Create a Google My Business (Google Business Profile) listing: step-by-step setup

Are you opening a new business, taking over an agency or discovering that a listing already exists in your name with nobody managing it? This guide explains how to create a clean Google Business Profile listing (formerly Google My Business) from the start: the checks to run first, the fields to complete in order, verification, then the mistakes that lead to duplicates or suspension. It complements our Google Business Profile guide, which presents the service as a whole.

Before creating the listing: eligibility, setup type and existing listings

The listing is the first thing a customer sees when looking for a provider nearby: 86% of consumers use Google Maps to find a business (Semrush, 2026). It remains one lever among others. Relevance, distance and prominence, the three factors Google describes, are also built on your website and in directories, as detailed in our guide to local SEO. Here, the focus is on creation.

Are you eligible for a listing?

Google reserves listings for businesses that meet their customers in person, at their premises or at the customer's location, during stated hours. Before you start, check three conditions:

• A verifiable existence: signage, premises or team, backed by documents, signs or photos; a temporary address or an unstable business name exposes you to user-suggested edits and checks.
• A physical address or a service area: a PO box or a registered-office address is not enough.
• A compliant name: the real-world name, as on your signage and documents, without keywords, town or slogan.

Shopfront, service area, practitioner or brand: what to display

The listing type determines what Google displays and what you must hide. Four types cover most cases:

If you do not welcome customers at your address, do not display it: this is a Google rule. The type also determines which distance is taken into account.

Check whether a listing already exists

Google sometimes creates a listing automatically, from public data or user contributions. Before creating anything, run these checks:

• search for the business name plus the town in Google and Google Maps, then for the old address and old phone number;
• if a listing appears with no owner, claim it: you keep its history and reviews;
• if a former employee or a provider manages it, request access from the listing;
• if several listings exist for the same location, have the duplicates merged or removed before enriching the one you keep.

Create and verify the listing, step by step

First, prepare a single reference record: exact name, final-form address, direct phone number, landing page, standard opening hours and exceptions. You will then copy it identically to your website and directories. The table follows the input order offered by Google Business Profile at the time of writing:

Do not change several core fields at once: stabilise, get verified, then enrich.

Verification: methods, timeframes and blockers

Until the listing is verified, the business does not appear on Google Maps, or appears very poorly. Google chooses the method based on the activity and the location's history; at the time of writing, the most common are:

• video: it shows the premises, entrance and signage, proof that the business exists at the stated address;
• phone or email: a code to enter in the listing;
• postcard: a code sent to the address, taking from a few days to a few weeks.

Blockers come from inconsistencies: a different name on your documents and the listing, an address entered in several formats, signage missing from the video. Keep company registration documents, a bill at the address and photos of the frontage to hand: Google may ask for them again.

Secure ownership and access

A listing that nobody can access any more becomes a risk: non-compliant edits, unanswered reviews, blocked corrections. Set three rules from day one:

• primary ownership stays with a company account, never an employee's personal account;
• other contributors (agency, location managers) get a suitable role, owner or manager, removed when they leave;
• the account is protected by a strong password and two-step verification.

Set up the complete listing

Once the listing is verified, complete the fields that help Google match the business to a search and help users choose. Each field follows a simple rule:

Primary category and secondary categories

The primary category is the most decisive choice: it drives most associations between the business and local searches. Google offers several thousand, making the choice both powerful and a potential pitfall. Here is a repeatable method:

• list your three to five core offers, those generating most of your enquiries;
• on Google Maps, note the primary category used by the top five truly comparable competitors;
• choose the most specific and stable category, then add as secondary categories the sub-offers that your services, photos and reviews confirm.

A secondary category without proof introduces a conflicting signal. Changing the primary category can trigger a new verification: only do it if the activity genuinely changes, for example with strong seasonality.

Description, attributes, products and services

Attributes describe the context (wheelchair access, payment, on-site or takeaway), services what you do, and products what you sell. Fill them in with your customers' vocabulary, without repeating the town in every item name, and never declare an attribute you cannot deliver.

The description allows 750 characters at the time of writing. Lead with your core offer, add two or three verifiable proof points (team, specialisms, types of work) and state your coverage if you travel. Avoid superlatives, slogans and keyword lists: the listing should encourage action, and the website carries the detail.

Website link, appointment booking and UTMs

The website link is the only measurable bridge between the listing and your conversions. Three settings prevent you from losing this information:

• point to the location or service-area page, which repeats the same NAP (name, address, phone), rather than the homepage;
• add UTM parameters (source, medium, campaign) to the website link and the appointment link to isolate this traffic in Google Analytics 4;
• enable booking or quotes only if requests are handled quickly.

The landing page benefits from LocalBusiness structured data repeating the same NAP: the website then confirms what the listing states.

