not every service you happen to offer. A plumbing company's primary category should be some variation of "plumber," not a specific service like "drain cleaning service," even if drain cleaning is a big part of the business. Google explicitly discourages choosing more categories than it actually takes to describe your core business. Piling on categories to try to show up for more searches tends to backfire and can look like an attempt to manipulate your listing.

Address or Service Area

This is where a lot of businesses get it wrong, and it matters for how you appear on Maps. If customers come to your location, you're a storefront business and your address should be accurate and displayed. If you travel to customers and they never visit you, you're a service-area business, and Google's own guidance says you should generally remove or not display a street address, relying on your service area instead. Some businesses are a mix of both. Google's article on managing service areas for service-area and hybrid businesses walks through the distinction and how to set it correctly, including specific examples like cleaning services and plumbers as classic service-area businesses.

Verification

You can't fully control or edit your business information until you verify the profile, which proves to Google that you're really the owner. According to Google's own verification guidance, the available method isn't something you get to pick. Google determines it automatically based on your business type, your public information, your region, and your hours, and some businesses need more than one method to finish. Options can include phone or text, email, a live video call, or postal mail, and Google says reviews typically take up to five business days, occasionally longer.

Have your basic business details ready and consistent everywhere (your exact legal or operating name, address or service area, and phone number) since mismatches between what you submit and what's publicly findable about your business can slow verification down or trigger a request for more information.

After You're Verified

Getting verified isn't the finish line. Once your profile is live, it's worth going back through it deliberately:

Confirm your business name, hours, and categories are accurate
List your actual services, not a generic description
Add a real business description in your own words, where Google makes that available
Upload genuine photos of your location, team, or work
Double-check your website and phone number are current
Start asking real customers for reviews once you have some history to point to
Revisit the profile periodically. Hours change, services change, and an outdated profile actively works against you

Creating the profile is only the first step. The next question is whether customers can actually find it once it's live, and whether the rest of your online presence gives them a reason to choose you over the next listing in the results.

Free · No credit card · No account required

Frequently Asked Questions

Is creating a Google Business Profile free?: Yes. Adding or claiming a Business Profile costs nothing. Be cautious of any third party that charges you simply to create one on your behalf.
Can I create a Google Business Profile for an online-only business?: No, not under Google's current eligibility rules. A business must make in-person contact with customers, either at a physical location or by traveling to them, to qualify. Brands, online-only retailers, and similar businesses without any face-to-face contact aren't eligible.
How long does verification take?: Google says verification reviews typically take up to five business days after you complete the steps, though it can occasionally take longer. In some cases, like verifying through Search Console, it can happen instantly.
What if someone else already manages my business's profile?: If a profile already exists and appears to be controlled by someone else, you can request ownership from the current owner through Google's official process rather than trying to create a duplicate listing.
Do I need my own Google account, or can my web developer's account work?: Use an account the business itself controls and will keep access to long after any particular employee or contractor is gone. Losing access to the Google account tied to your profile can be a real headache to recover from later.