How to get your business on Google
A Google Business profile is free, you open it at google.com/business, and it's the first thing any local business should do, before the website and before ads. It's what puts you on the map when someone searches your trade nearby. You verify by video or postcard, fill it out completely, then keep it alive with reviews and fresh photos. No profile means no map, and the map is where people look first.
Updated 2026-08-15
Why the profile comes before everything else
When someone searches "plumber near me" on a phone, the first thing that comes up isn't websites: it's a map with three businesses. That block takes most of the calls, and getting in it costs nothing. It just requires having a profile.
It's free, there's no monthly fee, and it's the only thing on this list that could bring you a call this week. That's why it goes first.
How to open it, step by step
- Go to google.com/business with the business's Google account, not a relative's personal one.
- Use the exact business name. No cities or trades jammed in: "Rivera Roofing", not "Rivera Roofing Hialeah Miami Cheap Roofs".
- Pick the primary category that genuinely describes what you do. This is the single heaviest decision on the profile.
- If you go to the customer, mark it as a service-area business and hide the address. List the cities you cover.
- Verify. Google usually asks for a short video showing the shop, your tools, or your lettered truck. Sometimes it mails a postcard, which takes two weeks.
- Fill in the rest: hours, phone, services one by one, description, and the website.
The name has to be the name. Stuffing keywords into it breaks Google's rules and is the most common reason profiles get suspended, almost always after a competitor reports it.
What decides whether you rank first or twentieth
| What | How much it weighs | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | A lot | The one matching the exact trade, not a general one |
| Reviews | A lot | Ask every customer, every time |
| Distance from the searcher | A lot | Not controllable, which is why areas matter |
| Services listed | Medium | Each service by name, not one paragraph |
| Fresh photos | Medium | Post from this week's job |
| Linked website | Medium | One that exists and covers the same trade |
| Posts | A little | One now and then, don't obsess |
Of all that, the only things you can move tomorrow are reviews and listed services. Nobody controls distance, which is why a Hialeah business won't rank first in Homestead no matter how hard it tries.
Reviews: how to ask without feeling awkward
Most people never ask, out of embarrassment, and it's what they need most. A happy customer leaves one if you ask at the right moment, which is right after they've seen the finished work and they're pleased.
- Ask in person before you leave, not by text three days later.
- Text them the direct link right there while you're standing in front of them. Google gives you a short link in the profile dashboard.
- Never pay for reviews or trade them for a discount. Google catches it and takes the profile down.
- Answer all of them, the bad ones included. A calm reply to a complaint convinces more than ten five-star reviews.
Ten real reviews already put you above most small businesses in your area. Thirty, and you're the one they call first.
What to do if the profile gets suspended
It happens, and almost always for three reasons: keywords in the name, an address that isn't a real location, or a category that doesn't match what you do.
- Fix what caused it first: strip the keywords out of the name, correct the address, or change the category.
- Request reinstatement from the same dashboard, with photos of the location, the local county permit, and an invoice in the business name.
- Wait. It usually takes one to three weeks, and opening a new profile meanwhile does nothing but make the case worse.
While the suspension lasts you're off the map, and that's when having your own page shows: the profile belongs to Google and can be taken from you, the page is yours.
doubts
What people usually ask
Does a Google Business profile cost anything?
No, it's free with no monthly fee. Anyone calling to offer "registering your business on Google" for a fee is charging for something you do yourself in twenty minutes.
Can I have a profile if I work out of my house?
Yes. You mark it as a service-area business, hide the address, and list the cities you cover. You still show up in local searches without publishing where you live.
Do I need a website if I have the profile?
The profile puts you on the map; the website is where people decide to call. Google shows your site on the profile, and businesses with one linked usually convert better, because the customer sees pricing, services, and past work before dialing.
How long until I show up on the map?
From verification, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Getting into the top three takes months and depends mostly on reviews and how close you are to whoever's searching.
What if a competitor leaves fake reviews?
Report them from the dashboard, one by one, and reply to each calmly explaining they were never a customer. Google removes some and not others, but a level-headed reply makes the fake one obvious.