How to Set Up a Google Business Profile in 2026? [+ Pro Tips]

If you want customers to find you on Google Search and Google Maps, you need to know how to set up a Google Business Profile the right way. You need more than a website.

Below, I show you how to create a Google My Business account, now known as Google Business Profile, from scratch and what to do if your listing already exists.

I will also show you how to claim and verify a Google Business Profile, so you remain the owner or administrator on record and keep control of your Google presence.

Then, you will learn how to access your Google Business Profile Manager after setup, on desktop and mobile, without hunting through old Google My Business screens.

What is a Google Business Profile?

A Google Business Profile is your official business listing on Google. It appears in Google Search and Google Maps and shows the key details people need before they contact you, visit you, book with you, or buy from you.

That includes your business name, address, phone number, website, hours, reviews, and photos. For many businesses, this profile is the first impression a customer sees before visiting the website.

Once your profile is live, these are the main features you can manage:

• Business info, including your name, category, hours, contact details, and website
• Reviews, so customers can leave feedback and you can respond publicly
• Messaging, so customers can contact you from the profile
• Insights, so you can see how people find and interact with the listing
• Posts, so you can publish updates, offers, and events
• Photos and videos, so you can show your location, products, services, and team
• Products and services, so people understand what you offer
• Q&A, so public questions and answers appear on the profile
• Bookings, if you connect appointment or reservation tools
• Google Maps visibility, so your business can appear in local discovery results

If you still think in terms of Google My Business, this is the same product under a newer name. Google My Business became Google Business Profile in 2021.

Google Business Profile Manager still exists as the account environment many businesses use to access and manage listings, especially for multiple locations. However, Google has moved many day-to-day controls into the profile dashboard that appears directly in Google Search when you are signed into the right account.

Who should set up a Google Business Profile?

You should set up a Google Business Profile if your business serves customers directly and is eligible under Google’s guidelines. It is one of the strongest local SEO assets you can control, because it helps your business appear in Search and Maps when nearby customers search for what you offer.

This includes storefronts, service-area businesses, clinics, restaurants, agencies with public offices, franchises, retailers, and brands with multiple locations. If customers can visit you, call you, book with you, or request service from you, a Google Business Profile usually makes sense.

Full guide: How to set up your Google Business Profile

Before you begin, prepare the business details you will need. That makes it much easier to set up a new Google Business Profile without getting stuck halfway through.

You need:

• A business-controlled Google account, not a personal login tied to a former employee
• Your business name, category, address or service area, phone number, website, and hours
• Verification readiness, because Google will ask you to prove that you represent the business

Here is the setup flow:

1. Sign in to Google Business Profile
2. Enter your business name and category
3. Add your location and contact details
4. Verify your Google Business Profile
5. Complete your profile details
6. Review and publish your profile

Before you create a Google Business Profile, search for your business on Google Search and Google Maps. Your listing may already exist, which means you should claim Google Business Profile ownership instead of creating a duplicate.

Step 1: Sign in to Google Business Profile

Go to the Google Business Profile page and click Sign in or Manage now. Use the Google account you want tied to the business long term. Using the wrong account now can turn into a tedious ownership mess later.

If you are wondering how to set up a Google account first, do that before creating the profile. Use an account the business controls, with recovery access that will not disappear when an employee or agency relationship changes.

Step 2: Enter your business name and category

Type in your exact business name. Google may suggest an existing listing. If that happens, stop and check whether it is already your business.

Next, choose your primary category. This is one of the strongest relevance signals in local search results, so do not treat it like filler. Choose the category that most closely describes what the business actually is, not the one that sounds broadest.

Step 3: Add your location and contact details

If customers visit your location, add your physical address. If you travel to customers instead, set a service area rather than showing a storefront address.

Then add your main phone number and official business website URL. These details should match what appears on your site and across other important listings.

Step 4: Verify your Google Business Profile

Verification is the most important step because it proves you are the real owner or representative of the business. Without verification, you do not fully control the listing.

Google may offer several verification methods:

• Verification by email, where Google sends a code to an email linked to the business
• Verification by postcard, where Google mails a code to the business address
• Verification by phone, where Google calls the listed phone number and provides a code
• Verification by video, where Google may ask for a live or recorded video to confirm the business details

If you need to verify Google Business Profile ownership, follow the method Google gives you. Do not improvise. Google is many things, but forgiving is rarely one of them.

If you have already verified your business through another Google service, you may be offered instant verification. Otherwise, wait for the assigned method to complete before assuming the listing is fully live.

Learn more in Google’s official documentation for Business Profile verification.

Step 5: Complete your profile details

After verification, fill in the rest of your profile: business description, opening hours, services, attributes, products, and photos.

If you are a restaurant, that may include dining options. If you are a service business, that may include your service area or booking details.

Then upload real, high-quality photos. If you want to create Google Business Profile value rather than just a listing shell, visuals matter.

You may also be prompted to set up Google Ads near the end of the flow. That is optional. A Google Business Profile can be created and managed without launching ads.

