To appear in local Google search and on Google Maps, create a Google Business Profile, verify it, fill in its details accurately, choose the right category, add real photos, and ask your actual customers for reviews. Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
We reviewed Google's help pages in November 2026, and its rules change. Here you get the steps in order, what Google explicitly forbids, and a checklist to review your profile today.
Is your business eligible for a profile at all?
Not every business qualifies. Google's guidelines require a business to make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. That decides your type of profile:
| Your business | What to do |
|---|---|
| A place customers visit, such as a clinic, restaurant or showroom | A profile at the real address, with permanent signage |
| You go to the customer, such as repairs or cleaning | One profile with a service area, usually hiding the street address |
| Both an office and a service area | One profile for the office with its service area |
| Online store only, with no customer contact | Usually not eligible, so focus on regular SEO |
| A mailing address or virtual office you do not work from | Not eligible, and it may get the profile restricted |
Google accepts a co-working office only if it has clear signage, receives customers during business hours and is staffed by your team. This matters to many companies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia working from shared spaces.
How to set up and verify your Business Profile
- Search for your business first on Google Maps. If an old profile exists, claim it instead of creating another, since Google requires one profile per business.
- Use your real name as it appears on your sign and paperwork.
- Choose the primary category carefully, with as few extra categories as possible.
- Set the address or service area, phone number, website and hours.
- Verify the profile. Google decides which methods you can use, which may be phone, text, email, live video call or postcard. Review afterward can take up to 5 business days.
- Complete the details: services, description, attributes and photos.
Before a video call, prepare what Google asks for: a sign or street showing the location, your business or equipment, and proof you manage it, such as keys or staff-only areas. It is available only during the location's business hours.
The three factors behind local results and what to do about each
| Factor | What Google means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well the profile matches the search | The right category, written services and a clear description in customers' words |
| Distance | How far the business is from the searcher | An accurate address. No trick changes distance |
| Prominence | How well known the business is, including links, review count and ratings | Real reviews, replies to them, and mentions on trusted sites |
Distance explains something that puzzles many owners: you may rank first when searching from your office and not appear for a customer in another district. So do not judge by your own search. If you serve areas far from your address, your site's pages and local ads cover what the profile cannot reach. The wider plan is in an SEO plan for small companies.
Name, category and photos the way Google wants them
Name. Google says including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, such as taglines, phone numbers, locations and hours. If your name is "Al Noor Clinic", do not write "Al Noor Clinic for Cosmetic Dentistry in Maadi". Many are tempted because it can lift visibility for a while, but it exposes the profile to edits or restriction.
Category. Google asks for categories that complete "this business IS a", and not "this business HAS a". A dental clinic's category is dental clinic, even if it has parking. Do not use categories as keywords.
Photos. Google advises you to add photos and videos showing what you offer. Real photos of the front help customers find you, photos of the interior and team build trust, and your actual work explains the service. Avoid generated or copied images.
How to ask for reviews without breaking the rules
Reviews are a stated part of prominence, and the rules are strict. You can create a link or QR code to send to customers. Google forbids the following:
- Offering discounts, gifts or free services for a review, or for removing a bad one.
- Discouraging negative reviews or asking only happy customers.
- Buying reviews or having staff write them.
So do not build a system that first asks about satisfaction and then sends the link only to happy customers. It is simpler to send the link to every customer after the service. When replying, Google recommends being short and honest, and not promotional. On a negative review, mention the actual issue and what you did or will do, and move details to a private channel.
A checklist for your profile today
| Item | Confirm that |
|---|---|
| Ownership | The profile is under a company account, not only an employee or supplier |
| Verification | It is verified, with more than one manager |
| Duplicates | There are no duplicate profiles for the business |
| Name | It matches your sign, with no extra words |
| Category | It says what the business is, and there are few of them |
| Hours | They match reality, including holidays |
| Phone and website | Both work, and the link goes to the right page |
| Services | They are listed, with correct prices if you state them |
| Photos | Real and recent, including the front |
| Reviews | Someone answers them, and a link is ready for customers |
Start with ownership. If someone created the profile on a personal account and then left, getting it back can be hard. After setup, watch calls, direction requests and site clicks in the profile's performance report, and add the link to your measurement as in setting up conversion tracking.
Your next step
Search for your business today from the phone of someone outside the company, and check what appears against the list. Fix ownership, name and category first, then send the review link to your last ten customers. If you want a plan that ties the profile to your site and service pages and measures the effect, take a look at PlanKit's SEO service.