Guides / Local growth

Set up your Google Business Profile in one afternoon

4 min read · 12 October 2026

When someone searches "bakery near me" or "physiotherapist in Guntur", the first thing they usually see is a map with a few businesses on it, with their ratings, photos, opening hours and a button to call. Those listings come from Google Business Profile. It is free, and for many local businesses it brings more calls than anything else they do online. Here is how to set it up properly in one afternoon.

Before you start

Have these ready, so you can finish in one sitting.

• Your business name exactly as it appears on your signboard.
• Your full address, or the areas you serve if customers do not come to you.
• Your phone number and your website address, if you have one.
• Your opening hours, including any different hours on weekends.
• A few good photos of your shop or office, your team and your work.
• A Google account you will keep using. Use a business email if you can, not one belonging to an employee who might leave.

Step 1: Create or claim your profile

Search for your business name on Google Maps. If it already appears, someone may have added it; choose the option to claim it. If it does not appear, add your business on Google Business Profile and follow the steps.

Use your real business name only. Adding extra words, such as "Best Dentist Vijayawada Cheap", is against Google's rules and can get your listing suspended.

Step 2: Choose your category carefully

Your primary category is the most important choice you make. It tells Google what you are. Pick the most specific one that fits, such as "Dental clinic" rather than "Doctor", or "Indian restaurant" rather than "Restaurant". You can add a few additional categories for the other things you do, but only ones that are genuinely true.

Step 3: Add your location or service area

If customers visit you, add your full address and check that the pin on the map is in exactly the right place. Drag it if it is not.

If you go to your customers, such as a plumber, a caterer or a home tutor, you can hide your address and list the areas you serve instead.

Step 4: Verify your business

Google needs to confirm that the business is real and that it is yours. It will offer you one or more ways to do this, which can include a short video of your premises, a phone call or text, an email, or a postcard with a code. The options depend on your business, and verification can take from a few minutes to a couple of weeks. Your profile will not show fully until it is verified, so do this step straight away.

Step 5: Fill in every detail

A complete profile gets more calls. Add:

• Opening hours, and update them for holidays and festivals.
• Phone number and website.
• Services or products, with short descriptions and prices if you are happy to show them.
• A business description: two or three plain sentences about what you do and who you help.
• Attributes that apply to you, such as wheelchair access or online appointments.

Step 6: Add real photos

Upload clear, recent photos: the outside of your premises so people can find you, the inside, your team and examples of your work. Real photos build far more trust than stock images. Add new ones every few months.

Step 7: Ask for reviews, and reply to all of them

Reviews are what most people look at first. Your profile has a review link you can share. Send it on WhatsApp to happy customers soon after a good experience, with a short, polite request.

Reply to every review, good or bad. Thank people for good ones. For a bad one, reply calmly, apologise for the experience and offer to sort it out. Future customers read your replies as much as the reviews.

Two rules matter here. Never buy reviews, and never offer discounts or gifts in return for reviews. Both are against Google's rules and can get reviews removed or your profile restricted.

Keep it working: ten minutes a week

• Answer messages and questions quickly if you turn messaging on.
• Post an update or offer now and then, such as a new service or a festival timing.
• Check that your hours and phone number are still right.
• Keep your business name, address and phone number exactly the same everywhere online: your website, Facebook, Instagram, Justdial and anywhere else you are listed.

Want it done for you?

A Google Business Profile works best alongside a clear website that people can visit from it. If you would like help setting up both, our business websites start from ₹8,000 before GST, and our plan builder on this website shows the order we would do things in for your kind of business. Or message us on WhatsApp.