Google Business Profile: How to Get on Google Maps and Rank Higher (2026)

Someone who searches "furniture shop near me" or "web design Bursa" on their phone usually sees a map with a handful of businesses before any website. Appearing in that box is one of the most valuable spots in search for any business with a shop, office, hotel or service area. Your Google Business Profile sits at the centre of who gets shown there.

This guide covers adding your business to Google Maps from start to finish: creating and verifying the profile, choosing categories, photos, reviews, posts, keeping details consistent and connecting the profile to your website. The final section collects practical tips for ranking higher in local results.

A quick caveat: Google changes its profile management screens from time to time, so menu names and button positions may differ from what you see. We explain the logic of each step rather than tying it to a particular screen.

What is a Google Business Profile, and who can have one?

Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, is your business card on Google. The information panel that appears when someone searches your business name, the pin on the map and the listing in "near me" searches are all fed by this profile.

To qualify, you need to have face-to-face contact with customers. Two types of business are eligible:

• Businesses with a physical location: Shops, showrooms, hotels, restaurants, offices or clinics that customers can visit.
• Service-area businesses: Businesses that go to the customer, such as plumbers, fitting teams or removal firms. They can hide their address and list the districts or cities they cover.

Businesses that sell only online, with no physical contact, are generally not eligible. In that case, focus on general SEO rather than local SEO; we cover the basics in What is SEO?

How to add your business to Google Maps, step by step

1. Start with the right Google account. Create the profile with a permanent account that belongs to the business, not your personal email. Losing access when an employee leaves is a common problem. You can add other managers later.
2. Check whether your business is already listed. Search for it on Google Maps. Sometimes customers or Google have already created a listing. If so, request ownership of it instead of creating a new profile.
3. Enter your business name. Use the real name that appears on your signage, invoices and website. Do not add "best", a city or a service to the name; this breaks Google's guidelines and can lead to suspension.
4. Choose a primary category. Pick the category that describes your business best. Because this is one of the decisions that affects rankings most, we cover it separately below.
5. Add your location or service area. If customers visit you, enter the full address and check that the map pin is in the right place. If not, add the areas you serve.
6. Add contact details. Enter your phone number and website address. The phone should be a main line that customers can actually reach.
7. Complete verification. An unverified profile either does not appear at all or cannot be edited.

How to verify a Google Business Profile

Google wants to be sure the business exists and that you are authorised to manage it. The verification method depends on the type of business, its location and its history, and Google decides which options to offer. Methods you may come across include a code by phone or text message, email, a short video showing your business and signage, or a postcard sent to the address.

Why choosing the right category matters so much

When deciding which businesses to show for a search, Google gives a lot of weight to the primary category. A business categorised as "Furniture store" and one categorised as "Furniture manufacturer" will appear for different searches.

• Primary category: The single category that describes your main activity most clearly. Think of the first answer you give when someone asks what you do.
• Additional categories: Add other main services you genuinely offer. A hotel might add a restaurant or a meeting venue, for example. Do not add unrelated categories just to be seen.
• Look at competitors: Check which categories the top businesses use for your target search. It is a good clue to what Google considers relevant.

Complete your profile: description, hours and photos

A complete profile builds trust with customers and gives Google more information about your business. Make sure you fill in all of these:

• Business description: Explain what you do, who you serve and what sets you apart, in plain language. Write as if talking to a customer, not as a keyword list.
• Opening hours: Add special hours for public and religious holidays. A bad review from someone who turned up while you were closed is an easily avoided loss.
• Services and products: Add your main services and product groups.
• Attributes: Tick details that help customers decide, such as wheelchair access, parking, Wi-Fi or appointment-only service.

Photos

Photos are your shop window. Upload real pictures of the exterior (so customers can find you), the interior, products, your team and finished work. Stock images and heavily filtered photos do not build trust. Fresh photos added regularly, such as new arrivals in a furniture showroom or rooms, pool and breakfast at a hotel, show that the profile is alive.

How to get more Google reviews and reply to them

Reviews influence both the customer's decision and your local ranking. Consistency and content matter as much as volume: detailed, genuine reviews arriving at regular intervals are more convincing than dozens of short ones appearing at once.

Ways to get more reviews

• Copy the review request link from your profile and send it by message after a delivery, a stay or a completed job.
• Turn that link into a QR code and place it at the till, on delivery notes or on a card in hotel rooms.
• Ask at the moment the customer is happiest: when they receive the product, when they check out, when the job is done.

How to reply to reviews

Reply to every review, positive or negative. A short, personal thank-you is enough for positive ones. For negative reviews, write a calm, solution-focused and brief reply rather than a defensive one; everyone who looks at your profile reads it, not only the reviewer.

"We are sorry about the delay you experienced. We would like to look into your order and put this right, so please call our showroom number and we will deal with it personally."

Posts and updates

You can share offers, new products, events or announcements on your profile. Posts are not a ranking trick, but they show customers the business is active and can send them to your website or to call you. A few short posts a month, each with real news, is enough. Keep an eye on questions customers ask and answer them quickly.

NAP consistency: are your name, address and phone the same everywhere?

NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone. Google compares these details across different sources on the web. When they match everywhere, its confidence in your business grows; when they conflict, it cannot be sure which version is correct.

If you move or change your number, update the profile first, then every other source. Small variations such as "St." and "Street" are not a problem; different addresses and different phone numbers are.

Connect your profile to your website

Your Google Business Profile and website should strengthen each other. In the profile's website field, add your home page or, if you have several branches, the page for that branch. On your site, embed the map on the contact page, write the full address as text and use "LocalBusiness" structured data.

To measure visitors coming from the profile separately, add UTM parameters to the website link so that traffic shows up as its own source in Google Analytics. We explain what else a good contact page needs in our corporate website checklist.

Local search tips to rank higher on Google Maps

Google says openly that it ranks local results on three main factors: relevance (how well the profile matches the search), distance (how close the business is to the searcher) and prominence (how well known and trusted the business is). You can read the details on Google's local ranking tips page. You cannot change distance, but you can strengthen the other two.

To stand out for a search such as "web design Bursa" or "furniture Nilüfer" (Nilüfer is a district of Bursa, a major city in north-west Türkiye):

• Match categories and services to the search. Your target search should line up with your primary category.
• Create local pages on your website. A page describing the service you offer in your city or district, with real projects and information, strengthens your profile's relevance. Our Bursa web design page is built on this idea.
• Keep reviews coming. Customers naming the product or service in their own words is a natural relevance signal. Do not try to steer it; just ask for reviews.
• Get listed in local sources. Accurate listings with chambers of commerce, industry associations, local news sites and directories boost prominence.
• Keep the profile active. New photos, current hours and answered questions give the impression of a living business.

In sectors such as furniture and hotels, customers arriving from the map carry real weight. You can read about our approach on our furniture and hotels pages. To see how local signals work alongside general SEO, read how to rank on the first page of Google.

Common Google Business Profile mistakes

• Adding a city or service keyword to the business name.
• Creating more than one profile for the same business.
• Using a virtual office or PO box address you do not actually work from.
• Opening the profile and never replying to reviews.
• Forgetting to update it after a move, a phone change or holiday closures.

Even with a strong profile, the effort is wasted if the website you send customers to is slow or awkward on mobile. You can check your site for free with Site X-Ray, our website audit tool, and if you want a team to manage your local visibility on an ongoing basis, take a look at Fietto Creative's digital continuity service.

Frequently asked questions