Google My Business Guide: Complete Overview & Expert Tips for 2025

If you're conscionable getting started pinch section SEO, this Google My Business guideline is nan cleanable spot to footwear things off.

Even though GMB looks elemental and beautiful intuitive, location are a batch of things to salary attraction to. You’ll really use from it only if your listing is group up right.

Remember — erstwhile group hunt for a merchandise aliases work adjacent them, they're usually very adjacent to making a purchase. One successful 2 people who behaviour a section hunt (think “watch repair adjacent me”) sojourn a shop that day.

So it's important nan accusation astir your business that shows up erstwhile group hunt Google is arsenic accurate, complete, and optimized arsenic possible.

In this article, I’ll show you really to create your Google My Business account, verify your business, make your listing arsenic beardown arsenic possible, and much — pinch immoderate master guidance on nan way.

Table of Contents

• What is Google My Business?
• Is Google My Business free?
• Google My Business Benefits
• How to Create a Google My Business Listing
• How to Verify Your Business connected Google
• How to Optimize Your GMB Listing
• Google My Business App — Does It Exist?

But hold … do I request Google My Business aliases Google Business Profile? 🧐

They're nan aforesaid thing. It utilized to beryllium called Google My Business, and a batch of group still telephone it that, moreover though it’s now Google Business Profile. To support things simple, successful this piece, we’ll instrumentality pinch nan aged sanction astir folks are acquainted with.

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Google My Business Benefits

Let’s research nan cardinal six benefits of Google Business Profile and really it tin thief you get noticed online and bring successful much section customers by putting each nan important info correct wherever group tin spot it.

1. Increased Visibility and Better Rankings

According to Safari Digital, 46% of each Google searches are driven by section intent. Plus, 97% of group hunt online to find adjacent stores, and successful 2023, 28% of those section searches ended successful a purchase.

So, what does Google My Business do for you?

It boosts your business’s beingness successful Google Search and Maps, particularly successful local searches. When personification searches for “near me" services, GMB ensures your business shows up successful nan apical results — if relevant.

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Google looks astatine various factors, including relevance, distance, and nan prominence of nan business successful nan section area. A complete and optimized GMB listing gives Google nan information it needs to rank you higher.

• Example: A section pizza spot sets up its GMB floor plan pinch updated info, for illustration opening hours, pictures of its dishes, and customer reviews. Now, erstwhile personification successful nan vicinity searches for “pizza delivery,” this edifice appears successful nan section 3-pack — nan apical 3 results connected Google Maps — which gets it much ft postulation and transportation orders.

2. Enhanced Customer Engagement

You tin straight interact pinch your customers done Q&A sections and reviews.

Pissed Consumer reports that 75.5% of consumers spot online reviews, truthful responding to some affirmative and antagonistic feedback is important for building spot and keeping group engaged.

• Example: A hairsbreadth salon actively responds to reviews — thanking those who time off affirmative comments and resolving issues for those who time off antagonistic feedback. This shows they attraction astir customer restitution and, astatine nan aforesaid time, promote others to time off reviews.

Expert tip: “We usage a instrumentality called BrightLocal to negociate each our customer reviews successful 1 place. It‘s ace adjuvant for staying organized. Respond to each azygous review, whether it’s affirmative aliases negative. When you respond, effort to people weave successful keywords related to your business and location,” advises Marshal Davis, president of Ascendly Marketing

3. Valuable Insights and Analytics

One of nan champion things astir GMB is its valuable insights into customer behavior.

You tin spot really customers find your listing (search terms, location), what actions they return (such arsenic calling your business aliases visiting your website), really galore group cheque retired your business via Maps, and really galore users interact pinch you overall.

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• Example: A section café notices done GMB insights that galore customers find them utilizing nan word “breakfast adjacent me.” Seeing this trend, they determine to beforehand their meal paper much heavy successful posts and in-store promotions, starring to an summation successful greeting visitors.

4. Free Marketing and Advertising

GMB offers free vulnerability by letting you showcase photos, merchandise aliases work descriptions, and cardinal updates. This helps imaginable customers get a coagulated consciousness of your business earlier they moreover click connected your website aliases measurement into your store.

The amended your floor plan is optimized, nan higher nan chances you’ll look successful hunt results without spending money connected PPC ads.

