Business guide
Google Business Profile setup: a practical guide for tradies
Check eligibility, find an existing profile, set accurate business details and invite a manager without sharing your Google password.
1. Check whether your business is eligible
Google Business Profile is free to add or claim. Eligibility generally depends on meeting customers in person: at a suitable business location or by travelling to them. Online-only businesses are not eligible. Check Google’s current eligibility guidance before creating a profile or paying someone to create one.
A tradie working from home may be a service-area business rather than a shop customers visit. If you do not receive customers at your address, follow Google’s service-area rules and keep that address hidden from customers. Do not create an office address simply to appear in another suburb.
2. Look for an existing profile before adding one
Search Google Maps for your business name and location. If an unverified profile already exists, use the claim process. If it is verified under someone else’s account, use Google’s ownership-request process. Creating another listing does not resolve an access problem and can leave you managing duplicates.
If no profile exists, Google’s add-business flow collects your details and presents the available verification steps. Use a Google account controlled by the business. A person helping with marketing should be invited separately once the owner has access. Keep a record of which account owns the profile so future changes do not depend on finding an old employee or supplier.
- No existing profile
Check eligibility, then use Google’s add-business process.
- Existing unverified profile
Use the claim process for the existing business listing.
- Profile owned by another account
Request ownership rather than creating a second listing.
Google controls verification methods and approval.
3. Prepare accurate business details
Use the business name customers know, an appropriate business category, a working phone number, your website and accurate hours. Describe the services you actually provide and the areas you genuinely cover. Google provides separate fields for this information, so do not turn the business name into a list of services and suburbs.
Before submitting, compare the details with the website. For example, if your site says you service a particular area, check that the profile and its contact links tell the same story. Use current business photographs where you have permission to publish them. A useful photo shows the real business rather than implying premises or work you do not have.
- Business name and suitable category
- Phone number, website and business hours
- Accurate address or service-area arrangement
- A clear description of the work offered
- Business photographs approved for public use
4. Complete the verification steps Google offers
Follow the verification options shown for your business. The available method is controlled by Google. A developer or SEO provider cannot guarantee a particular method, approval date or Maps position. Allow for verification and access issues when agreeing a website launch plan.
If evidence is requested, provide it through Google’s own process. Do not post verification codes in an enquiry form or send your Google password to a supplier. After verification, open the public listing and check that its phone number and website link work.
5. Invite a manager instead of sharing your password
An owner can open the profile’s More menu, then Business Profile settings and People and access. Choose Add, enter the helper’s email address, select Manager and send the invitation. Each person uses their own Google account. Check the email carefully before granting access.
Keep primary ownership with the business. Review who has access when staff or suppliers change. Some actions have restrictions for new users, so an accepted manager invitation does not mean every ownership action is immediately available. The linked Google help page explains the current roles and limits.
6. Keep it connected to the real business
Treat setup as the starting point. Check details when your hours, services, website or contact arrangements change. If someone manages the profile for you, agree who supplies material, who approves updates and how you will see the work completed.
My website package includes profile setup or optimisation where eligible. The after-purchase access checklist explains how to invite me while retaining ownership. If you are comparing providers, ask them to distinguish Google’s free listing from their paid setup or management work.