Google My Business is now called Google Business Profile, and setting it up is still free. It takes a few minutes at business.google.com/add, but until you prove the business is yours, you cannot edit it and it is less likely to show up in Maps. That review can take up to 5 business days. If it is already verified and still does not appear, check the address, category, and name first.
Below you'll find step-by-step setup, how verification works, which category to choose, and the reasons why a listing doesn't show up on Maps, all taken from Google's official help.
Google My Business is now your Google Business Profile
Google changed the name in late 2021. What used to be Google My Business, or Google Mi Negocio in Spanish, became Google Business Profile. Google also announced that its own app would be replaced by managing the profile from Search and Maps.
Not much changes for you. The listing is the same as always, the one that appears on the right when someone searches for your business or on the map when they search for something nearby. But if you're looking for help, search with the new name, because that's what Google's official help uses.
A quick tip to find your listing fast. Sign in to Google with the account you used to create it and search for “my business”. If it's yours, the panel to edit it will appear.
How to create your listing, step by step
First of all, you need a Google account. It can be a Gmail account or your business email. Then there are two paths, depending on whether your business already appears on Maps or not.
If it doesn't appear anywhere, you create it yourself.
- Go to business.google.com/add with your Google account.
- Click add your business and fill in the name, category, address or service area, phone number, and website.
- Choose one of the verification methods Google offers you and follow the steps.
If your business already appears on Maps but no one has claimed it, for example because a customer added it, you don't need to create another one. Search for your business name and city on Maps, open it, and click claim this business. Then verify it just like in the previous case.
There's a third situation, the most awkward one. If the listing is already verified by someone else, such as a former partner or the agency that built your website, you have to ask the person who owns it for ownership. Google has a process for requesting it, but you avoid the hassle if the listing is in your name from the start.
Verification, the step where most people get stuck
Verifying means proving to Google that the business exists and that it's yours. Without that step you can't change your hours or reply to reviews, and the listing is less likely to show up in searches.
Google chooses which methods to offer you based on the type of business, the area, and other details, and they can't be changed. These are the ones you may find.
| Method | What do you need? | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or SMS | Answer the business phone | An automated phone system won't receive the code |
| Access to the email Google shows you | Make sure it's an email you actually use | |
| Video call | Be at your premises during opening hours | Show the sign, the street and something only staff use |
| Video recording | A video showing the same as in the video call | Google recommends it if it offers it to you |
| Letter | A correct postal address | It takes up to 14 days and the code expires after 30 |
With the letter there's a very easy mistake to make. While you wait for the code, don't change the name, address or category on the profile, because the code stops working. Don't request another code out of impatience either, because the new one cancels the previous one and the process takes longer.
When you finish, Google reviews what you submitted. That review can take up to 5 business days, although sometimes the profile is verified right away.
Which category to choose
The category tells Google what your business is, and it helps people who are looking for exactly what you do find you. Google gives four guidelines.
- Use as few categories as possible to describe what you do.
- Choose the most specific one available for your main activity.
- Don't use categories as if they were keywords to show up in more searches.
- If none fits, choose a more general one.
The test Google suggests is completing the sentence “this business is…” and not “this business has…”. One of our examples. If you have a hair salon that also sells shampoo, your category is hair salon. Selling products doesn't make you a cosmetics store.
The same goes for the name. It has to be the one shown on your sign and on your invoices, without adding the city, the service or phrases like “the best in Málaga”. Google prohibits that extra information and can even suspend the profile for it.
Why your business doesn't show up on Google Maps
If you've already registered the profile and can't find yourself, check these causes. They all come from Google's rules.
| What happens | Why you don't show up | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The profile isn't verified | Google doesn't know if the business is real | Finish verification |
| You used a virtual office or a PO box | Google doesn't accept them as an address | Use your real premises or a service area |
| You work at the customer's home and showed your address | Businesses that travel to customers must hide it | Remove the address and set your service area |
| The name has extra words | It may get suspended | Keep the name from the sign |
| There are two profiles for the same business | There can only be one per business | Request removal of the duplicate |
| Information is missing or wrong | Google shows complete and accurate profiles first | Check the address, hours, and category |
If you work from home, like a plumber or an electrician, you can still have a profile. The difference is that you do not show your address and you mark the areas you serve, which should not be more than a two-hour drive from your base.
