Google Business Profile
What is a Google Business Profile and why bother?
A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a free listing that shows your company details in Google Search and Google Maps. It is the only way into the map results, and the map pack is usually the first thing someone sees when searching for a service in their own area.
For a new company the profile is unusually good value, because it costs nothing but your own time. Getting a website to rank typically takes months. A business profile can start appearing in local searches within a few weeks of verification, because it competes in a different result list than your website does.
It does not replace a website, though. The profile says that you exist, where you are and how to reach you. The website says why you are worth choosing. People very often click through from the map result before making contact, so the two need to support each other.
Creating and verifying the profile step by step
You create it at google.com/business, using the Google account you want to own the profile permanently. Use a company account rather than a personal Gmail — moving ownership afterwards is tedious.
- Search for your company name first. Google may already have generated a profile from public business records. If a listing exists, claim it instead of creating a second one. Two profiles for one company split your visibility and confuse customers.
- Choose the primary category carefully. The category decides which searches your profile can appear in at all, and it is one of the few settings with a direct effect on ranking. Pick what you actually do, not the broadest option available. Secondary categories can be added later.
- Set a location or a service area. If customers come to you, give the address. If you travel to them, hide the address and define a service area by municipality. You do not have to publish a home address.
- Verify the profile. Verification is now usually done by video: you film the premises, your tools and something that ties you to the business. Postcard verification still exists in some sectors. Allow a few days, occasionally a couple of weeks.
An unverified profile is effectively invisible in search. This is the step most people leave half-finished.
What information to fill in
Fill in everything you can. Google favours complete profiles, and every empty field is a question the customer does not get answered.
- The name exactly as it is registered. Adding keywords to the name ("Company Ltd — plumbing Helsinki") breaks Google's terms and can get the profile suspended.
- Phone and website in the same format as everywhere else online. Contact details that contradict each other across services weaken local visibility.
- Opening hours, including exceptions. Wrong opening hours are the most common cause of a bad review that has nothing to do with your actual work.
- Services and descriptions. List services as separate entries. They appear on the profile and help Google understand what you do.
- Photos. At minimum a logo, a cover image and a few shots of the work or the premises. Real photos clearly outperform stock, and they do not have to be professionally taken.
Update the details whenever something changes. A profile untouched for a year reads to a customer as a company that may have closed.
Reviews and how to ask for them
Reviews affect both ranking and whether someone feels confident enough to get in touch. Three honest reviews beat none by a wide margin, so start with your first customers.
Keep the asking simple: when the job is done and the customer is happy, send a short message with a direct link to the review form. You can copy that link from the profile dashboard. Every extra click loses people.
A few rules are worth remembering. You may not pay for reviews or reward them with a discount — that breaches Google's terms. Avoid asking everyone at once, too: a steady trickle looks more natural than ten reviews on the same day.
Reply to all of them, including the bad ones. A calm, factual reply to criticism often convinces a reader more than the five-star praise above it.
The most common mistakes
- Leaving the profile unverified. Created but unverified produces nothing.
- Keywords in the business name. The most common reason for suspension.
- Duplicate listings. An old auto-generated entry left running alongside the new one.
- Contact details in different formats. A phone number written three ways splits the signal.
- No photos. A profile without images gets skipped in favour of a competitor.
- Ignoring reviews. Silence reads as indifference.
Read also
- [Ensimmäiset asiakkaat verkosta: Google Ads vai hakukoneoptimointi](/blogi/ensimmaiset-asiakkaat-verkosta)
The business profile is the fastest single way to make a new company visible locally, and it is free. Set aside one focused hour: create it, verify it, fill in every field and add photos. After that it is enough to update details when something changes and to reply to reviews. See the full package: [digital presence for a new business from one partner](/aloittavalle-yritykselle).
Book a free call
If you would rather have the profile, domain, email and website handled together and in the right order, [book a free call](/yhteystiedot) and we will go through your situation in 30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I create a Google Business Profile without premises?
Yes. If you travel to customers rather than receiving them at your own location, hide the address and define a service area by municipality instead. You do not have to publish a home address. For verification Google will still want to see some evidence of the business, such as your tools or branded vehicles.
How long before the profile shows up in search?
Verification typically takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the method. After that the profile usually starts appearing in local searches within a few weeks. Reaching the top spots in a competitive sector or a large city takes longer, but simply being visible does not require the months of waiting a website does.
Is a business profile enough, or do I also need a website?
The profile says that you exist and how to reach you. It does not explain why you are the right choice, and you cannot control how it looks. A customer considering a larger purchase almost always moves from the profile to a website before making contact. Do the profile first because it is free and fast, but over time you need both.
Published · Updated · Kaspar Eevald
Bluefour – Helsinki digital agency | hello@bluefour.fi | +358 45 850 4236