• Example: A florist uses GMB to showcase bouquets and seasonal offers. When group hunt for “flower delivery,” they tin spot caller photos of nan latest arrangements, which leads to much calls for orders, particularly during holidays for illustration Valentine’s Day aliases Mother’s Day. Without immoderate advertisement budget, they commencement appearing successful section searches.

5. Mobile Access

All GMB listings are optimized for mobile, truthful erstwhile users hunt for businesses connected their phones, they tin quickly get each nan info they request — directions, hours, reviews, etc.

This is important since 80% of Gen Z, 62% of millennials, 66% of Gen X, 35% of Boomers, and 52% of nan wide organization primarily usage mobile search.

• Example: A bakery ensures their GMB listing is complete pinch an address, interaction number, and hours of operation. When someone’s retired shopping and searches for “bakery adjacent me,” nan listing pops up pinch a one-click action to telephone aliases get directions, driving ft postulation to nan store.

6. Simplified Appointment Booking

Service-based businesses tin usage GMB’s assignment booking characteristic to fto customers schedule appointments straight from nan listing. Actually, Publer states that 95% of companies person assignment requests via Google My Business.

This reduces clash and improves nan customer acquisition by making nan process easy and seamless. And that’s precisely what users prefer.

• Example: A beauty spa adds an assignment nexus to their GMB listing. Clients searching for “facials” aliases “massage therapy adjacent me” tin now book their services straight from nan hunt result, expanding bookings without requiring customers to sojourn nan website first.

How to Create a Google My Business Listing

• Step 1: Log into nan Google Account you want to beryllium associated pinch your business (or create a Google Account if you don’t already person one).
• Step 2: Go to www.google.com/intl/en_us/business/ and prime “Manage now.”
• Step 3: Enter your business name.

• Step 4: Choose your business type — online retail, section store, aliases work business.

• Step 5: Time to take nan category. Select nan astir meticulous class imaginable — you’re fundamentally telling Google which type of customers should spot your business listing.

Expert tip: “Fill retired your floor plan fully, and don’t limit your marque to 1 category. GBP lets you adhd up to 10 different sub-categories to your business beyond your superior option, which tin thief Google amended understand everything you do. Your business isn’t one-dimensional, truthful adhd different categories for nan afloat spectrum of your products and services. The much categories you add, nan much keywords you’re apt to rank for,” Elisa Daniela Montanari, caput of SEO astatine Wrike.

• Step 6: Enter your business address.

• Step 7: Add your business telephone number (optional).

• Step 8: Choose a verification option. If you’re not fresh to verify your business yet, click “Try a different method” → “Verify Later.”

How to Verify Your Business connected Google

There are respective ways to verify your GMB listing:

• By postcard
• By phone
• By email
• Instant verification
• Bulk verification

Postcard Verification

• Step 1: If you aren‘t already logged into Google My Business, motion successful now and take nan business you want to verify. (If you’re already logged in, you'll beryllium astatine nan verification step.)
• Step 2: Make judge your business reside is correct. Optional: Add a interaction sanction — that's who nan postcard will beryllium addressed to.

• Step 3: Click “Mail.” The postcard should scope you successful 5 days — make judge you don't edit your business name, address, aliases class (or petition a caller code) earlier it comes, because this could hold nan process.
• Step 4: Once you've gotten nan postcard, log into Google My Business. If you person much than 1 business location, prime nan location you want to verify. If you only person one, prime “Verify now.”
• Step 5: In nan Code field, participate nan five-digit verification codification connected your postcard. Click “Submit.”

If your postcard ne'er shows up aliases you suffer it, you tin petition a caller codification by signing into Google My Business and clicking nan “Request different code” bluish banner astatine nan apical of nan screen.

Phone Verification

Google lets immoderate businesses verify their location by phone. If you‘re eligible, you’ll spot nan “Verify by phone” action erstwhile you commencement nan verification process.

• Step 1: If you aren‘t already logged into Google My Business, motion successful now and take nan business you want to verify. (If you’re already logged in, you'll beryllium astatine nan verification step.)
• Step 2: Make judge your telephone number is correct, past take “Verify by phone.”

• Step 3: Enter nan verification codification from nan matter you receive.

Email Verification

Google lets immoderate businesses verify their location by phone. If you‘re eligible, you’ll spot nan “Verify by email” action erstwhile you commencement nan verification process.

• Step 1: If you aren‘t already logged into Google My Business, motion successful now and take nan business you want to verify. (If you’re already logged in, you'll beryllium astatine nan verification step.)
• Step 2: Make judge your email reside is correct, past take “Verify by email.”
• Step 3: Go to your inbox, unfastened nan email from Google My Business, and click nan verification fastener successful nan email.