And there is a case that is not an error. Maybe your profile is fine, but when someone searches for “physical therapist” from another neighborhood, others show up first. Google ranks local results mainly by how well your profile matches what they are looking for, by the distance to the person searching, and by how well known your business is, for example through its reviews.
That ranking cannot be bought. Google says you cannot pay to rank better in local results, so a complete profile, reviews, and a website that talks about what you do are what move your position. In how much SEO costs we explain what can be done and what it costs.
If you prefer us to handle it, local SEO costs from €490/month + VAT, with your profile complete and up to date, reviews, directories, and a report every month. And if you also need a website, the full website from €1,500 + VAT already includes Google Maps setup. In local SEO you can see what it includes, and in pricing, everything else. We reply Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 19:00, in under 2 hours.
He works from home, put his home address on the profile, and almost never shows up when someone searches for a plumber in nearby towns.
We remove the address from the profile and mark the municipalities he serves as his service area. We leave the name as it is on his van and the plumber category, with no extra words. We prepare a message for him to ask for reviews after each job, and we reply to the ones that come in.
from€490/month
Sources
- Google renamed My Business to Business Profile in November 2021 (accessed Nov 3, 2026)
- The dedicated app is replaced by managing the profile from Search and Maps (Nov 3, 2026)
- The current name in Google Help is Google Business Profile (Nov 3, 2026)
- The profile can be added or claimed at no cost (Nov 3, 2026)
- You sign up at business.google.com/add (Nov 3, 2026)
- To claim it, search for the name and city in Maps (Nov 3, 2026)
- If the profile is already verified, you must request ownership from the current owner (Nov 3, 2026)
- You need a Google account (Nov 3, 2026)
- Search for my business to find your profile (Nov 3, 2026)
- Without verification, you cannot edit the profile or interact with customers (Nov 3, 2026)
- Google chooses the verification methods (3-Nov-2026)
- An automated phone system cannot receive the code (3-Nov-2026)
- Video call only during business hours (3-Nov-2026)
- During the video call, signs, the street, and staff areas are shown (3-Nov-2026)
- Google recommends video verification if available (3-Nov-2026)
- Letter: most codes arrive in 14 days (3-Nov-2026)
- Letter: the code expires after 30 days (3-Nov-2026)
- Letter: do not change the name, address, or category while it is on its way (3-Nov-2026)
- Letter: requesting another code cancels the previous one (3-Nov-2026)
- Verification review can take up to 5 business days (3-Nov-2026)
- Sometimes Google verifies instantly (3-Nov-2026)
- Verifying makes it more likely to appear in results (3-Nov-2026)
- Complete and accurate profiles are more likely to appear (3-Nov-2026)
- Inaccurate information can prevent the profile from appearing (3-Nov-2026)
- Local results depend on relevance, distance, and popularity (3-Nov-2026)
- Reviews count toward how well known the business is (3-Nov-2026)
- You cannot pay to rank better in local results (3-Nov-2026)
- Categories help you find accurate results (3-Nov-2026)
- Categories: as few as possible (3-Nov-2026)
- Categories: the most specific ones (3-Nov-2026)
- Categories: not as keywords (3-Nov-2026)
- Categories: if none fit, use a more general one (3-Nov-2026)
- Categories: what the business is, not what it has (3-Nov-2026)
- Name: the real one, as shown on the storefront and office materials (3-Nov-2026)
- Name: too much information can get the profile suspended (3-Nov-2026)
- Address: PO boxes are not accepted (3-Nov-2026)
- Address: a virtual office cannot have a profile (3-Nov-2026)
- Businesses that travel to customers must hide the address (3-Nov-2026)
- Service area within a two-hour drive (3-Nov-2026)
- Only one profile per business (3-Nov-2026)
