Google Business Profile: create, improve and reply.

Who can have a Google Business Profile?

Google accepts profiles for businesses that serve customers in person. That covers two kinds of business. The first has a physical place customers visit, such as a restaurant, bakery, shop, clinic, salon or guesthouse. The second goes to the customer's address, such as an electrician, an air-conditioning technician or a business that delivers with its own staff.

A few rules in Google's guidelines save you rework later:

• One profile per location. If you have two branches, you create two profiles, one for each address.
• Virtual offices are not allowed. Neither are PO boxes. In a coworking space, only an office with signage, on-site service and staff during the listed hours qualifies.
• Businesses that serve customers at home list their main office and set a service area. That area should not go beyond two hours of travel from where the business is, and the address is hidden from the public.
• Independent professionals, such as dentists or lawyers, can have their own profile if they can be reached at the verified location during the hours they list.

If your business only sells online, with no in-person service, the profile is not the right tool. In that case, put the effort into your website and social media.

How do you create a Google Business Profile?

Signing up is free and takes four steps, according to Google Help:

1. Go to business.google.com/add with the Google account that will manage the profile.
2. Click Add your business to Google.
3. Fill in the business details following the screens.
4. Choose the verification option that appears and follow the steps.

Before you save, check three details, because they cause the most trouble later.

Name

Use the real business name, the same one on your storefront, website and invoices. Google prohibits adding a slogan, phone number, website, hours, product names or the neighborhood to the name. "Silva Bakery" is correct. "Silva Bakery Fresh Bread 24h Downtown" breaks the rule and can get the profile suspended.

Address

Enter the exact address with no extra words. If the business serves customers at their homes and does not receive people on site, choose the service area option and keep the address hidden.

Category

Pick the most specific category and as few extra categories as possible. Google gives a simple test: the category completes the sentence "this business is". A pizzeria is "Pizza restaurant". It has Wi-Fi, but Wi-Fi is an attribute, and attributes have their own field.

Use a business Google account whose access does not depend on one employee. After verification, Google lets you add other owners and managers. That way the profile is not locked if someone leaves the team.

How does Google verify a business?

Verifying means proving to Google that the business exists and that you are responsible for it. Without it, the profile is limited. You cannot reply to reviews, for example. Google decides which verification methods to offer, and sometimes asks for more than one. The options described in Help are:

• Phone or text: a code is sent to the business number. Automated phone menus (IVR systems) do not receive the code.
• Email: the code or the steps arrive at the address shown on screen.
• Video call: only for some businesses and only during opening hours. You need to be on site and show the storefront, the space and something only staff can reach, such as the register or the kitchen.
• Mail: a postcard with a five-digit code goes to the business address. Most arrive within 14 days, and the code expires after 30 days.

Once you finish the steps, the review takes up to five business days, and in rare cases longer. When it is approved, you get a confirmation email.

Three precautions that Google Help points out:

• While you wait for the postcard, do not change the name, address or category. Any change invalidates the code.
• Do not request a new postcard before the first one arrives. The new request cancels the earlier one and slows things down.
• Do not give the code to anyone. Google says it never asks for that code.

That last point prevents a common scam: someone calls claiming to be from Google and asks for the code. Google does not do that.

How do you improve your Google Business Profile?

Google recommends keeping your information complete and up to date. In practice, that means reviewing the whole profile once a month and fixing any change right away. The points Google Help mentions are these:

• Opening hours, including special holiday hours. A customer who finds the door closed may leave a bad review. Businesses that only work by appointment, or whose hours vary, should not list fixed hours.
• Category and attributes, such as parking, Wi-Fi, accessibility and payment options.
• Photos and videos that show what the business offers: storefront, interior, products, dishes, staff at work.
• Phone and website that work. If the phone rings at a number nobody answers, the customer gives up.
• Replies to reviews, which show customers that you read what they write.

Photos deserve extra care. Use real photos with good light, taken the way customers see the place. A storefront photo helps people on the street recognize your door. Photos of dishes and products with current prices cut down on repeated WhatsApp questions. To turn those photos into a short video, read our article on AI video from photos.

Each sector has its own details. Restaurants and bakeries need the menu and kitchen hours, as we explain on the food service page. Clinics need to make it clear that they work by appointment, as we show in health and clinics. Guesthouses rely heavily on photos of rooms and views, the topic of our tourism and hospitality page.