Instant Verification

If you‘ve already verified your business pinch Google Search Console (a free instrumentality that lets you negociate your website’s hunt capacity and health), you mightiness beryllium capable to instantly verify your email.

• Step 1: Sign into Google My Business pinch nan aforesaid relationship you utilized to verify your business pinch Google Search Console. (Some business categories aren‘t eligible for instant verification, truthful if you don’t get a notification asking you to verify nan listing, you'll person to usage a different verification method.)

Bulk Verification

If you run much than 10 locations for nan aforesaid business — and you're not a work business aliases an agency managing locations for aggregate businesses — you mightiness beryllium eligible for bulk verification.

• Step 1: If you aren't already logged into Google My Business, motion successful now and take a location. Click “Get verified” adjacent to its name.
• Step 2: Click “Chain.”
• Step 3: Fill retired nan verification shape pinch your business sanction (as good arsenic nan genitor company, if applicable), state aliases countries wherever you operate, each interaction names (i.e., everyone who will beryllium utilizing nan Google My Business account), interaction telephone number, business head email (someone astatine nan business who tin verify you're a typical of that business), and nan email reside of your Google Account Manager.
• Step 4: Submit nan verification form. It tin return up to a week for Google to reappraisal and process your claim.

How to Optimize Your GMB Listing

Once you‘ve verified your business, it’s clip to decorativeness fleshing retired your profile.

Go to nan Google My Business dashboard, click nan listing you'd for illustration to activity on, prime “Info,” and past take a conception to capable retired aliases update.

Add arsenic overmuch accusation and media arsenic you can, including a business floor plan photo, nan area you serve, your hours, attributes (e.g., “wheelchair accessible,” “free wifi”), nan time and twelvemonth you opened, and a nationalist telephone number and website URL.

Anyone tin “suggest an edit” to your listing by clicking connected nan 3 dots successful nan correct corner, truthful it‘s important to A) get everything correct nan first clip (so you don’t promote random group to make their ain changes) and B) periodically log into your GMB dashboard and make judge each nan specifications look right.

At immoderate constituent successful time, you tin edit your business floor plan by logging into your GMB dashboard, clicking connected “Info,” clicking nan pencil adjacent to nan section you'd for illustration to edit, making your change, and past choosing “Apply.”

Expert tip: “Create a listing for each location and skip nan copy-and-paste. Each explanation should beryllium unsocial truthful Google tin show these are 2 different businesses operating nether nan aforesaid umbrella. If each floor plan is simply a c copy, it could look suspicious to Google, and your ranking whitethorn suffer. That said, you shouldn’t request to negociate everything manually, truthful usage a instrumentality to negociate aggregate profiles from a centralized location,” says Brooke Webber, caput of trading astatine Ninja Patches

Regarding optimizing your listing, I besides said pinch Sergey Galanin, nan SEO head astatine Phonexa, who pointed retired that 1 communal correction is not keeping nan specifications connected your website successful sync pinch your GMB.

If there’s inconsistency betwixt your tract and GMB, it tin confuse imaginable customers. They mightiness travel crossed conflicting accusation and get skeptical astir your business and what you offer.

This tin lead to mislaid customers, a antagonistic online reputation, and moreover bad reviews. Worst case, Google could moreover penalize your business for having mismatched information.

Google My Business Photos

According to Google, businesses pinch photos spot 35% much clicks to their website and 42% higher requests for driving directions successful Google Maps.

Ditch nan generic banal photos and showcase what makes your business unique.

Think photos of your squad successful action, happy customers enjoying your products, aliases behind-the-scenes peeks astatine your process, says Marshal Davis.

Photos should beryllium astatine slightest 720 pixels wide by 720 pixels precocious and JPG aliases PNG files.

Not judge really galore pictures to adhd — aliases what they should beryllium of?

Cover photo

Your Google My Business screen photograph is 1 of nan astir important, arsenic it shows up beforehand and halfway connected your listing.

Profile photo

Your floor plan photograph is what appears erstwhile you upload caller photos, videos, aliases reappraisal responses.

Along pinch your floor plan and screen photos, you tin and should upload different pictures to make your listing much informative and engaging.

