Google Business Profile: The 2026 Setup Guide
Your Google Business Profile is the storefront 90% of your customers see before they ever click your website. It deserves more than the 10 minutes most owners give it.
Setup
Claim or create your profile at business.google.com.
Verify (postcard, video, or phone depending on category).
Fill every field, name, address, phone, website, hours, special hours for holidays, attributes.
Optimize
Primary category: the most specific accurate match.
Description: 750 characters with your services and area, written for humans.
Service list: every service with a paragraph each.
Products (for retail) or Menu (for restaurants).
Photos: 10+ at launch, refresh monthly.
Operate
Posts: one per week minimum, more if you have news.
Q&A: seed 5–10 questions and answers from your common FAQs.
Reviews: ask for them after every transaction; reply to every one within 48 hours.
Messaging: turn it on, and have a plan for who replies.
FAQ
Related services
Related industries
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