How to create or claim your Google Business Profile
Search Google Maps for your business first. If a listing exists and nobody manages it, select Claim this business. If someone else manages it, request access. If nothing exists, add your business at business.google.com/add. Use a Google Account the business controls, then verify. Google charges nothing for any of this.
The short version
- Search Google Maps for your business name and phone number before you create anything.
- Unclaimed listing: select Claim this business, then Manage now.
- Someone else controls it: ask them to add you, or use Request Access. They get 3 days to reply.
- Nothing there: go to business.google.com/add and select Add your business to Google.
- Use a Google Account the business owns, then verify.
How do I create or claim my profile?
Most local businesses already appear on Google Maps, even if nobody at the business set it up. Customers, Google’s data partners and Google itself add places all the time. So the first job is to search, not to create.
Get ready first
- A Google Account the business controls. Use an account tied to the business, not a staff member’s personal Gmail. You can use a new Gmail address or any existing Google Account. Write down who holds the password.
- Your exact details. Your real-world business name, your address (or the towns you serve), your main phone number, your website and your hours. Google’s guidelines say the name should match your signs, website and paperwork, with no taglines or city names added.
Step 1: Search for your business
Open Google Maps and search for your business name and town. Try your phone number too. Then:
- Nothing comes up. Go to Step 2.
- Your business appears, with a “Claim this business” link. Nobody has verified it. Go to Step 3.
- Your business appears, and there’s no claim option. Someone already manages it. Go to Step 4.
Step 2: Add a new business
These steps come from Google’s Add or claim your Business Profile page.
- Go to business.google.com/add and sign in with the business’s Google Account.
- Click Add your business to Google.
- Follow the on-screen steps. You’ll enter the name, category, location and contact details.
- Select a verification option and complete it.
Two choices during setup deserve care. The primary category tells Google what you are; our guide to choosing categories and services helps you pick it. And if you go to customers rather than having them visit, read service-area business or storefront before you finish.
Step 3: Claim an unverified listing
On a computer:
- Open Google Maps in a browser.
- Search for your business name and city, and select it.
- Select Claim this business, then Manage now.
- Select a verification option.
- Follow the on-screen steps.
In the Google Maps app, find your business, tap About, then Claim this business, then Manage now. If the listing isn’t quite yours, select I own or manage another business instead.
Step 4: Request access when someone else owns it
Try the friendly route first: ask the current owner to add you. Our guide on owners and managers shows what they need to click.
If you can’t reach them, Google’s Request ownership page gives this process for storefront and hybrid businesses:
- Go to business.google.com/add.
- Enter your business name and address.
- Choose your business from the list. You’ll see “Someone else may manage this Business Profile.”
- Click Request Access.
- Complete the form and click Submit.
You’ll get a confirmation email, and the current owner has 3 days to respond. If they approve, you can manage the profile. If they deny it, you can suggest an edit or appeal.
Step 5: Verify
Nothing you add shows publicly until the profile is verified. Our verification guide walks through each method.
Why does it matter who sets it up?
The account that creates or claims the profile ends up holding the keys. If that’s a former employee or an agency, you can lose control of the listing customers see first. Our article on owning your digital assets explains why the business itself should hold every account like this.
Eligibility matters too. Google’s getting started page says only businesses with face-to-face contact with customers qualify: a place customers visit, or a business that travels to them. Online-only shops and rental properties don’t.
What mistakes should I avoid?
- Creating a second listing because you can’t get into the first. Google allows one profile per location. A new one usually gets flagged as a duplicate. Our guide to duplicate and unwanted listings shows how to clean it up.
- Letting your web company own it. They can be a manager. The business should be the owner.
- Using a virtual office or P.O. box. Google’s guidelines don’t allow either as your address.
- Service-area businesses using the request form. Google says businesses without a shop or office should contact support instead, choosing Transfer ownership of listing as the issue.
What if this didn’t work?
- The owner didn’t answer within 3 days. Open the confirmation email and click View request, then Verify. Google says the claim option isn’t always offered. You can also sign in and look for a Claim or Verify button.
- Your request was denied. Suggest an edit on Maps, or appeal the decision from the rejection email.
- You forgot the login for an account you own. Google points you to its Accounts troubleshooter.
- Verification won’t go through. See what to do when verification fails.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take?
Google says adding or claiming a profile is free. Be wary of anyone who calls to say you must pay Google to keep your listing. Timing depends on the route: an access request gives the owner 3 days, and verification adds its own review time.
How does E-3 handle this?
Sorting out Google listings is one of the most common things E-3’s clients ask about. In our records, “How do I update my Google Business listing or get reviews?” accounts for about 90 requests. We look after Google profiles as part of our SEO and AI search service. Profiles we set up are created in your business’s name, with E-3 added as a user.
Related questions
Next step
- Next: Verify your Business Profile, and fix a failed attemptThe next guide in Google Business Profile.
- Google Business Profile checklistA free printable checklist (PDF).
Still stuck? Ask E-3 for an answer from our help guides.
Rather we handled google business profile for you?
It’s part of what we do every week for small businesses, as part of seo and ai search. Start with a free check of your site and profile, or call and ask.