To set up a Google Business Profile in the UK, first check your business is eligible and sign in with a Google account the business controls. Then search for an existing profile: claim it if it’s unverified, request access if someone else manages it, or create a new one at business.google.com/add if none exists. After that, enter accurate details and complete whichever verification method Google offers you.

Adding or claiming a profile is free (Google). This guide works through each decision in order, for businesses with premises customers visit, businesses that visit customers, and businesses that do both.

Checked against Google’s Business Profile guidelines and help pages on 17 October 2026.

Step 1: Check eligibility and choose your business type

Google’s rule is simple: to qualify, a business “must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours” (Google). That contact can happen at your premises or at the customer’s location.

Google gives examples of businesses that aren’t eligible, including:

online-only businesses, brands and organisations with no in-person customer contact;
lead generation agents or companies;
rental or for-sale properties, such as holiday homes;
an ongoing class or meeting at a location you don’t own or have authority to represent;
any business whose address is a PO box or a mailbox in a remote location.

Google lists a few specialist exceptions, such as ATMs and seasonal businesses. It also has separate rules for delivery-only food brands. Businesses selling products with a minimum age requirement, such as alcohol, can’t be service-area businesses without a shopfront.

Things that don’t make you eligible on their own:

being incorporated at Companies House;
having a website;
having a correspondence or registered office address.

If you sell online and never meet customers, a Business Profile isn’t the right tool. Google’s video verification guidance says online-only businesses “can’t be verified” (Google).

Shopfront, service-area or hybrid?

Google treats three types of business differently (Google):

Business type	Customer contact	Public address approach	Evidence to prepare
Shopfront	Customers visit staffed premises during opening hours	Show the address. Permanent signage with the business name.	The location and signage, and access only staff have, such as a till, kitchen or stock room
Service-area business	You genuinely visit or deliver to customers, and don’t serve them at your address	Don’t show an address. Add the areas you genuinely serve.	Where you operate from, the tools or equipment you use, and proof you run the business
Hybrid	Customers visit your staffed premises, and you also visit or deliver to them	Show the address and add a service area	The same as a shopfront, plus the service area you actually cover

Illustrative examples (not real businesses):

A gift shop in Nottingham city centre, with a staffed shop and its name over the door, is a shopfront.
A plumber who works from home in Beeston and only works at customers’ properties is a service-area business. Their home address shouldn’t appear on the profile.
A bike repair workshop that customers visit, which also collects bikes from customers’ homes, is hybrid.

Google says a business without permanent on-site signage isn’t eligible as a shopfront and should be set up as a service-area business instead (Google).

Virtual offices and shared premises

Google’s address rules are specific (Google):

Virtual offices aren’t eligible. If you rent a postal address but don’t operate from it, that location can’t have a profile.
Co-working spaces are allowed only in some cases. You can list an office at a co-working space only if it has clear signage, receives customers there during opening hours, and is staffed by your own staff during those hours.
Service-area businesses can’t list a “virtual” office unless it’s staffed during opening hours.
Businesses showing their address should have permanent, fixed signage with the business name at that address.

Step 2: Use a Google account the business controls

Do this before you search for or create anything, because whichever account you use becomes the profile’s owner.

You need a Google account to manage a profile. It can use a Gmail address or your own business email (Google). Use an account the business controls, with recovery details the business keeps. If the only owner is a former employee’s personal account or an agency, you can lose control of the profile.

Google’s roles work like this (Google):

Owners have full control, including adding and removing users and deleting the profile. A profile can have several owners but only one primary owner.
Managers can edit information, reply to reviews and add photos. They can’t add or remove users or delete the profile at any point.
Newly added owners and managers wait seven days before they can use some features. For an owner, that includes removing other users and transferring primary ownership. The wait doesn’t give managers any extra permissions.

Google’s rules for agencies and other authorised representatives say they must never claim a profile without the owner’s express consent. They should encourage the owner to own the profile and add them as managers, and must transfer ownership immediately if asked (Google).

In practice: the business should be the primary owner. Anyone helping you should be a manager on their own Google account. Never share your account password.

Step 3: Find your business, then create, claim or request access

Your business may already be on Google, even if you’ve never set it up. Customers, Google or a former owner or agency may have added it.

Signed in with the business account, search Google Maps for your business name and town. What you find decides your route. Google says there “should only be one profile per business” (Google).

No existing profile: create one

Go to business.google.com/add and select “Add your business to Google” (Google).
Enter your business name and choose a category.
Say whether customers can visit you:
- Shopfront or hybrid: answer yes and enter your address, or place the pin on the map.
- Service-area business: answer no and enter the areas you serve (Google).
Add your phone number and website.
Choose a verification option, or verify later.

Unverified profile: claim it

Open the profile in Google Maps, select “Claim this business”, then “Manage now”, and follow the verification steps (Google).

Someone else manages it: request ownership

Go to business.google.com/add and enter your business name and address.
Choose your business. If you see a message that someone else may manage the profile, select “Request access” (Google).
Fill in the form and submit it.

The current owner has three days to respond. If they don’t, you may be able to claim the profile yourself, though Google says that option “isn’t always available”. If they refuse, you can appeal.

