How to claim or create your Google Business Profile (UK, 2026)

When somebody nearby searches for what you do, Google shows a map and a short list of businesses. Each one is a Google Business Profile. It holds your hours, your photos, your reviews and a button to call you.

Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge. This guide follows the order Google’s own help pages use. Under each step I have linked the Google page it comes from, so you can check me. I read them all on 23 October 2026. Google does change its screens, so if a button has moved, trust the linked page.

Before you start

Use the free Google Business Profile worksheet to collect your real business details, service areas and hours before editing your profile. Your entries stay in your browser.

• A Google Account. Any email address will do. It does not have to be Gmail. Google help: Verify your business on Google
• A business Google accepts. It must meet customers in person during its stated hours, or travel to them. Online-only businesses, lead-generation companies and properties that are only for rent or sale are not eligible. Nor is a virtual office or a PO box. Google help: Business eligibility and ownership guidelines; Guidelines for representing your business on Google
• Your real details. Your business name exactly as it appears on your signs and stationery, a full street address, your opening hours and a phone number you can answer. Google help: Edit your Business Profile

Step by step

1. Check whether your profile already exists

   Sign in to the Google Account you want to manage the profile from. Search Google for your business name and your town, or search for “my business”.

   If a profile for your business shows up, go to step 3. If you cannot find a “Claim this business” or “Own this business” button on it, you might already be the owner. If nothing shows up, go to step 2.

   Google help: Verify your business on Google; Request ownership of a Business Profile

2. Add your business if it is not on Google

   Go to business.google.com/add. Select “Add your business to Google”. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter your details. Then choose a verification option (step 5).

   Check that your address is correct and meets Google’s address guidelines. Google can only verify an address it can find.

   Google help: Add or claim your Business Profile; Manage your business address

3. Or claim a profile that is not yet verified

   On a computer, open Google Maps and search for your business name and town. Select “Claim this business”, then “Manage now”. In the Google Maps app, find your business, tap “About”, then “Claim this business” and “Manage now”. If it is the wrong business, choose “I own or manage another business”. Then select a verification option.

   If someone else has already verified the profile, see “Someone else already owns the profile” below.

   Google help: Add or claim your Business Profile

4. Get the name and category right

   Enter your business name exactly as it appears on your signs, stationery and other branding. If you change it after you are verified, Google may ask you to verify again.

   Pick the category that best matches what you do, and be specific. Google’s own example is “Nail salon” rather than “Salon”. The first category is your primary one. You can add up to nine more, but Google asks for the fewest it takes to describe your core business. Do not use categories as keywords. You cannot make up your own.

   Google help: Edit your Business Profile; Manage your business category; Guidelines for representing your business on Google

5. Verify your business

   Google decides which verification options you get, and you cannot change them. They depend on your business type, public information, region and opening hours. Some businesses need more than one method. You may be offered:

   • Phone or text. Google sends a code to your business number. Automated phone menus (IVR) cannot receive it.
   • Email. You follow the steps in a message sent to an address you can open.
   • Video recording. Google recommends this one if you are eligible. You film it live on a mobile device through your profile: unedited and at least 30 seconds long. For a shopfront or hybrid business, show your location, permanent business-name signage and proof that you run the business. For a service-area business, show where you operate, the tools, equipment, workspace or materials you use, and proof that you run the business. Keep other people’s faces and sensitive details out of shot.
   • Live video call. A Google support representative talks you through showing your location and proof. It is only offered within your location’s opening hours.
   • Postcard. Google posts a code to your business address. Most arrive within 14 days, and codes expire after 30 days. While you wait, do not change your name, address or category, and do not ask for a second code. A new code cancels the first.

   Do not share your code with anyone, not even someone who manages your profile. Google says it will never ask for it.

   After you finish, Google reviews what you sent. That can take up to five working days. Sometimes it is instant, for example when you verify your website through Google Search Console.

   Google help: Verify your business on Google; Verify your business with a video recording

6. If you travel to customers, hide your address

   If you do not meet customers at your address, Google lets you hide it. It says to do this only if you are a service-area business, such as a plumber or a cleaner. Your profile then shows the areas you serve instead.

   To hide your address, open your profile and select “Edit profile”, then “Location”. Next to “Business location” select “Edit”, turn off “Show business address to customers”, and select “Save”.

   To set your service area, go to the same “Location” section and select “Edit” next to “Service area”. Pick a suggestion or type one in. You can add up to 20 areas, by city, postcode or other area. You cannot set a radius around your business, and your whole area should be no more than about two hours’ driving from where you are based. Service-area edits can take up to 48 hours to show.

