Google Business Profile: The Free Listing Every New Business Should Set Up First

If you do one thing for your business online this week, set up a Google Business Profile. It’s free, it takes about an hour, and it controls how your business shows up on Google Search and Google Maps. Without one, when someone searches for your business name — or for what you do in your area — nothing comes up. You’re invisible.

What is it and why should I care?

Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free listing that displays your business name, address, phone number, hours, photos, reviews, and services directly in Google Search and Maps. You know that map section with the three local businesses that shows up when you search “plumber near me” or “hairdresser Scarborough”? That’s called the Local Pack — and it’s powered entirely by Google Business Profiles.

For most local businesses, that listing drives more enquiries than the website itself. And most of your competitors have either never claimed theirs or set it up once and forgot about it.

How do I set one up?

If you’ve ever created a social media account for your business, this is the same idea — you’re just doing it on Google instead.

Head to google.com/business and sign in with a Google account. I’d recommend using a business email if you have one, and keeping it separate from your personal Gmail. If you don’t have a Google account yet, you can create one for free during the process.

From there, Google walks you through it — your business name, address (or service area if you’re mobile), phone number, category, hours, and website. Fill in everything you can. You don’t need to get it perfect the first time — you can always go back and edit things later. You’re not setting anything in stone.

What about verification?

Google needs to confirm you’re a real business before your profile goes live. In 2026, video verification is the most common method — you record a short video on your phone showing your business location and proof you’re the real deal.

I recently went through this myself after rebranding and making a large amounts of edits. I work from home and don’t have a branded vehicle or a shopfront with signage, so I wasn’t sure what to show. I started recording from the front of my house, showed the street, walked inside, showed my laptop with my website open, then briefly showed some of my business systems — my GoHighLevel account, my Google Business Profile dashboard, and that I was logged into the linked Google email. It passed on the first submission.

The whole thing took about two minutes to record. Don’t overthink it — Google just wants to see that you’re a real person running a real business at a real location. If you work from home, that’s completely fine.

Verification typically takes a few days. If it’s been longer than a week, check your email for updates or try requesting a different verification method — delays happen, but they’re usually fixable. One thing to know: you only get two or three video attempts before Google’s system flags you and moves you to a longer document submission process. So take your time getting the video right on the first go, but don’t stress about making it perfect.

What makes a profile actually work?

Setting it up is step one. Making it work for you is about a few simple habits.

Set aside 30 minutes once or twice a month to upload a few photos, add a post or update, and reply to any reviews. That’s it. These are simple tasks, but they go a long way to showing Google that your business is active and worth showing to people who are searching.

Upload real photos of your business. Not stock images — Google can tell the difference, and its image recognition now actually reads what’s in your photos to understand your services. At a minimum, add your logo, a cover photo, and a photo of yourself. Beyond that, photograph your actual work. If you’re a tradie, that’s completed jobs and before-and-afters. If you run a salon, it’s your treatment rooms and results. If you sell products, it’s your best sellers and new arrivals. A few new photos each month keeps your profile fresh and gives potential customers a genuine feel for your business.

Reviews matter — a lot. Think about the last time you were looking into a business. Did you check the reviews? Most people do. And when you’re comparing two businesses that offer the same thing, the one with recent, genuine reviews almost always gets the call. Ask every customer for a review — Google now gives you a shareable review link and QR code right from your dashboard, which makes this easier than ever. Pop that QR code on your receipts, business cards, or follow-up emails.

When you get a review, respond to it — good or bad. And make it specific. “Thanks Sarah, glad the new booking system is working well for you!” is much better than “Thanks for your feedback!” Google’s AI actually reads your responses and uses them when summarising your business to searchers. Your tech dictionary has a detailed guide to getting more reviews if you want to go deeper on this.

One thing worth noting for Australian businesses: the ACCC takes fake reviews seriously. Don’t offer discounts or freebies in exchange for reviews, don’t ask friends to leave reviews if they haven’t actually used your services, and never write reviews for yourself. It’s not just against Google’s rules — it’s against Australian Consumer Law, and businesses have been fined for it.

Fill in everything — especially the bits people skip

Most people fill in the basics and stop. The businesses that show up more often in local search are the ones that fill in everything.

Your primary category is the single most important choice you’ll make in your profile. Search for what you do on Google Maps, look at what categories the top-ranking businesses in your area are using, and pick the most specific one that fits. You can add up to nine secondary categories too — use them for any other services you genuinely offer.

Fill in the Services section with every service you provide, each with a short plain-English description. Fill in the Attributes section — things like “wheelchair accessible,” “women-led,” or “accepts card payments.” These feed directly into Google’s filtered searches and AI-generated answers about your business.

Your business description has a 750-character limit. Use all of it. Include your location, what you do, who you help, and what makes you different. Keep it natural — this isn’t the place for keyword stuffing, but it is the place to clearly describe what your business actually does.

Don’t overthink it

The most common mistake I see? Putting it off because it seems too hard or too technical. It’s not. It’s free, it’s straightforward, and an hour of your time gets you a listing that shows up when people search for you. That hour is genuinely worth it. Google Business Profile is also the first item on my list of five free things you can do today to build your online presence — if you want to see what else is worth doing at zero cost.

For a deeper look at optimising your profile, including what not to do and how reviews affect your rankings, check out the Google Business Profile entry in the Tech Dictionary.