What you're building: the business's listing on Google Search and Google Maps — for most local businesses, the single highest-value listing they will ever have. It's free. Anyone charging the client for "Google registration" is not Google.
⛔ Before you start — you must have ALL of these
| # | Item | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Google account on the client's business email, owned by the client | The profile must belong to the client, not the agency — ever |
| 2 | The exact real-world business name — as it appears on signage, the website, and stationery | Google's #1 rule; keyword-stuffed names get suspended |
| 3 | The real staffed address — or, for mobile businesses, the base address + list of service areas (up to 20) | ⚠️ PO boxes, mailbox stores, and unstaffed virtual offices are not allowed and are a top suspension trigger |
| 4 | A local phone number that gets answered and the website URL | May be used for verification |
| 5 | Hours the business is actually staffed | Eligibility = in-person contact during stated hours |
| 6 | Photos: logo (720×720 square), cover (1024×576), plus 5–10 real photos — exterior, interior, team, work | Real photos only — no stock, no heavy filters |
| 7 | Approved description (max 750 characters; no URLs, no promo language like "50% off") | Pasted after verification |
| 8 | A smartphone logged into the client's Google account with a camera | Video verification — the default method — happens live on a phone |
| 9 | On file: business license/registration, a utility bill at the address, photos of permanent signage | Ammunition if Google ever asks for evidence — collect it before you need it |
Eligibility check (30 seconds): the business must make in-person contact with customers. Storefront ✓ Service-area (goes to customers) ✓ Hybrid ✓. Online-only businesses, lead-gen fronts, and rental property listings are not eligible — stop here and tell the client rather than faking an address.
Part A — Check for an existing profile FIRST (5 min)
Step 1 — Search before you create
Google the exact business name + city, and search it in Google Maps.
👀 You should see one of three things:
- No listing → go to Part B and create one.
- An unclaimed listing (says "Own this business?" / "Claim this business") → click it and claim — never create a duplicate. Duplicates violate policy.
- A listing claimed by someone else (old agency, ex-employee) → use the Request access flow that appears; the current owner has a few days to respond, then Google lets you proceed. Don't create a new profile alongside it.
📸 images/02-step-01.png — a Maps result showing the "Own this business?" link.
Part B — Create the profile (10 min)
Step 2 — Start
Signed in as the client's Google account, go to google.com/business → click Manage now (or go straight to business.google.com/create).
Step 3 — Business name
Type the exact real-world name.
❌ Never add extras to the name: no keywords ("…— Best Plumber in Dallas"), no city (unless it's truly part of the name), no phone, no taglines, no ALL CAPS. This is the most-suspended field on Google.
Step 4 — Category
Start typing and pick the most specific category from Google's list (you can't invent one). This "primary category" is the biggest ranking lever you control. More categories can be added later (only ones that truly apply — 2–3 secondaries is plenty).
Step 5 — Location question
Google asks if customers can visit a location:
- Storefront/office: answer Yes → enter the full street address (suite in line 2).
- Mobile/home-based (customers never visit): answer No → you'll add service areas (cities/ZIPs, up to 20 — keep them within ~2 hours' drive of base). The base address stays hidden.
- Hybrid (staffed office + travels to customers): Yes to the address, then also add service areas.
⚠️ Home-based businesses: never publish the home address — set it up as a service-area business so the address is used for verification only and hidden publicly.
📸 images/02-step-05.png — the location / service-area screens.
Step 6 — Contact details
Enter the real local phone number and the website URL — exactly matching the website (this NAP becomes the canonical version every other listing must copy).
Part C — Verification (10 min of work + wait)
Google picks which verification method you get — you can't choose. Video verification is the default for most new profiles (phone/text, email, and the old postcard appear less and less). Budget for video.
Step 7 — Prep BEFORE recording (this is where people fail)
The video must prove three things in one continuous take:
- Location — street sign or recognizable landmark, then the building matching the address.
- Real operations — permanent signage with the exact profile name, equipment, branded vehicle, stock, workspace.
- Your authority — unlock the door with your key, log into the POS, open a staff-only area, or show the business license/utility bill. ⚠️ Never show bank details, tax IDs, or personal ID numbers.
🚩 Fix mismatches first: if the sign says "Joe's Plumbing LLC" and the profile says "Joe's Plumbing & Drain Experts," fix the profile before recording. Name/signage mismatch is failure cause #1. Paper signs taped to a window count as no sign.
Step 8 — Record
On the phone (logged into the client's account), open the verification prompt and record live, in the flow — you cannot upload a pre-recorded file. One continuous take, no cuts, ~1–2 minutes, daytime, steady hands. Route: street sign → building exterior + signage → inside → operations → authority proof.
👀 You should see: a confirmation that the video was submitted for review.
📸 images/02-step-08.png — the verification-method screen and the "video submitted" confirmation.