Requesting ownership of a service-area business works differently: Google asks you to contact its support team instead.

If a former agency or employee controls your profile, use this route rather than creating a second profile.

Step 4: Enter your real-world name and primary category

Business name

Use your business name as it appears in the real world: “on your shopfront, website, stationery and as known to customers” (Google). That isn’t necessarily your registered company name. If you trade under a different name, use the trading name customers know.

Don’t add anything that isn’t part of that real-world name, such as:

taglines or descriptions of your services;
a town or area tacked on for search (“Smith & Co Plumbing Nottingham” when your signage says “Smith & Co Plumbing”);
phone numbers or opening hours;
legal terms like “Ltd”, unless they consistently appear on your signage and stationery.

A place name that’s genuinely part of your trading name is fine.

Google says adding unnecessary information to the name “could result in the suspension” of a profile. To include a legal term or special character, you may need to show real-world proof such as signage or invoices.

Primary category

Choose the category that completes the sentence “this business IS a…”, not “this business HAS a…” (Google).

Choose from Google’s list. You can’t create your own category (Google).
Be as specific as you accurately can. Google’s own example is choosing “Nail salon” rather than “Salon”. If no specific category fits, choose a more general one.
Use as few categories as possible. Additional categories are for genuine departments or services, not a list of everything you do or sell.
Don’t use categories as keywords.

Category names vary and Google adds and changes them, so type what your business is and pick the closest match from the list Google shows. Google says categories affect local ranking, but choosing one doesn’t guarantee a position. Changing categories later may also mean verifying again (Google).

Step 5: Set your address visibility and service area

A business address shown on a Business Profile is public (Google). How you handle it depends on your business type and whether the profile is new.

Shopfront and hybrid businesses show their address. It must be your real location, with the pin in the right place.
A new service-area business says customers don’t visit its location during setup, then enters its service areas (Google). Some verification methods, such as a postcard or video, may still involve your business address, but it isn’t shown to customers.
An existing profile showing an address it shouldn’t: if customers don’t visit you, Google says you must hide it. Go to Edit profile, then Location, and turn off “Show business address to customers” (Google).

Setting service areas

You can add up to 20 service areas by town, city, postcode or similar area. You can’t set a radius around your base (Google). Google says the overall area shouldn’t extend more than about two hours’ driving time from your base, though larger areas may suit some businesses.

Service areas describe where you genuinely work. They don’t guarantee you’ll appear for searches made there, because distance from the searcher still matters. Our guide to how local search works explains why.

Don’t create a separate profile for each town you cover. A service-area business gets one profile. The exception is genuinely separate locations, each with its own staff and service area (Google).

Step 6: Add contact details, hours, services and attributes

Profile field	What to enter	Common mistake	Important qualification
Business name	Your real-world trading name	Adding keywords, towns or “Ltd” that aren’t part of the name on your signage	Changes to business information may mean verifying again
Primary category	The most specific category that describes the whole business	Choosing a category for one service rather than the business	Google says category changes may mean verifying again
Address	Your real location, with an accurate map pin, if customers visit	A virtual office, PO box or unstaffed co-working desk	Service-area businesses don’t show it publicly
Service area	Up to 20 areas you genuinely serve	Listing distant towns you rarely visit	Describes coverage, not where you’ll rank
Phone	A number under the business’s direct control, ideally local	A premium-rate number, or one that leads somewhere other than the business	Google prefers a local number to a central call centre where possible
Website	The page that represents this business or location	A social media page or a redirect to another site	In some cases, Search Console can speed up verification
Hours	Regular customer-facing hours, plus special hours for holidays	Adding hours if you work only by appointment	Some business types shouldn’t list hours at all
Services and attributes	What you actually offer, and attributes that are true	Ticking attributes you don’t have, such as step-free access	Available attributes depend on category and country

Notes on these fields, from Google’s guidelines (Google):

Phone: the number “must be under the direct control of the business”. Google asks for a local number rather than a central call-centre helpline “whenever possible”, and premium-rate numbers aren’t allowed.
Website: the URL shouldn’t redirect users to pages other than the actual business.
Hours: Google says businesses that operate only by appointment shouldn’t provide hours.
Attributes: some come from customers rather than the owner (Google).
Re-verification: Google says changes to your business information may require re-verification (Google).

Restaurants, pubs and cafés have extra fields to get right, such as menus, booking links and More hours. Our guide for hospitality venues covers them.

Step 7: Add an accurate description and genuine photos

Description

Google allows up to 750 characters (Google). Use it to say what you offer, who you serve and what makes the business different.

Google asks that the description focus primarily on the business rather than on promotions, prices or sales. Links and HTML aren’t allowed, and nor is content unrelated to the business (Google).

Photos

Add real photos of your premises, work, products or team. Google’s guidelines ask for photos that are in focus, well lit and “represent reality”, in JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB (Google).

Photos only appear on Google after the profile is verified. Google reviews them first, which can take 24 to 48 hours. For shopfronts, an exterior photo helps customers recognise the business when they arrive.

