HOW TO SET UP YOUR GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE

Before you do anything, Google your business name. Right now.

If a panel pops up on the right side with your address, phone number, and photos — you've already got a Google Business Profile. Someone might have created it for you, or Google might have automatically generated it.

If nothing shows up? That's why you're not getting found. You need to create one from scratch.

Head to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account. If you don't have one, create it. Use an email you actually check.

If your business already exists, Google will show you a listing to claim. Click "Claim this business" and follow the prompts.

If nothing comes up, click "Add your business to Google" and you'll start creating a new profile from scratch. It's free. Always has been, always will be.

Type your actual business name. Not "Best Electrician in Bairnsdale" or "Joe's Plumbing - 24/7 Emergency Service Gippsland." Just "Joe's Plumbing."

Keyword stuffing your business name used to work. Now it gets you penalised. Google knows what you're doing.

For category, be specific. "Electrician" not "Contractor." "Hairdresser" not "Beauty Salon." Google uses your primary category to decide when to show you in search results. Pick the wrong one and you won't show up when people search for what you actually do.

If customers come to you — a shop, a restaurant, a salon — enter your street address. Google will show you on the map and people can get directions.

If you go to customers — plumber, electrician, cleaner — you have two options. You can show your address if you're happy for people to know where you're based. Or you can hide it and just show your service areas instead.

Set your service areas properly. If you cover Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, and Sale — add them. This helps you show up when people in those areas search. Don't go overboard and add 50 towns you've never worked in. Google can tell when you're not actually servicing an area.

Use a local phone number. Not a 1300 number. People searching on Google Maps want to call a local business, not get redirected through a call centre.

Set your business hours accurately. If you're open Monday to Friday 9-5, put that. Don't leave it blank or put "Open 24 hours" when you're not. Wrong hours cost you customers. Someone drives to your shop at 4:30pm because Google says you're open until 5pm? You just lost a sale and got a bad review.

Update your hours for public holidays. Seriously. Google gives you the option to set special hours. Use it.

Google needs to verify you're actually a real business at that location. Most businesses get verified by postcard. Google mails you a code, you wait 5-7 days, you enter the code. That's it.

Some businesses can verify instantly by email, phone, or video. Google will tell you if you qualify. If they offer instant verification, take it. If not, order the postcard and wait.

Don't skip this step. Your profile won't show up properly on Google Maps until you're verified. You can still fill out the rest of your profile while you wait for the postcard, but you're invisible until that code goes in.

This is where most people drop the ball. They set up the basics and forget to add photos. Massive mistake.

Businesses with photos get more clicks. Google's own data shows it. People want to see what you look like before they contact you.

Add photos of your work, your team, your shopfront, your van, your workspace. Real photos. Not stock images of some American office building or a generic handshake. People can tell the difference.

And remember, most people finding you on Google Maps are on mobile. Your photos need to look good on a small screen. Check how they look on your phone before you upload them.

Google gives you a completion percentage at the top of your dashboard. Get it to 100%. It's not hard and it matters.

Fill out your business description. Tell people what you do and where you do it. 750 characters maximum. Use them.

Add your website URL if you have one. If you don't have a website, Google will generate a free one for you. It's basic, but it's better than nothing. Better yet, get a proper website built that actually brings in customers.

Select attributes — wheelchair accessible, outdoor seating, free Wi-Fi, whatever applies. Add your services with pricing if you want. The more complete your profile, the higher Google ranks you.

Reviews are one of the biggest ranking factors for Google Maps. More reviews = higher ranking. It's that simple.

Ask every happy customer to leave you a review. Don't be weird about it. Just ask. Send them a direct link to make it easy. You can find your review link in your Google Business Profile dashboard under "Get more reviews."

Reply to every review. Good ones, thank them. Bad ones, respond professionally and offer to fix the problem. Google sees that you're engaged with customers. It helps your ranking.

Don't buy fake reviews. Google's algorithm is good at spotting them and you'll get penalised. Just ask real customers. That's all you need.

Google Business Profile has a posts feature. It's like a mini social feed that shows up in your profile. Most people ignore it. That's a mistake.

Post a photo of a recent job. Announce a special. Share a customer testimonial. Just show Google you're alive and active.

Once a week is plenty. It doesn't need to be fancy or perfectly written. Just consistent. Google favours businesses that look active over ones that set up their profile three years ago and never touched it again.

Setting up your Google Business Profile isn't a one-and-done thing. It's ongoing. Update your photos every few months. Respond to reviews. Post occasionally. Keep your hours current.

Google rewards businesses that stay active. If you want to learn how to actually rank higher once your profile is set up, I wrote a full guide on optimising your Google Business Profile for local search.

That guide covers everything — NAP consistency, citation building, review strategy, the works. This post gets you set up. That one gets you ranking.

I've done this for businesses across Gippsland. Studio at 65 went from invisible to #1 for "Mallacoola hairdresser" after I set up their profile properly and built them a proper website. 274 clicks from Google in November.

Scallywags — same process. #1 for "Mallacoola restaurants." 1,475 clicks in a month. These aren't big cities. But for a local business in a regional area, that's massive.

It's not magic. It's just setting up your Google Business Profile properly, keeping it updated, and doing the basics right. Most businesses don't bother. That's why it works.

If you've gone through all these steps and something's not working, or you just don't have time to deal with it, I can help.

I'll do a free audit of your Google Business Profile and tell you what's wrong. No charge, no sales pitch. If it turns out you're doing everything right and just need to wait for Google to catch up, I'll tell you that too.

I'm not going to invent problems to sell you something. If you need help, I'll help. If you're fine, I'll tell you you're fine.

Get in touch here →

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