Step 9 — Wait (up to 5 business days)
Most reviews finish in 1–3 days. Google doesn't always notify you — check the profile daily for verified status. If rejected, Google says which of the three proofs failed; re-record, or request a live video call with a Google rep instead. Full public info can take a few more weeks to propagate everywhere — normal.
Part D — Complete the profile (15 min, after verification)
Manage everything at business.google.com or by googling the business name while logged in → Edit profile.
Step 10 — Hours
Regular weekly hours (only hours the business is actually staffed) + special hours for upcoming holidays.
Step 11 — Description
Paste the approved description (≤750 characters). Only the first ~250 show before "Read more," so the first sentence must carry the whole pitch. No links, no promo pricing language — Google rejects them.
Step 12 — Photos
Upload: logo (720×720), cover (1024×576), several exterior shots (helps customers find the door), interior, team, and work-in-progress photos. Real photos only. Keep adding monthly — fresh photos are a trust signal. (Google may still pick its own favorite as the lead image; that's normal.)
Step 13 — Services (and Products if applicable)
Add every service under each category — pick from Google's suggestions and add custom ones, with prices where the client is comfortable. Service-area businesses especially: build this out fully.
Step 14 — Attributes
Tick every factual attribute that applies (wheelchair accessible, women-owned, online estimates, payment types…). Category-dependent.
Step 15 — Booking + chat
- Booking: add the client's scheduling link, or connect a Reserve-with-Google partner if they use one (Settings → bookings).
- Chat: ⚠️ Google's own chat/messaging no longer exists (retired mid-2024). Where offered, enable the WhatsApp or SMS chat button (Edit profile → Contact → Chat). Old SOPs mentioning "Google messaging" or seeding your own Q&A are outdated — public Q&A was removed in late 2025; Google's AI now answers from your website and profile data, which is one more reason every field must be complete and accurate.
Step 16 — Reviews engine (the compounding asset)
- In the management panel click Ask for reviews to get the short share link (
g.page/r/…). - Put that link in the client's post-job follow-up (SMS/email/QR on the invoice), asked of every customer.
- Reply to every review, good and bad.
❌ Never: pay/discount/gift for reviews, ask only happy customers (review gating), have staff or family review, or buy reviews. All of these violate Google policy (and FTC rules), and the penalties — review wipes, a public "suspected fake reviews" warning, suspension — land on the client.
Step 17 — Access
⋮ → Business Profile settings → People and access → Add:
- Client's account = Primary owner (always).
- Agency = Manager (Owner at most). For scale, register the agency's organization account at business.google.com/agencysignup and add the org instead of individual emails.
- Note: new managers wait 7 days before they get full powers — plan handoffs accordingly.
Step 18 — First post
Publish one Update post (Google Posts still exist: Update/Offer/Event). Weekly posting is the standard cadence going forward.
✅ DO / ❌ DON'T
| ✅ DO | ❌ DON'T |
|---|---|
| Claim existing listings; keep exactly one profile per business | Don't create duplicates or per-city profiles for one business |
| Use the exact real-world name, matching the signage | Don't stuff keywords or cities into the name — top suspension cause |
| Use a real staffed address, or properly hide the base address for service-area businesses | Don't use PO boxes, mailbox stores, unstaffed virtual offices, or a fake address |
| Prep signage/name match before recording the verification video | Don't record a rambling unprepared video, or try to upload a pre-recorded file |
| Keep NAP identical across Google, the website, and every directory | Don't let the phone/address drift between listings |
| Ask every customer for a review via the share link; reply to all | Don't incentivize, gate, buy, or fake reviews |
| Pace profile edits (one or two fields at a time) | Don't change name + address + category + phone in one sitting — it triggers re-verification |
| Client = Primary owner; agency = Manager via org account | Don't verify a client's profile under an agency account — that's holding the client hostage |
| Keep license, utility bill, and signage photos on file | Don't create a new profile while one is suspended — appeal instead (Appeals tool; you get a ~60-min window to upload evidence when asked, so have documents ready) |
How ranking actually works (Google's own three factors): Relevance (complete info + right categories), Distance (can't control), Prominence (reviews, reputation, citations). There is no way to pay Google for better local ranking — anyone selling that is lying.
☑ Definition of Done
- Searched first; claimed/requested access instead of duplicating
- Profile created under the client's Google account
- Name = real-world name; most specific primary category
- Correct setup type: storefront address / hidden-address service area / hybrid
- Verified (video passed) and profile shows publicly
- Hours + holiday hours, 750-char description, logo, cover, 5–10 real photos
- Services (and products) fully built; attributes ticked
- Booking link added; WhatsApp/SMS chat enabled if offered
- Review share link generated and installed in the client's follow-up flow
- Client = Primary owner; agency = Manager/org; first post published
- Evidence folder saved (license, utility bill, signage photos)
- All logins recorded in the client's password-manager entry
- 📸 screenshots captured at every marked step and saved to
images/