What no longer exists, and what remains

Listing messaging was removed in July 2024: if an older guide recommends enabling messages, ignore it and display a channel you genuinely manage. Q&A was removed at the end of 2025 and replaced by an AI-powered questions feature in Google Maps.

What remains are posts (updates, offers, events), which keep the listing active, and reviews, which weigh on choice: 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Forbes, 2026). Both belong to optimisation, beyond creation.

After creation: next steps

Once the listing is verified, what comes next depends on your priority:

• Complete and animate the listing (photos, posts, products): follow our method to optimise a Google Business Profile listing;
• Understand how the listing ranks: read our guide to Google Business Profile SEO;
• Collect and respond to reviews, all of them, and never pay for them;
• Enter the local pack, the three results shown with the map;
• Connect the listing to your website and directories, with an identical NAP everywhere.

Multiple locations: one listing per location

A network of agencies or outlets creates one listing per real location, with its own NAP and its own landing page on the website. Google Business Profile's bulk management lets you run these listings from a single account and update them in batches. Set a common foundation (naming, categories, landing-page URLs, special hours) and let local elements vary: photos, team, services, access.

Changing sensitive information: relocation, phone number, name

A change of name, address or category can trigger a new verification and a temporary drop in visibility. To reduce risk:

• Relocation: update the website page, then the listing, then the main directories; afterwards, check the pin on mobile.
• New phone number: keep call forwarding during the transition so you do not become unreachable.
• Name change: use only the real trading name and keep evidence (official communications, documents).

Log every change (date, field, rationale): this history speeds up reinstatement.

Common mistakes at creation

Most suspensions and invisible listings come from a few setup mistakes that are easy to avoid from the start:

Suspended listing: reinstate it and avoid a repeat

A suspension most often follows a change seen as risky, a NAP inconsistency or a spam signal (duplicate, invalid address). Fix the cause first, then submit a reinstatement request with a complete file:

• company registration documents in the displayed name;
• a utility or telecom bill at the listing's address;
• photos of the frontage and permanent signage;
• the history of changes made.

Once the listing is reinstated, stabilise it: identical NAP between listing and website, no bursts of changes, steady review collection.

Depending on your situation

The right starting point depends on the state of your local presence:

• No listing exists: follow the creation table, then the setup.
• A listing exists with no known owner: claim it, then remove the duplicates.
• The listing is verified but missing from the map: see how Google builds the local pack in our guide to Google Maps search optimisation.
• Your first customers are arriving: structure collection and responses with our guide to Google reviews.
• The listing does not capture local demand: run a local SEO audit of consistency across listing, website and directories.

To check that the listing's landing page is ready and find out whether your brand is named by generative engines on your local searches, Incremys's 360 GEO & SEO audit module analyses the website and AI presence keyword by keyword.

FAQ — Creating a Google Business Profile listing

How do you create a Google Business Profile listing?

Sign in with a Google account in the company's name and first check whether a listing already exists. Then enter the real-world name, primary category, address or service areas, phone number, website and opening hours, and start the verification Google offers. Everything else is completed once the listing is verified.

Google My Business and Google Business Profile: what is the difference?

None in substance: it is the same service, renamed Google Business Profile in 2021. The creation principles described here apply under both names. Be wary of older guides that still recommend messaging or Q&A, both removed since.

Is the listing free?

Yes. Creating, verifying and managing a Google Business Profile listing is free, whatever the number of locations. What costs is time: photos, up-to-date hours, review responses. Paid local ads, such as Local Services Ads, are a separate service from the listing.

How do you verify your listing?

Google offers the method based on the activity and location: a video showing the premises and signage, a code by phone or email, or a code by post. Before starting verification, align the name and address with your official documents and do not edit any sensitive field until the process is complete.

Can you create a listing without premises?

Yes, if you meet customers in person, at their home or on their site. You then create a service-area business: the address is hidden and you declare realistic service areas close to your base. A registered-office address or a PO box does not allow you to create a shopfront listing.

Does messaging still exist?

No. Google removed messaging from Google Business Profile listings in July 2024, and Q&A followed at the end of 2025. Instead, display a channel you genuinely handle, phone or appointment form, and check that the listing's phone number matches the one on your website.

How many categories should you choose?

One primary category, as specific as possible, and secondary categories only for sub-offers you genuinely provide. Google accepts up to nine secondary categories at the time of writing, but adding more does not lift the listing: every category must be confirmed by your services, photos and reviews.

What should you do if a listing already exists for your business?

Claim it rather than creating a second one: you keep its history and reviews. If a former employee or a provider manages it, request access from the listing. If several listings exist for the same location, keep the most complete one and have the others removed or merged.