How do I prepare a Google Business Profile for a new location?

What should I check before I create a profile?

A new location must represent an eligible business that makes in-person contact with customers during its stated hours, subject to Google's listed exceptions. An address by itself does not make a location eligible.¹

Check these conditions before you choose an add path:

• The business meets customers in person during its stated hours. Google also allows some exceptions, including ATMs, video-rental kiosks, express mail drop boxes, seasonal businesses with permanent year-round signage, and delivery-only food services that meet Google's conditions.¹
• The business is not an online-only business, a lead-generation company, a rental or for-sale property, or an ongoing service, class, or meeting at a place the business cannot represent. Google also excludes a remote P.O. box or mailbox address. An age-restricted business without a storefront cannot use a service-area profile for products or services such as alcohol, cannabis, or weapons.¹
• The profile will describe the business as it exists in the real world, with an accurate address or service area and the fewest categories needed to describe its core business.⁴

If the new site has not opened yet, use Google Business Profile opening date setup for that separate timing question. For the profile itself, use the real-world location and operation that meet Google's eligibility and representation rules.^1,4

How do I tell a second location from a duplicate or a relocation?

Search Google Search and Google Maps before adding the location, then choose the action that matches what already exists. A second address, another Google Account, or another service does not automatically justify another profile.^4,3

Google says a duplicate profile may not show on Search or Maps. Its examples include an existing verified profile for the same business, multiple profiles with the same address, and multiple profiles for the same business that offer different services.³

If a same-business duplicate already exists, do not remove it casually. Removing the wrong profile can remove its content and linked managers. A merge request is reviewed, works only when the profiles represent the same business with the same information, combines reviews, and may lose review replies.³

For a business that travels to customers without a storefront, Google allows one service-area business profile. A business that serves customers at its location can use a hybrid profile when the location and service area both accurately represent the operation.⁴

How should I represent the new location?

Use the real-world location, address, service area, signage, staffing, and customer access that customers will actually encounter. A virtual office or an unstaffed coworking address is not a substitute for an operating location.⁴

For a customer-facing location, enter the actual, precise address. A virtual office where the business does not operate is not eligible. A coworking office must have clear signage, receive customers during business hours, and be staffed during those hours by the business's own staff.⁴

For a service-area location, use the service-area model when customers do not visit the business at its base. When a service business has multiple locations, each profile needs its own separate service area and separate staff. Choose the fewest categories needed to describe the core business, rather than creating a profile for each service.^4,3

Before you submit the location, write down the official business name, address or service area, category, customer-facing hours, and the Google Account that should own it. This checklist is a practical safeguard against submitting details that do not match the operation.

How do I add, claim, or request ownership?

Use the add path only when no profile exists, the claim path for an existing unverified profile, and the ownership path for an existing verified profile controlled by someone else. These paths solve different ownership states.^2,5

How do I add a profile that does not exist?

1. Go to business.google.com/add.²
2. Select Add your business to Google.²
3. Enter the business details and follow the on-screen instructions.²
4. Select the verification option Google offers and follow the on-screen steps.²

Confirm that the address is correct and meets Google's guidelines before submitting the new location.²

How do I claim an unverified profile?

1. Open Google Maps on a computer.²
2. Search for the business name and city.²
3. Select Claim this business, then Manage now.²
4. Select a verification option and follow the on-screen instructions.²

Claim the profile that already represents the location. This is not a second-location workflow.²

How do I request ownership of a verified profile?

For a storefront or hybrid business, go to business.google.com/add, enter the business name and address, select the business, choose Request Access, complete the form, and select Submit. You must be authorized to manage the business.⁵

For a service-area business without a physical shop or office, use Google's support route and enter Transfer ownership of listing in the help request. Google emails the request to the current owner, who has 3 days to respond. After 3 days without a response, a claim option may appear, but Google says it is not always available.⁵

How should I organize access for multiple profiles?

Give each person their own Google Account, and use a business group when multiple users manage a set of profiles. Do not share a username or password.^8,9

If you are new to Business Profile and need to manage multiple businesses, Google recommends creating a business group in Business Profile Manager. If you have 2 or more profiles, select Create group in the top right, then add, verify, and manage the profiles through that group. A person added to the group as an owner or manager can access all current and future profiles placed in the group, so add group owners or managers only when that scope is intended.⁸

To add a person to an individual profile:

1. Go to the Business Profile.⁹
2. Select More → Business Profile settings → People and access.⁹
3. Select Add.⁹
4. Enter the person's email address.⁹
5. Under Access, select Owner or Manager.⁹
6. Select Invite.⁹

Owners have full control. A profile can have multiple owners but only one primary owner. Managers have most of the same profile access, but they cannot add or remove users or remove the profile.⁹

How do I complete verification without resetting the process?

Use the verification method Google shows, because Google chooses the available methods and may require more than one. The options depend on the business type, public information, region, and business hours, and they cannot be changed manually.⁶

Google may offer phone or text, email, live video, or mail verification. Live video is not available to every business. If Google offers it, complete the call during the location's business hours and be ready to show the location, business or equipment, and proof that you manage the business.⁶

If Google offers postcard verification:

• Most codes arrive within 14 days, but this is not a guaranteed delivery time.⁶
• Codes expire after 30 days.⁶
• Do not edit the business name, address, or category while waiting, because those changes invalidate the code.⁶
• Do not request a new code unless you are ready for Google to invalidate the previous code and send a new one.⁶

After you complete the verification steps, Google says its review can take up to 5 business days, although rare reviews can take longer. Google also says instant verification can happen through website verification with Google Search Console or through bulk verification. If Get verified appears again, the profile was not completely verified and should be verified again.⁶

What should I check after verification?

Sign in to the associated Google Account, check the profile in Google Search and Google Maps, and confirm that the public business information is correct, complete, and up to date. Only verified businesses can show business information on Maps and Search.⁷

Use this launch check:

1. In Google Search, search for the business name and city or search for my business.⁷
2. In Google Maps, search for the business name and city.⁷
3. Confirm that the displayed name, address or service area, category, and other customer-facing details match the real location.⁷
4. Record the query, searcher location, date, and result so you can tell a display change from a change in the underlying operation.

Google says rankings for new businesses can take up to a month to appear in search results, and edits can take up to 3 days to appear. Those are Google's timing statements, not a promise of a ranking position, traffic, or customer volume. A profile that violates Google's guidelines can be disabled or suspended and will not show to users until the issue is resolved.⁷