Step 8: Complete the verification Google offers

Verification confirms you’re authorised to manage the business. Google doesn’t guarantee approval, and verification doesn’t guarantee any ranking.

Available methods and review times

Google chooses which methods you’re offered, and you can’t change them (Google). The options depend on your business type, public information, region and opening hours. You may be asked to use more than one method. They can include:

phone call or text message: you must be able to answer the business phone, as automated answering systems won’t get the code;
email;
a live video call with Google support during your opening hours;
a recorded video;
a postcard to your address. Most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. Don’t edit your name, address or category while you wait, and don’t request a new code, or the first one stops working.

Google reviews verification within up to five working days, though it says some reviews take longer.

Recorded-video requirements

If you’re offered video verification, Google recommends using it. The video must be (Google):

recorded live through your Business Profile on a mobile device, not pre-recorded and uploaded later;
at least 30 seconds long;
unedited, unique and complete, with no breaks.

It must not include:

sensitive information like bank account, tax or ID numbers;
private information about you or others;
other people’s faces.

Plan the route before you press record, so you can show everything in one continuous take.

Evidence for shopfront and hybrid businesses

Google asks you to show three things:

Location: street signs, building numbers, nearby businesses or recognisable places around you.
That the business exists: your shopfront or signage, with the business name on a permanent fixture such as a sign, wall or window. The name must match the name on your profile.
That you manage it: something only staff can access, such as opening the till, entering the kitchen or stock room, or using the card machine.

Checklist before recording:

Signage is clean and fully visible.
Your profile name matches the signage exactly.
Staff areas you’ll film are tidy, with no customer or staff faces in shot.
No paperwork showing account numbers, personal details or customer data is in view.

Evidence for service-area businesses

Google asks for the same three things, adapted for businesses without premises:

Where you operate from: street signs, landmarks or other markers at your business address. If you work from home, Google says you can film landmarks and signs in your immediate neighbourhood.
That the business exists: the professional tools, equipment or products you use. This might be specialist equipment, your workspace, business cards or branded clothing.
That you manage it: you performing the service, or accessing business-only assets. Google’s examples include unlocking a branded van, or showing a business document such as an invoice or utility bill that matches your profile name.

These are examples, not a list you must complete. You don’t need a branded van or any particular document, so show what genuinely proves your business exists and that you run it.

Checklist before recording:

Plan a short walk from a recognisable street sign or landmark near your base.
Have your tools or equipment ready to show.
If you decide to show a document, cover any account numbers, customer addresses or personal details.
Avoid filming neighbours, customers or anyone else’s face.

Step 9: Resolve verification problems if necessary

Google describes three situations (Google):

The “Get verified” button appears again: Google couldn’t fully verify you. Try again, or try another method if one is offered.
A “Review issues” notice after a video: your video wasn’t accepted. Google tells you why. Record a new video that includes everything from the first one plus what was missing (Google).
A request for more information: often after recent changes to your details. Select “Get verified” and follow the steps.

Google asks you to try the available methods before contacting support, because that makes it easier for them to help.

Step 10: Check the public profile and keep it accurate

Once verified, look at the profile as a customer would. Search for your business on Google and in Google Maps, on a phone as well as a computer, and check:

the name, category, phone number and website are correct;
a service-area business shows its service area, not its home address;
the map pin is in the right place for a shopfront;
hours, including any upcoming bank holidays, are accurate.

After that, update the profile whenever something genuinely changes, such as hours, services, phone number or premises. Regular posts, photos or edits aren’t a guaranteed ranking boost. What matters is that the profile is accurate.

If your profile doesn’t appear at all, our guide to not showing on Google Maps works through the likely causes. Google has also changed how questions and answers work on profiles. Our guide to what changed with Business Profile Q&A explains the current position.

Common setup mistakes

Not every mistake leads to suspension. But Google says breaking its guidelines can lead to changes to your information or, in some cases, removal from Google (Google), and some mistakes make verification harder:

Duplicate profiles. Creating a second profile for the same business or location, including in another account.
Extra words in the business name. Keywords, towns or services that aren’t part of your real-world name.
Ineligible premises. A virtual office, a PO box, or a co-working desk that isn’t staffed and signed.
Wrong business type. Showing a home address for a service-area business, or setting up as a shopfront without staffed premises and permanent signage.
Inaccurate details. A category that describes a service rather than the business, or wrong hours or contact numbers.
Agency-only or employee-only ownership. The business losing access because the only owner has left. Our guide to owning your website and accounts explains how to check who controls what.

If the profile is suspended

Use Google’s appeals tool. Sign in with the account linked to the profile, review the reason Google gives, and submit an appeal with evidence such as a business registration, licence or utility bill matching the profile name and address (Google).

Google says: “Do not create a new Business Profile for the same business while your appeal is under review.”

For the full appeal route, evidence checklist and explanation template, see our guide to appealing a suspended Google Business Profile.

Get help checking your Business Profile

If you’d rather have someone check your setup before you verify, or review a profile that’s already live, our Google Business Profile page explains how we audit and correct profiles. You keep ownership throughout.

By David, founder of SEO Agency in Nottingham.