How to Set Up and Optimise Your Google Business Profile (Step by Step)

When someone searches for a business near them, Google shows a map and a short list of results before it shows any website. Those results come from Google Business Profiles. If you do not have one, or yours is half finished, you are missing from the place people look first.

A Google Business Profile is free. It takes about an hour to set up properly. This guide walks through each step, then covers the verification problems we see most often.

What a Google Business Profile does

It is the box that appears on Google Search and Google Maps with your name, address, phone number, opening hours, photos and reviews. People can call you, get directions or open your website from it, without ever visiting your site.

It matters for any business with a place customers can visit, and for service businesses that travel to customers. A shop, a clinic, a school, a restaurant, a plumber and a photographer can all use one.

Step 1: Create the profile

1. Sign in to a Google account that you will keep for the long term. Do not use an account that an employee or friend controls.
2. Search for “Google Business Profile” and choose to add your business.
3. Type your exact business name. Use the name on your sign, your receipts and your website. Do not add keywords such as “Best Cheap Plumber Douala”.
4. Choose whether customers can visit you, or whether you go to them, or both.
5. Enter your address if you have a place customers visit. If you work from home and do not want the address public, choose the service area option and hide it.

Step 2: Choose categories carefully

Your primary category is the strongest signal you give Google about what you do. Pick the most specific one that is true. “Italian restaurant” is better than “restaurant”. “Dental clinic” is better than “health”.

• Choose one primary category.
• Add secondary categories only for things you really offer, for example “Cake shop” as primary and “Bakery” as secondary.
• Do not add ten categories to look bigger. Extra categories that do not fit can hurt you.
• Look at your competitors. Search for your trade on Maps, open two or three profiles and see which primary category they use.

Step 3: Add services and products

Under the services section, list what you sell. Use plain names, a short description and a price or price range if you can. A hair salon might list “Braids”, “Wash and blow dry” and “Hair treatment”. A web studio might list “Business website” and “Online shop”.

If you sell goods, add products with a photo, a name and a price. This gives people a reason to tap through and gives Google more words to match with searches.

Step 4: Set your hours and contact details

Wrong hours are one of the top complaints on Google Maps. Check these every time something changes.

• Enter regular hours for each day, including days you are closed.
• Add special hours for public holidays and events.
• Use a phone number you actually answer. For many African businesses this is a mobile or WhatsApp number. Add it as your main number.
• Add your website address. If you do not have a site yet, see our web design service.
• Write the same name, address and phone number you use everywhere else online. Match spelling, abbreviations and punctuation.

Step 5: Write a clear business description

You get 750 characters. Only the first 250 or so show before the “more” link, so put the important part first.

Say what you do, where you do it and who you do it for. Mention one or two real facts, such as how long you have been open. Skip slogans and avoid links or promotions here, because Google may reject them.

Step 6: Upload real photos

Profiles with photos tend to get more calls and direction requests than profiles without them. Use your own photos, not stock images.

Add at least these:

• Your logo and a cover photo.
• The outside of your premises, taken from the street, so people can spot you.
• The inside, showing the space customers will walk into.
• Your team at work.
• Your products or finished jobs.

Use bright, sharp photos taken on a phone. Add new ones every month. A profile with photos from three years ago looks abandoned.

Step 7: Use posts

Posts are short updates that show on your profile. Use them for offers, events, new products and news. Keep each one to two or three sentences, add a photo and add a button such as “Call now” or “Learn more”.

Post once a week if you can. If that is too much, post twice a month. Posts do not guarantee higher rankings, but they show customers that you are active.

Step 8: Collect and answer reviews

Reviews are what people read before they call. Ask every happy customer, right after the job is done.

• Copy your review link from your profile and send it on WhatsApp or SMS.
• Ask in person too. A short, polite request works better than a long message.
• Never pay for reviews or write them yourself. Google removes them and can suspend your profile.
• Reply to every review. Thank the happy ones by name. Answer unhappy ones calmly, say what you will do and offer to talk offline.

Quick checklist

Item	Done when
Name	Matches your sign and website exactly
Categories	One specific primary, a few true secondary
Hours	Regular, special and holiday hours set
Phone and website	Number answered, link works
Services	Each service listed with a short description
Photos	At least 10 real photos, one new batch monthly
Reviews	Review link sent, every review answered

Common verification problems

Google needs to confirm that your business is real before your profile shows to everyone. This is where many people get stuck.

The postcard never arrives

Postcard verification relies on a reliable postal system. In many places it is slow or unavailable. Check the code request page for other methods, such as phone, email or video. If only postcards are offered and you have no street address, ask Google Business Profile support for another route.

No street address

Many streets in growing cities do not have formal names or numbers. Describe your location the way a local would, using a landmark. Then pin the exact spot on the map and check that the pin is correct.

Video verification fails

For video, Google asks you to film the outside of your business, your signage, the inside and proof that you operate there, such as equipment or stock. Record in one continuous take. Do not edit or cut it. If you have no sign, a printed banner usually helps.

Profile suspended

The usual causes are a name stuffed with keywords, a fake address, a virtual office, or details that do not match your real business. Fix the issue first, then file a reinstatement request with photos of your premises and your business registration if you have it.

Someone else already claimed it

If a listing for your business already exists, request ownership from the profile page. The current owner gets a notice. If they do not reply, Google may transfer it to you after verification.

Keep it up to date

A profile is not a one time job. Once a month, open it and check your hours, add a photo, post an update and answer new reviews. That takes about ten minutes.

If you want help, our SEO and digital marketing service includes local search setup. We are a studio based in Buea, Cameroon, and we work with clients on four continents. Message us on WhatsApp and we will tell you what your profile needs.

Your profile sends people to your website, so the site needs to be ready for them. Our website pricing guide explains what a site costs and what you get.