When a customer searches for “plumber in Rouen” or “bakery open on Sunday”, the first results displayed are often business profiles on Google and Google Maps, with opening hours, reviews and directions. For a very small business, a shop or a tradesperson, this profile is one of the most direct levers of visibility. Bpifrance Création points out that creating one is free and that the first page of results concentrates more than 90% of clicks. Here is how to create it, get it verified and keep it up to date without breaking Google’s rules.
Creating the profile step by step
The official procedure, detailed in the Google Business Profile help pages, is carried out from a Google account, ideally linked to an address on the company’s domain.
- Sign in to your Google account, or create an account if you do not have one.
- Open the creation page, business.google.com/create.
- Enter the name of the business and select it from the suggestions. If it has already been verified by someone else, you can claim ownership of it.
- Search for your business category, then click Next.
- Indicate whether you receive customers with staff present during opening hours. If so, enter the address or place a marker on the map.
- If you travel to your customers, define your service area: up to 20 cities, postcodes or areas, which Google recommends limiting to two hours’ travel.
- Add a phone number specific to the business, not the number of an external call centre, and your website address.
- Confirm, finish, then start verification from the banner, or choose to do it later.
Google sets a strict rule: only one profile per business within the same metropolitan area. Duplicates can lead to the account being suspended, and the profile is only visible to customers once it has been verified.
Getting your profile verified: methods and timeframes
According to the help page dedicated to verification, the method is determined automatically by Google and cannot be chosen. Several options exist:
- Phone or text message: a code is sent to the business’s number. Interactive voice response systems do not receive it.
- Email, to the address shown on screen.
- Video: Google recommends video verification when the business is eligible for it. There is also a live video call, possible only during opening hours: you must be on site and prove that you are the owner.
- Postcard bearing a five-digit code, which generally arrives within 14 days and expires after 30 days.
The verification review can take up to 5 working days. While waiting for a postcard, do not change the name, address or category, and do not request a new code: the previous one would be cancelled. Finally, Google states that it will never ask you for this code: do not share it with anyone, not even with the people who manage your profile.
The rules not to break
Google’s guidelines for representing your business are precise, and failing to follow them can cost you the profile:
- The name must be the one your customers know, without added keywords, slogans, phone numbers or web addresses. An “inflated” name is grounds for suspension.
- The address must be physical and accurate: PO boxes and virtual offices are rejected. An office in a coworking space is accepted only if it is clearly signposted, you receive your customers there and staff work there during opening hours.
- Home-based service providers must hide their address and specify a service area.
- Categories must be as few and as specific as possible, describing what the business is, not what it sells.
- The description must contain no promotion, prices or links.
Climbing the local results
According to Google’s help on local ranking, three main factors count: the relevance of the profile to the search, the distance from the user and prominence, i.e. how well known the business is. It is impossible to obtain a better ranking by paying for it. The recommended levers are therefore concrete: complete and accurate information, a verified profile, up-to-date opening hours, including exceptional closures, photos and reviews.
On this last point, the page dedicated to managing reviews states that you can request them using a link or a QR code, reply to them directly from the profile and report those that break the rules. Bpifrance Création advises combining the profile with other free actions (an optimised website, business directories, local sites) and displaying the same name, address, phone number and website everywhere: a complete, well-maintained profile is better positioned than a neglected one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Google profile cost?
Nothing: creating one is free, Bpifrance Création points out. Google Ads are a separate paid service, whose visibility stops when the budget runs out; Google states that a better local ranking cannot be bought.
I work from home: do I have to display my address?
No. If you do not receive customers, Google asks you to hide the address and specify a service area, limited in principle to two hours’ travel.
A profile already exists for my business: what should I do?
Search for it during creation: if it has already been verified by a third party, Google’s help lets you claim ownership rather than create a second one, which would be a duplicate.
How long before the profile appears?
It becomes visible after verification. The review can take up to 5 working days, and a postcard generally arrives within 14 days.
Sources
- Créer une fiche d'établissement — Google Business Profile Help, 2026-11-12
- Valider votre établissement sur Google — Google Business Profile Help, 2026-11-12
- Conseils pour améliorer votre classement local sur Google — Google Business Profile Help, 2026-11-12
- Consignes relatives à la représentation de votre établissement sur Google — Google Business Profile Help, 2026-11-12
- Gérer les avis client — Google Business Profile Help, 2026-11-12
- Comment référencer son entreprise sur Google ? — Bpifrance Création, 2026-02-01