How to Set Up a Google
Business Profile for a New Business
How to set up a Google Business Profile for a brand new business properly, from creating it and adding complete details to choosing categories, verifying and filling it out so it ranks and converts from the start.
To set up a Google Business Profile for a new business, create the profile with a Google account, enter your name, category, location and contact details, then verify the business.
Setting it up properly means going beyond the basics: adding your hours, services, attributes, photos and a clear description and choosing accurate categories, so the profile is complete from day one.
A complete, well set up profile ranks better and converts more customers than a bare one, so taking the time to fill in everything at the start gives a new business the strongest possible footing in local search.
Setting up properly from the start
Setting up a Google Business Profile for a new business is one of the most valuable early steps you can take. Doing it properly, not just the bare minimum, sets you up to rank and win customers from the start. Here is how to set up a new profile the right way.
Create the profile
Start by creating the profile with a Google account through the Google Business Profile setup. You enter your business name to begin, which starts building your listing. For a new business with no existing listing, this is the starting point rather than claiming an existing one.
This is the starting point. Adding a business is covered in How Do I Add My Business to Google?
Choose accurate categories
Pick a primary category that best describes your main business, then add relevant secondary categories. Categories are one of the strongest ranking signals, telling Google which searches you belong in, so choosing them carefully is one of the most important parts of setting up well.
Categories drive what you rank for. Choosing them is covered in How to Choose the Right Business Category in Google Business Profile
Add complete, accurate details
Enter your name, address or service area, phone, website and hours exactly and consistently. These core details must match what appears elsewhere online, since consistent information across the web helps Google trust your listing, so accuracy here pays off in both ranking and customer confidence.
Consistency builds trust. Adding hours is covered in How to Add Opening Hours to Google Business Profile
Verify the business
Complete verification to prove the business is yours, usually by postcard, phone, email or video. Until you verify, the profile will not fully appear, so this step is essential before the listing can work for you, however well you have filled it in otherwise.
Verification unlocks the listing. The methods are covered in How to Verify Your Google Business Profile
Add photos and a description
Upload strong photos of your premises, work or products and write a clear description of what you do. For a new business with no reviews yet, good photos and a sharp description do a lot of the early persuading, so they are well worth getting right from the start.
Photos and words persuade early. Adding photos is covered in How to Add Photos to Google Business Profile for Better Rankings
List your products and services
Add your products and services with descriptions so customers and Google know exactly what you offer. This detail improves relevance and helps you appear for specific searches, so filling it in fully is part of giving a new profile every chance to rank for the right terms.
Detail improves relevance. Adding them is covered in How to Add Products and Services to Google Business Profile
Start gathering reviews
From day one, begin asking happy customers for reviews. A new profile with no reviews struggles against established rivals, so building a steady flow early is one of the most important things you can do to start ranking and winning trust as a new business.
Reviews matter from the start. Getting them is covered in How to Get More Google Reviews for Your Business
A strong start
Set up properly, with complete details, accurate categories, photos, services and the first reviews, a new business gets the strongest possible footing in local search. The effort at setup pays off for months, so it is worth doing thoroughly rather than rushing the minimum and fixing it later.
A good setup pays off for months. The whole guide is gathered in the Google Business Profile Guide
In short, to set up a Google Business Profile for a new business you create it, choose accurate categories, add complete details, verify it, then fill in photos, a description, products and services and start gathering reviews. A complete setup gives a new business the strongest footing in local search.
This guide is part of our complete Google Business Profile Guide. The hub brings together every question a business asks about Google Business Profile, from setting up and verifying through to optimisation, reviews, insights and ranking in the map, each written in plain UK English.