Type	Description	Google-recommended minimum	Suggestions
Exterior	The extracurricular of your business from different directions.	Three photos	Use pictures from different times of time (morning, afternoon, evening) truthful customers ever admit your business.
Interior	The wrong of your business, pinch a attraction connected decor and ambiance.	Three photos	Give customers an meticulous thought of what it will look for illustration to guidelines aliases beryllium wrong your business.
Product	A practice of nan types of products aliases services you offer.	One photograph per merchandise type aliases service	Show nan products you're known for and make judge nan photos are lit well.
Employees astatine work	“Action” shots of your labor delivering nan types of services you offer.	Three	Try to seizure your labor pinch satisfied customers.
Food and drink	Pictures that correspond your astir celebrated paper items.	Three	Consider hiring a nutrient photographer — these are tricky to get right! If that's not successful nan budget, usage bright, moreover lighting (i.e. nary shadows aliases dimness).
Common areas	Photos of wherever your customers will walk clip (think a lobby aliases lounge).	One photograph per communal area	Represent nan assortment of amenities you offer.
Rooms	Pictures of your different room and suite options (if applicable).	Three	Don't effort to mislead guests — show your wallet-friendly and high-end options.
Team	A changeable of your guidance squad and staff.	Three	Use pictures that show your unsocial civilization and squad personality.

Google My Business Videos

You tin besides adhd videos. Videos must be:

• 30 seconds aliases shorter
• 100 MB aliases smaller
• 720p solution aliases higher

Videos tin adhd immoderate assortment to your floor plan and make you guidelines retired among different businesses successful your category; however, don‘t interest if you don’t person any. Unlike photos, they're not a “must-have.”

Google My Business Reviews

One of nan champion ways to promote early customers to time off affirmative reviews? Respond to existent ones. Not only does leaving an appreciative consequence show nan original reviewer you're thankful for their support, but it besides makes that affirmative reappraisal guidelines retired connected your listing and influences group to time off their ain reviews.

Here's a sample reply to a satisfied customer:

Thank you for your business, [name]! We‘re truthful gladsome you enjoyed [product, e.g., "the blueberry pie"] — it’s 1 of our favorites, arsenic well. Hope to spot you backmost astatine [business name] soon.

You should besides respond to antagonistic reviews to show you return them earnestly and placate nan unhappy buyer. But make judge you're highly courteous — attacking them backmost will only make you look unprofessional and their reappraisal much credible.

Thank you for nan feedback, [name], and I‘m incredibly sorry [product/experience] did not meet your expectations. [If you’ve made a change, mention it present — e.g., “We're now double-checking orders to make judge everyone gets precisely what they asked for.”] If you‘d for illustration to travel backmost in, we’d beryllium happy to springiness you [product] connected nan house. In immoderate case, acknowledgment for your business, and I dream we tin do amended adjacent time.

Google My Business App — Does It Exist?

The Google My Business app is gone. To support your Business Profile caller and link pinch customers, usage nan Google Maps app and Google Search instead.

Simply unfastened nan Google Maps app connected your telephone and spell to nan “Business” tab to negociate your floor plan easily. Use nan aforesaid Google Account linked to your Business Profile.

The Google Maps app offers astir features of nan aged Google My Business app. You can:

• Add aliases declare your business to show up connected Google.
• Edit your business info, for illustration address, hours, aliases photos.
• Respond to customer messages aliases calls.
• Set up notifications for your mobile device.
• Manage your reviews.
• Check your capacity metrics.
• Advertise your business.

Download nan Google Maps app connected some iOS and Android.

Do I request a Google My Business account?

As my last portion of advice: If you tally a section business and don’t person Google My Business, it’s for illustration shooting yourself successful nan foot.

I situation to opportunity it’s your champion chance to get noticed by customers adjacent and show them precisely what you offer. Plus, it lets you link pinch them done reviews and posts, which helps build spot successful your community.

And acknowledgment to each nan insights you get from GMB analytics, it’s easier than ever to fine-tune your trading and find what works.

Bottom line? Google My Business is simply a free, powerful instrumentality that drives section postulation correct to your door. Don't slumber connected it. :)

P.S. Speaking of getting noticed, if you're fresh to motorboat your ain business, cheque retired our free Business Startup Kit. It includes 9 easy templates to thief you travel up pinch a catchy name, create a coagulated business plan, and transportation your thought to investors. Figuring retired startup costs aliases readying your trading strategy? This guideline has everything you request to get started.

Editor's note: This station was primitively published successful April 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.