How to set up your Google Business Profile in 2026: a step-by-step walkthrough

Your Google Business Profile is the listing that shows up on the right side of Google when somebody searches your business name, and the listing Google uses to decide whether to put you in the map pack for local searches. Setting one up is free and takes about 20 minutes. Here is what the process looks like in 2026.

Before you start

Gather these so the setup goes smoothly:

• Your business name, spelled exactly the way you want it everywhere else online (this becomes your NAP, and it matters that it matches)
• Your physical address, OR the service areas you cover if you do not have a storefront customers visit
• A phone number a real person actually answers
• Your website URL (https, not http) if you have one
• Your hours, including any seasonal or holiday hours
• At least 5 to 10 photos: your truck or storefront, your team, finished work, your face
• A Google account (gmail address) you control. Use a business email if you have one. Do not use a personal account that might leave the company.

Step 1: Go to google.com/business and sign in

Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Google account you want to manage the listing from.

Step 2: Search for your business

Type your business name. Two things can happen:

• Google has already created a listing for you. This happens often. Customers may have added you, or Google scraped your info from somewhere. If you see your business in the dropdown, click it to claim it.
• No listing exists.Click "Add your business to Google" at the bottom of the dropdown.

Step 3: Choose your primary category

This is the single biggest decision you will make in the entire setup. Google uses your primary category to decide which searches you can possibly rank for.

Pick the most specific category that fits. Plumber beats Contractor. Roofing Contractor beats General Contractor. House Cleaning Service beats Cleaning Service.

You can add up to 9 additional categories later, but the primary one is the most important.

Step 4: Add your location

Google asks if you have a location customers can visit. Three answers:

• Yes for shops with a storefront. You will enter an address. Customers can see this address and get directions.
• No, I go to customers for service-area businesses like plumbers, cleaners, mobile mechanics. You will define your service area by city or zip code. Your address stays hidden.
• Both for businesses with a storefront AND a service area.

If you serve a multi-city area, you can list up to 20 cities or zip codes. Pick the ones you actually want to drive in.

Step 5: Add contact info

Phone, website, and an option for an email. Use the same phone number that appears on your website and other listings. If you have multiple numbers, pick the one customers should use for new business.

Step 6: Verify your business

After you submit, Google offers you a verification method. For about 85% of new listings in 2026, this is video verification.

Video verification works like this:

• Google sends you a unique link to record a video, either right then in your browser or later via email.
• You record a single continuous clip, 30 to 120 seconds long.
• The video has to show three things in one shot: your business location (a sign on the building, your truck with branding, your office door with your company name); your equipment or tools (branded equipment, your van fleet, materials inventory); and proof you have management access (log into your point-of-sale, CRM, or business email on a device while the camera is rolling).
• Google reviews it in 1 to 5 business days and you get an email.

If video gets rejected, common reasons are: video was edited or cut between scenes (must be one continuous clip), business name on the sign did not exactly match the listing name, or the location did not look like an actual operating business.

The postcard option still appears for a small number of listings (mostly older established addresses). If you get the option, take it. Postcard is faster and easier when offered. Most service-area businesses will not see it.

Step 7: Fill out everything else while you wait

While verification is pending, you can still edit your listing. Do all of this now so it goes live the moment verification clears:

• Add the 9 additional categories that also fit (you already picked the primary). Add any that could possibly apply.
• Add your services.List every service you offer with a short description. "Emergency plumbing," "water heater repair," "drain cleaning," each as its own entry.
• Set your hours, including a checkbox for holiday hours if relevant.
• Add attributes: "Identifies as women-owned," "Online estimates," "Free Wi-Fi," whatever applies. Customers filter by these.
• Write your business description.750 characters max. Google's AI pulls from this for AI Overviews, so write it in plain English like you are explaining your business to a neighbor. Do not stuff keywords.

Step 8: Photos

This is where most new profiles fall down. Add at least 10 photos before you finish the setup session:

• Team "Trust" shot: A photo of you or your team in uniform. It builds personal accountability.
• "In-Action" shot: A high-quality photo of your team actually doing the work (e.g. a plumber with a wrench under a sink, not just a photo of the finished sink).
• The Result shot:A clear, well-lit "after" photo.
• The "Proof" shot: Your branded work van parked in a driveway. It proves you are a legitimate, mobile business.
• Interior / workspace: If you have an office or shop, show the space where the business is run to prove legitimacy.

Real photos beat polished ones. Customers can tell the difference. Phones in 2026 take better photos than most marketing budgets used to buy.

Step 9: First week priorities

Once you are verified and live, do these three things in your first week:

• Post your first update.Use the "Add update" feature. Keep the momentum going by posting a quick tip or photo once a week.
• Ask three happy customers for a Google review. A new listing with zero reviews looks abandoned. Three solid reviews changes that. Text customers from past good jobs: "Would you mind leaving a quick Google review? Here is the link."
• Feed the AI.The old Q&A tab is gone. Instead, create an FAQ page on your website and use FAQ Schemamarkup so Google's AI (Gemini) can read your questions and answers and show them in search results automatically.

That is the foundation

Everything from here is iteration: more photos every month, a fresh post every week, a steady drip of reviews, and watching what searches you actually show up for in Insights. But the setup above is what puts you on the map. Most local businesses I look at have one of these steps missing or half done. Closing that gap is most of the work.