   Three more things from Google. A service-area business can have only one profile for the whole area it serves. If you serve customers at your address as well, like a restaurant that also delivers, you are a hybrid business: show your address and add a service area. And if you have no permanent sign at your address, Google says to list yourself as a service-area business, not as a shop front.

   Running a service-area business from home? Google says you can verify with a video of the landmarks and signs in your immediate neighbourhood.

   Google help: Manage your business address; Manage your service areas for service-area and hybrid businesses; Verify your business with a video recording

7. Keep it up to date

   Once you are verified, you can edit your profile from Google Search (select “Edit profile”) or from the Google Maps app (tap “Business”, then “Edit profile”, and “Save” when you are done). Google reviews edits before they go live. Changes usually show within about 10 minutes, but sometimes take up to 30 days. If you move after you are verified, you must verify again.

   Add your opening hours, phone number, website and photos. Then reply to your reviews. My guide to getting more Google reviews without breaking Google’s rules shows how.

   Google help: Edit your Business Profile; Manage your business address

Common problems

Someone else already owns the profile

If a verified profile for your business belongs to someone else, you can ask the owner for access. It can happen when a former employee, an old web designer or a previous agency set the profile up.

• Go to business.google.com/add and enter your business name and address.
• Choose your business from the list. You will see the message “Someone else may manage this Business Profile”.
• Select “Request access”, fill in the form and select “Submit”.

The current owner is told by email and has three days to answer. If they approve, you can manage the profile. If they refuse, you can suggest an edit to the profile, and you can try to appeal. If they do not answer within three days, you may be able to claim the profile yourself. Google says that option is not always available.

If you run a service-area business with no shop or office, Google says to contact them instead. In the “Tell us what we can help with” field, enter “Transfer ownership of listing”.

There are two profiles for my business

Google allows one profile per business. A profile it treats as a duplicate will not show on Search or Maps. If you made a second one by mistake, you can remove it without affecting your verified profile. Check you remove the right one: its content and managers go with it.

If two profiles for the same business exist on Google Maps, you can report a suggestion to merge them. Google reviews every request. The reviews are combined, but replies to reviews may be lost. If you move, update your existing profile with the new address. Do not create a new one.

My profile has been suspended

Google can suspend or disable profiles that do not follow its guidelines. Do not create a new profile for the same business. Use Google’s appeals tool.

• Open the Google Business Profile appeals tool and sign in to the Google Account linked to the profile.
• Choose the profile and the decision you want to appeal. The tool shows the date, the reason and a link to the policy involved.
• Add evidence if you can: official business registration, a business licence, tax certificates or business utility bills. The business name and address on each document should match the profile.
• Explain in the text box why the profile should be reinstated, then submit.

An appeal can only be submitted once, so gather your evidence first. Google emails its decision. If the answer is no, you may be able to ask for an additional review with new evidence. If your whole Google Account is restricted, appeal that first from your My accounts page, then appeal the profile.

I cannot verify, or the option I want is missing

Google picks the options you see. Live video and postcard are not available to every business. Try the ones you are shown. If you still cannot verify, Google says to contact support. If your postcard has not arrived, do not request another straight away: a new code cancels the one in the post and can make the process longer.

Google says my business is not eligible

Eligibility is about how you serve customers. Online-only businesses, lead-generation companies, PO boxes and virtual offices are out. A desk in a co-working space counts only if it has clear signage, receives customers during opening hours and is staffed by your own team. If you do serve customers in person or at their door, check you have chosen the right type: shop front or service area.

Questions

Google’s pages behind this guide

These are the pages I read on 23 October 2026. Each is Google’s own help page.

• Add or claim your Business Profilesupport.google.com/business/answer/2911778
• Verify your business on Googlesupport.google.com/business/answer/7107242
• Verify your business with a video recordingsupport.google.com/business/answer/14271705
• Edit your Business Profilesupport.google.com/business/answer/3039617
• Manage your business addresssupport.google.com/business/answer/2853879
• Manage your service areas for service-area and hybrid businessessupport.google.com/business/answer/9157481
• Manage your business categorysupport.google.com/business/answer/7249669
• Guidelines for representing your business on Googlesupport.google.com/business/answer/3038177
• Business eligibility and ownership guidelinessupport.google.com/business/answer/13763036
• Request ownership of a Business Profilesupport.google.com/business/answer/4566671
• Resolve duplicate profiles and ownership issuessupport.google.com/business/answer/12756178
• Fix suspended or disabled profilessupport.google.com/business/answer/4569145

Related

Checked against Google’s help pages on 23 October 2026. Show Up London is independent of Google. If a step here no longer matches Google’s page, email hello@showuplondon.co.uk and I will fix it.