A dentist opens a second practice, searches for it a week later, and finds a profile already on Google. It shows the wrong hours, a photo of the building next door, and a "Claim this business" link. Google builds profiles from whatever it can find, so an unclaimed profile is already public and already being filled in by other people.
Claiming it and completing every field is the fastest single improvement in local SEO. Google's own local ranking guidance says complete and accurate information is what it matches against a search.
Claim it, then prove you're real
Sign in with a Google account the business controls, not an employee's personal one, and search Google for the business name. You'll land in one of three cases. The profile exists and is unclaimed, so you claim it. It doesn't exist, so you add the business. Or someone else verified it, usually an ex-employee or an old agency, and you request access through the profile. The current owner gets time to respond before Google lets you proceed.
Verification proves to Google that the business is real and that you run it. Google chooses which methods to offer, and it documents a video recording of the premises, a live video call, phone or text, email and a postcard to the address. Video is now the common route, and Google asks to see the location, your signage or branded vehicle, and proof you manage the place, such as unlocking the door yourself or opening the till. Prepare those shots before you start, because a recording that skips one gets rejected.
Once you're verified, add a second owner from the business and give agencies manager access rather than ownership. A surprising number of "we lost our profile" stories end with a freelancer who left long ago and still owns it.
Name, address, phone and website must match everywhere
Google cross-checks these four fields against your website and every directory that lists you, so they need to say the same thing in every place.
- Name. The real-world name on your sign and your website, with nothing added. The suspension lesson covers why extra words here are the most common breach.
- Address. The place customers visit. If they don't visit because you go to them, clear the address and set your service areas instead; the service-area businesses lesson walks through that. Google's Business Profile guidelines say the area you serve shouldn't extend much beyond about two hours' driving time from where you're based, with exceptions for some business types.
- Phone. A local number that rings at this location. If you use a call-tracking number, keep the real number on the profile as well so the number Google sees still matches your website.
- Website. The page for this specific location: your homepage for a single site, the branch's own page for one of several. Google's guidelines don't allow a URL that redirects or refers people to another site.
The wider job of making these match across the web is NAP consistency, later in this track. For now, make the profile agree with the website.
The fields that decide relevance
Relevance is the part of local ranking you can move fastest, and a handful of fields drive it.
The primary category tells Google what kind of business you are. It matters enough to get its own lesson, so set it before you touch anything else.
The description is free text, and Google's help documentation allows up to 750 characters. Open with what you do and where, in the words a customer would search, then say what you're known for. The guidelines exclude links, promotions, prices and sales, and Google reviews the text before it goes live, so keep it factual.
Services and products come next: the named things you sell, each with a short description under its category. Hours matter more than people expect. Google's ranking guidance lists keeping them current as one of the things that helps, and a profile marked open when the door is locked produces exactly the one-star review you'd expect. Set regular hours and add special hours for holidays. If delivery or drive-through runs on different times, use the extra hours fields.
Attributes are the tick-box facts: wheelchair access, online appointments, on-site services, identity attributes such as women-owned. Only tick what's true. Add the opening date too, since it's a small trust signal and costs nothing.
The fields people leave empty
Look through a handful of profiles in your town and the same gaps appear: no description, no services, no products, no logo or cover photo, no special hours, no appointment link, attributes untouched. Each empty field is a question Google can't answer about you but can answer about the competitor who filled it in.
Two more things hide inside a claimed profile. Google proposes its own edits from third-party sources, shown as updates waiting for your review. Members of the public can also suggest edits, and Google sometimes applies them without asking you. Check both monthly and reject anything wrong before it becomes the public version.
Frequently asked questions
How do you fully optimize your Google Business Profile?
Claim and verify it with an account the business controls. Then make the name, address, phone and website match your sign and your site, and fill in the category, description, services, hours and attributes. Finish by reviewing the edits Google and the public propose, because a completed profile can still be changed under you.
How much does it cost to optimize a Google Business Profile?
This lesson asks for your time and care rather than a payment. Every field is something you fill in yourself, and the Local rank grid and Redirect checker mentioned above are free. If you hand the work to an agency, give them manager access and keep ownership yourself.
What is Google Business Profile optimization?
It's the work of making your profile complete, accurate and consistent with your website so Google can match it to a local search. Google's own ranking guidance points to complete and accurate information. An empty field is a question Google can't answer about you.
What to take away
- An unclaimed profile still exists and is being filled in by Google and the public; claiming it puts you in charge of what it says.
- Name, address, phone and website must match your sign, your site and your other listings, because Google cross-checks them.
- Category, description, services, hours and attributes are what Google matches against a search, so every empty field is lost relevance.
- Completing the profile is the start, not the end: Google and the public keep proposing edits, and someone has to review them.
Next
The primary category is the single field that decides which searches you can appear for, so pick it carefully in Categories and services.