How to Add Your Business to Google Maps and Create a Google Business Profile
To add your business to Google Maps, create a free Google Business Profile: go to business.google.com/add, sign in with a Google account, choose “Add your business to Google”, enter your business name, category, location or service area and contact details, then verify that you own the business. Once Google approves the verification, your business can appear on Google Maps and in Google Search. If your business already shows on Maps, claim that listing instead of creating a second one.
The steps below follow Google’s own help pages for adding or claiming a Business Profile, verification and the guidelines for representing your business, with notes for Canadian businesses.
What is a Google Business Profile?
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in the local results of Google Search: name, address or service area, phone, hours, website, photos, reviews and posts. It is how most people find a local business’s phone number and directions on their phone. Adding or claiming a profile costs nothing.
Before you start: check whether your business is already on Maps
Search Google Maps for your business name and city. Google sometimes creates listings from public information, and a former owner or employee may have made one. If you find it:
- On a computer: open the listing, select “Claim this business”, then “Manage now”.
- In the Google Maps app: open the listing, tap “About”, then “Claim this business” and “Manage now”.
- If it is already verified by someone else: you can request ownership from the current owner through the same screens.
Claiming keeps the existing reviews and history. Creating a new profile next to an old one makes a duplicate, which splits reviews and can lead Google to suspend a listing.
How to add your business to Google Maps, step by step
- Sign in. Use a Google account the business controls, ideally one tied to a business email, not a staff member’s personal account. Add a second owner later so you never lose access.
- Go to business.google.com/add and choose “Add your business to Google”.
- Enter the business name. Use your real-world name exactly as it appears on your sign, website and invoices. Google does not allow extra keywords, slogans, hours or locations in the name.
- Choose a primary category. Pick the category that describes what the business is (for example “Plumber” or “Dentist”). The first category you choose is your primary category, and you can add up to nine more later.
- Add your location or service area. If customers visit you, enter the street address. If you travel to customers (contractors, cleaners, mobile services), add the areas you serve and hide your address.
- Add a phone number and website. Use a local or toll-free number that is answered during your hours.
- Verify. Choose one of the verification options Google offers you and complete the steps.
How Google verifies your business
Google decides which methods you can use, based on your category, location and history. You may be offered one or more of these:
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Phone or text | Google calls or texts the business number with a code you enter on the profile. |
| Google emails a verification link or code to the address shown on screen. | |
| Video recording | You record a short continuous video showing your location, signage, tools or equipment and proof you manage the business. |
| Live video call | A Google support representative guides you through showing the location and proof of ownership. Calls are only available during your business hours. |
| Postcard by mail | Google mails a code to your business address. Not offered to every business. |
We plan and deliver Google Business Profile management for businesses in Toronto and across Canada, scoped in writing after a free review.
How long does verification take?
Google says verification reviews take up to 5 business days after you finish the steps, and on rare occasions longer. Postcard codes usually arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. While you wait for a postcard, do not edit your business name, address or category, because the code stops working if you do.
Address rules that trip up small businesses
- No P.O. boxes or mailboxes. A post office box or a mailbox at a remote location is not an acceptable address.
- No virtual offices. An address you rent for mail but do not operate from does not qualify.
- Home-based businesses. If customers do not come to your home, set it up as a service-area business and hide the address.
- One profile per location. Do not create more than one profile for the same location.
- Suite numbers. Include your unit number so the pin and directions are right, especially in plazas and office towers.
Can I run two businesses from the same address?
Yes, if they are genuinely separate businesses. Google’s guidelines say co-located businesses, such as a pharmacy inside a supermarket, should each have their own profile, with a different name and only the categories that describe each business. What Google does not allow is a second profile for the same business to cover more services or keywords. If you run a hair salon and a separate nail studio from one unit, each with its own name, signage and customers, they can have separate profiles. If it is one business offering both services, it gets one profile with both categories.
The same thinking applies to professionals. An individual practitioner who serves the public directly, such as a lawyer or physiotherapist in a group practice, may have their own profile with only their name as the title, while the practice keeps its own. Support staff should not create profiles.
What to fill in after you are verified
- Hours, including holiday hours, so people do not arrive to a locked door
- Description of up to 750 characters: what you do, who you serve and where, in plain words
- Services or products with short descriptions
- Photos of your storefront, team, work and vehicles, taken by you
- Attributes such as accessibility features and languages spoken
- Booking or appointment link if you take bookings online
Then keep it active: answer reviews, post updates and keep hours current. Our Google Business Profile optimization guide covers what to do once the profile is live.
Common mistakes when adding a business to Google Maps
- Adding city names or keywords to the business name (“Smith Plumbing Toronto Best Plumber”)
- Creating a new profile instead of claiming an existing one
- Using a personal Gmail of an employee who later leaves
- Showing a home address when you serve customers at their location
- Using a different phone number or business name on the website than on the profile
- Choosing a broad category (“Contractor”) when a precise one exists (“Roofing contractor”)
Other maps to add your business to
Google Maps is the biggest, but iPhone users see Apple Maps by default. Our guide to adding your business to Apple Maps walks through Apple Business Connect, and keeping the same name, address and phone on both helps customers and search engines trust the details.
If you would rather have the setup, verification and monthly upkeep handled for you, that is what our Google Business Profile management team does for businesses in Toronto and across Canada.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add my business to Google Maps?
Go to business.google.com/add, sign in with a Google account the business controls, choose "Add your business to Google", enter your name, category, address or service area, phone and website, then complete the verification Google offers. After approval your business can appear on Google Maps and in Search.
What is a Google Business Profile?
It is the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in Google's local search results, with your name, address or service area, phone, hours, website, photos, reviews and posts. Adding or claiming one is free.
Is it free to add a business to Google Maps?
Yes. Google says adding or claiming a Business Profile is free. You only pay if you choose to run ads.
How long does Google Business Profile verification take?
Google says verification reviews take up to 5 business days after you complete the steps, and occasionally longer. If you verify by postcard, most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days.
Can I run two businesses from the same address?
Yes, if they are genuinely separate businesses with their own names. Google's guidelines say co-located businesses should each have their own profile using only the categories that describe each one. One business may not create a second profile just to cover extra services.
Can I add my business to Google Maps without a physical address?
Yes. A service-area business that visits customers, such as a contractor or mobile cleaner, can list the areas it serves and hide its address. A P.O. box or a virtual office address is not allowed.
Why is my business not showing on Google Maps?
The most common reasons are that the profile is not verified yet, a verification review is still pending, the profile was suspended for a guideline issue, or the business is listed under a different name or a duplicate. Searching your exact business name and city on Maps shows whether a listing exists.
How do I claim a business that is already on Google Maps?
Find the listing on Google Maps, select "Claim this business" and then "Manage now", and follow the verification steps. In the app, tap "About" on the listing first. If someone else already verified it, you can request ownership through the same screens.
Can I use my home address on Google Maps?
Only if customers visit you there. If you work from home but serve customers at their locations, set the profile up as a service-area business and hide your address.
How many categories can a Google Business Profile have?
One primary category plus up to nine additional categories. The first category you choose is the primary one, so pick the one that best describes what the business is.