How do you show up on Google Maps?

Google explains that the order of local results depends on three factors:

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what the person searched for. Complete details and the right category help here.
• Distance: how far the business is from the person searching. If the person does not say where they are, Google uses the location it already knows.
• Prominence: how well known the business is. The number of reviews, the ratings and the websites that link to the business all count.

Google also says a verified business is more likely to show up, and that there is no way to request or pay for a better ranking.

You cannot control distance. Relevance and prominence you can, and that is where the work pays off: a complete profile, real photos, steady reviews from real customers and a reply to every one of them. Nobody can promise where on the map you will appear, because it changes with who is searching and from where. Be wary of anyone who promises the top spot.

How do you ask for reviews and get the link or QR code?

Google provides an official link and a QR code that take customers straight to the review screen. The steps in Help are:

1. Open your Business Profile in a computer browser. According to Google, the review QR code can only be generated on a computer, not on a phone.
2. Click Read reviews and then Get more reviews.
3. For the link, click Copy. For the QR code, right-click the image and save it.

Google itself suggests where to use them: on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of a chat, in a WhatsApp message and on a QR code printed in your store. Keep in mind that customers need a Google account to leave a review.

A few habits help customers remember:

• Ask right after the service, while the customer still remembers the details.
• Send the link in a short message with the customer's name and no long text.
• Keep the QR code on the counter, on tables or on the menu. Our shop has review plates with a QR code and NFC, the technology that lets customers just tap their phone.
• Ask every customer, not only the ones who left smiling. Google recommends valuing all reviews, because an honest mix of ratings looks more trustworthy.

If you use WhatsApp automation, the message with the link can go out on its own a few hours after the purchase or service. We explain how to set that up in our WhatsApp automation service.

What does Google prohibit when asking for reviews?

Google Help is clear about the main rule: offering customers a free product or service, or a discount, in exchange for a review is fake engagement and is prohibited. That covers the free coffee, the small gift and the coupon for the next purchase. Asking someone to change or delete a negative review in exchange for a benefit is also prohibited.

Google requires reviews to reflect a real experience. Breaking the rules can lead to restrictions on your Business Profile. In practice, also avoid:

• Asking relatives, friends or staff who were not customers to leave reviews.
• Buying reviews or hiring anyone who promises a bundle of five-star ratings.
• Writing reviews of competitors.

Asking politely, asking everyone and promising nothing in return is within the rules. Customers review if they want to, with whatever rating they choose.

How do you reply to a Google review?

Only a verified business can reply. The steps Google describes are: open your Business Profile, click Read reviews, then Reply next to the review, write your answer and confirm. To change the text later, use Edit, and to remove it, Delete.

A few things Google says that few people know:

• Replies go through a content review. It usually takes up to 10 minutes, but it can take up to 30 days. If the reply is not approved, you need to adjust the text.
• The reply appears under the business name, without the name of the person who wrote it.
• The customer is notified of your reply and can change the review later. If they do, the date is updated.

Good reviews

Thank the customer by name, mention something they said and invite them back. Two or three sentences are enough. Avoid pasting the same reply for everyone, because readers notice.

Bad reviews

Reply within a day or two, calmly. Thank them for the feedback, acknowledge what went wrong without arguing, say what has changed and offer a direct channel, such as the store's WhatsApp. Do not expose customer data such as phone numbers, orders or service records. At a clinic, this matters even more. People still deciding where to buy read your reply too.

Where does AI help you manage your Google Business Profile?

Managing the profile is a small job, but it happens every week, and that is why owners forget it. AI helps with the repetitive parts:

• New review alerts on your WhatsApp, with a draft reply ready for you to approve or change.
• Automatic review requests after each sale or service, with the official link.
• A weekly summary of the week's reviews, the topics that come up most and what needs attention. This is part of our automatic weekly report.
• Comparison with nearby competitors, to see what customers praise and complain about there, through our competitor monitoring service.

The final reply stays with a person. AI writes quickly, but your team is the one who knows the customer and what happened at the counter. Always review before publishing, especially on bad reviews.

How your business shows up in answers from AI tools, which pull data from sources such as Google itself, is also starting to matter. We explain this in AI in marketing. If you would rather have us handle the profile, reviews and replies, see our Google Business Profile service and our plans. To start with what matters most for you, take the free assessment.