Updated: 13 November, 2026
- What is a Google Business Profile?
- Who can have a Google Business Profile?
- How to set up your profile properly
- 1. Add or claim your business
- 2. Use your real-world business name
- 3. Choose categories carefully
- 4. Keep hours and details accurate
- 5. Verify your business
- What affects how you appear in local results?
- How your profile and website work together
- Rules that can get your profile into trouble
- Frequently asked questions
- Is a Google Business Profile free?
- Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?
- Can I have a profile if I work from home or travel to customers?
- How do I get more reviews?
- Can I pay to appear first on Google Maps?
When someone in Liverpool searches for a plumber, a café or an accountant, Google often shows a map and a short list of local businesses before the usual website results. Those listings come from a Google Business Profile. If you run a business in Liverpool or Merseyside, it is one of the first things worth getting right, and it is free to set up. This guide explains what a Google Business Profile is, who can have one, how to set it up properly and how it works alongside your website.
What is a Google Business Profile?
According to Google's own help pages, a Business Profile is how you manage your business's presence on Google. Customers see it in local results on Google Maps and Search, and it gives them the information they use to decide where to go: your address, opening hours, category and more.
You can add or claim your business at no charge. That makes it very different from paid advertising. It also does not replace a website, because the profile is a short summary and your site is where you explain your services in full. Think of the profile as your shop window on Google and your website as the shop itself.
Who can have a Google Business Profile?
Google's guidelines say a business needs "a physical location that customers can visit, or travels to customers where they are". In practice that covers:
Shops, cafés, salons and offices that customers visit.
Service-area businesses, such as tradespeople, mobile hairdressers or cleaners, who travel to customers. Google says these should have one profile for the central office or location with a designated service area, and that they should hide their address from customers.
Virtual offices are not eligible. P.O. boxes and mailboxes at remote locations are not acceptable addresses either. If you work from home and customers do not visit, the service-area route is likely to be the one that fits, but read the guidelines for your own situation.
How to set up your profile properly
The setup is simple, but small mistakes can cause trouble later. Work through these steps.
1. Add or claim your business
Search for your business name while signed in to a Google account, and choose to add it or claim an existing listing. Use an account that belongs to the business rather than a personal one, so you do not lose access if a member of staff leaves.
2. Use your real-world business name
Google's guidelines say your name should reflect your business's real-world name. Do not add marketing taglines, hours, phone numbers, web addresses or location details. Google warns that unnecessary extras in the name could result in your profile being suspended, so resist the urge to stuff in "Best Plumber Liverpool".
3. Choose categories carefully
Google advises using as few categories as possible and making each one as specific as possible. A useful test from the guidelines: pick categories that complete the sentence "This business IS a...", not "This business HAS a...".
4. Keep hours and details accurate
Add regular opening hours, and use special hours for bank holidays and events. Google says complete and accurate details make a profile more likely to appear in relevant searches, so check them whenever anything changes.
5. Verify your business
Verification tells Google you are authorised to represent the business, and Google says it makes your profile more likely to appear in search results. When you add or claim a business you will be offered a verification option; follow the on-screen steps, as the options can differ from one business to another.
What affects how you appear in local results?
Nobody outside Google controls where you will appear. What Google does publish is that local results rely mainly on three things:
Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone is searching for.
Distance: how far you are from the person searching.
Prominence: how well known your business is, which is influenced by links from other websites and by the number of reviews and the ratings they carry.
Google also states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. So the sensible approach is the dull one: keep the profile complete and accurate, reply to reviews, and add photos and videos that show what you really do.
How your profile and website work together
A profile gets people to your door or to your phone, and your website finishes the job. If someone clicks through from the map, they should land on a site that loads quickly on a phone, repeats the same address and opening hours, and makes the next step obvious. Keep the details identical in both places, because mismatched hours or addresses confuse customers.
A few practical points:
Link your profile to the most relevant page of your site, which is often the homepage or a dedicated location page.
Make sure your contact details are easy to find. Our guide to what pages a small business website should have covers the pages worth building first.
If you are planning a new site, a clear website brief helps make sure local details are included from day one.
If you would like help with the website side, Outible is a web design and app development agency based at Liverpool Science Park, 131 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. You can read about our web design service in Liverpool, or see our fixed-price Simple website at £1,500 (up to 10 pages), with hosting at £25 a month.
Rules that can get your profile into trouble
Google can change or remove information, or suspend a profile, when its guidelines are broken. Common pitfalls include:
Adding keywords or taglines to the business name.
Using a virtual office or a mailbox as your address.
Creating more than one profile for the same location.
Putting links, promotions, prices or sales offers in the business description, which Google does not allow.
If your profile is ever suspended, start with the guidelines and Google's help pages rather than creating a duplicate, which is likely to make things worse.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge. Be wary of anyone offering to sell you a top spot, as Google states there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?
A profile is a useful summary, but it cannot explain your services, show your work in detail or let you control the whole customer journey. Most businesses benefit from having both, with matching details.
Can I have a profile if I work from home or travel to customers?
Google's guidelines allow businesses that travel to customers, as service-area businesses with a designated service area, and these should hide their address. Virtual offices are not eligible. Check the guidelines for your circumstances.
How do I get more reviews?
Google says the number and rating of reviews influence prominence, and suggests replying to reviews. Check Google's current review policies before asking customers, and never offer rewards for reviews or write them yourself.
Can I pay to appear first on Google Maps?
No. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence. Focus on an accurate, complete profile and a useful website.
If you would like to talk about a website to go with your profile, get in touch.
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