Step 6: Review your Google Business Profile

After setup, you will be taken to your Google Business Profile dashboard through Google Search. Review your business name, category, address or service area, phone number, website, hours, photos, and description.

If you are learning how to set up a new Google Business Profile, this final review is where you catch avoidable mistakes before they become public. Some edits may take time to appear fully in Search or Maps.

Video guide: How to create Google Business Profile

Here is a brief interactive demo covering the setup process:

How to access your Google Business Profile after setup

After setup, most businesses can access the profile directly through Google Search or Google Maps while signed into the correct account.

The easiest way is usually to search for your business name on Google. If you are signed in with the right login, Google will show business controls directly in the results.

You can also use Google Maps to access the listing. Businesses with multiple locations may prefer Google Business Profile Manager, which can be accessed from Google’s business management interface.

If you manage more than one location, you can also add another profile from the business controls menu instead of starting from scratch in a separate browser flow.

How to claim an existing Google listing

Sometimes Google already has a listing for your business even if you never created one yourself. That can happen because of public web data, user edits, or Google’s own systems.

In that case, do not create another profile. Claim Google Business Profile ownership instead.

Here is the process:

1. Search for your business on Google Search or Google Maps.
2. Open the existing listing and look for the option to claim the business.
3. Complete the ownership and verification process.

Here is an interactive demo covering the process:

If you need to claim a Google Business Profile, this is the cleaner route. It prevents duplicates and gives you control over the listing that already exists.

After claiming a business, you can access your Google Business Profile dashboard to add missing information or edit incorrect details.

How to request access to a Google Business Profile

Sometimes the profile already exists and is already claimed by someone else.

That could be a former employee, an old agency, or someone inside the business who no longer controls the correct email account. A timeless classic.

If that happens, request access instead of building a duplicate profile.

The usual process works like this:

1. Go to the Google Business Profile access page.
2. Search for the business in question.
3. Submit the access request.
4. Fill out the required details.

Google then contacts the current owner or manager. They can approve the request, deny it, or ignore it.

If they do not respond, Google may let you follow an appeal or recovery path. It is slower than anyone wants, but it is still better than creating a duplicate mess.

Here is how the process looks:

Benefits of having a Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is one of the best local discovery assets you can control. When you set it up correctly, you improve the chances of showing up when nearby customers search for what you offer. You also make it easier for customers to trust you.

The main benefits are:

• Better visibility on Google Search and Google Maps for relevant local queries
• Stronger local SEO signals through accurate details, categories, photos, and activity
• More trust at first glance through clear hours, contact details, photos, and reviews
• More direct customer actions, including calls, website visits, direction requests, and bookings
• More control over public business information instead of leaving the listing open to random edits

That last one matters more than it gets credit for. If you do not manage your listing, somebody else usually will.

9 best practices for setting up a Google Business Profile

A few early mistakes can create long-term problems. Follow these best practices when setting up your Google Business Profile:

1. Avoid duplicate listings, because a second profile can confuse Google and weaken ownership control.
2. Choose the right category, because bad category selection hurts local relevance from the start.
3. Keep your business details consistent across your site, profile, and other important listings.
4. Complete the profile fully. A half-finished listing is weak even if it is technically live.
5. Use the right Google account so ownership does not become a problem later.
6. Review your profile after setup, especially categories, hours, phone number, website, and photos.
7. Watch for verification and visibility updates because some changes take time to appear.
8. Treat setup as step one, then keep optimizing the profile over time.
9. Sign up for a third-party GBP platform if you manage multiple locations or need stronger workflow control.

Getting the setup right once is easier than cleaning up a messy profile later.

How Localith helps after setup

Knowing how to set up Google Business Profile is the first step. Keeping it accurate and scalable over time is the harder part. That is where Localith comes in.

Once the profile is live, businesses often need structure around profile edits, publishing, ownership issues, reviews, reporting, and location-level consistency.

This matters most for multi-location brands, agencies, and growing businesses that cannot afford to manage every listing manually. Localith helps those teams move beyond basic setup and into controlled, repeatable profile management with:

• Google listing management to control and organize all your Google locations from one place
• Bulk editing for business information across multiple Google locations
• Scheduled Google publishing for posts, offers, and local updates
• Google review collection and management workflows
• AI-powered review replies for responding across multiple locations
• Protection against unwanted edits with profile locking controls
• Multi-location reporting and insights for faster performance reporting

Conclusion: Set up your Google Business Profile the right way

Your customers find you on Google only if they can see you, so you need more than a profile that merely exists. You need to set it up correctly from the start.

That means using the correct Google account, checking whether the listing already exists, creating or claiming the profile properly, verifying it, and completing every important detail before you walk away.

If your goal is to create a Google Business Profile that actually helps the business grow, the process is simple: search first, create carefully, verify properly, and review everything before going live.

After that, use a third-party Google Business Profile tool like Localith to get more control from all your Google locations.