A complete, current step-by-step guide to setting up and verifying a Google Business Profile in 2026, covering the shift to video verification and what to do once your listing is live.
A Google Business Profile, still commonly called Google My Business, is the free listing that determines whether your business shows up when someone searches your name or something like "[your service] near me." This guide covers creating and verifying a profile for a single location from scratch. If you're managing more than one location, our guide on managing Google Business Profiles across multiple locations covers the additional structure that requires.
Go to google.com/business and sign in with a Google account you'll have permanent, long-term access to, not a personal account you might eventually lose access to. Enter your business name and check the dropdown that appears to confirm a profile for your business doesn't already exist somewhere you're not aware of, since claiming a duplicate creates problems later rather than solving them.
Select the business type that matches how customers actually reach you: a storefront customers visit, a service-area business you take to customers, or an online-only business. Choose a primary category from the dropdown that's as specific as your actual business allows. A more specific category consistently outperforms a broader one in local search, since it tells Google more precisely which searches your business is actually relevant to.
For a storefront, enter your exact address. For a service-area business without a public storefront, you'll instead define the specific areas you serve rather than a single address. Add your phone number and website URL if you have one. Keep this information identical to how it appears anywhere else your business is listed online, inconsistent name, address, or phone details across platforms is one of the most common things that quietly undermines local search performance.
Enter accurate business hours, including any seasonal or holiday variations you already know about. Write a business description in plain language a real customer would use, avoiding generic marketing phrasing that could describe any business in your category. Mention your city or neighborhood naturally within the description, since this is one of the signals Google uses to understand where you actually serve customers.
Verification proves to Google that your business is real and that you're actually authorized to manage the listing. Google selects the available verification method automatically based on your business type and location, you typically won't get to choose freely between options.
In 2026, video verification has become the most commonly required method for new profiles, replacing the postcard-first process many older guides still describe. If prompted for video verification, record one single, continuous, unedited take on a mobile device: for a storefront, start outside showing the exterior and signage, then walk inside showing the interior and any proof of operation. Offline-recorded videos uploaded after the fact are not accepted, the recording has to happen inside the verification flow itself.
If phone, SMS, or email verification is offered instead, complete it immediately once the option appears and enter the code as soon as you receive it. If postcard verification is required, expect delivery to take one to two weeks; requesting a new code immediately cancels the previous one, so wait a reasonable period before assuming a postcard is lost.
Once verified, add real, current photos, exterior, interior, team, and product or service photos, since profiles with recent photos consistently outperform ones running on old or missing images. Add your services or products with individual descriptions rather than a single generic list. Enable messaging if you want to field questions directly through the profile.
Creating the profile itself takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Verification timing varies significantly by method: video, phone, and email verification can complete within minutes to a few days, while postcard verification typically takes one to two weeks for delivery.
Use the "Request Access" or "Request Ownership" option Google provides on the existing listing. Fill out the form with your details and your actual relationship to the business, and Google will route the request to whoever currently manages the profile or begin its own verification process if the current owner doesn't respond.
Some basic details can typically be added during initial setup, but full editing access, responding to reviews, posting updates, and viewing performance insights, become available only after verification is complete. Google also increasingly locks address and category edits during an active verification request to prevent listings from being manipulated mid-process.
Once your profile is live and verified, our 12-point Local SEO Health Check covers exactly what to review to keep it performing well. If you're managing this across multiple locations, that's a distinct challenge covered in our multi-location GBP guide. If you'd rather have your profile set up, verified, and optimized by someone who does this daily, that's exactly what our Local SEO team handles as part of a free Growth Gap Analysis.
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