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Do it in this order:
- Set up your profile. Google may verify it automatically; otherwise prepare before verifying.
- Get your website matching your profile.
- Verify.
Rules link to Google's own help pages. Tips are our advice. Following this checklist doesn't guarantee you'll be verified. Google makes the final decision.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Section 1: Getting Started
Before getting started, sign in to your Google account or create one if you don't already have one. Use an account that you personally control, preferably one dedicated to managing your business.
Sign in to Google · Create a Google account
You need to be the primary owner. Add employees, web designers, or marketing companies as managers later. Never let them own it. If they leave, you keep control.
You'll also need your smartphone to verify, so install Google Maps: iPhone · Android
To get started, click the link below and follow Google's instructions to create or claim your business profile.
Enter your business name exactly as customers see it.
Use your legal business name or your DBA, whichever one you use publicly. It should match your sign, website, and business cards. No cities, keywords, or slogans. That can get you suspended.
✅ Smith Plumbing
❌ Smith Plumbing Best Plumber Jacksonville
Leave off LLC or Inc unless it's on your sign. Whatever public name you choose, use the exact same one everywhere.
Finish this sentence: "My business is a ___." Add other categories only if they truly fit.
Section 2: Business Location
Shared screen · Choose your business type
Do customers actually visit your location? This choice affects whether your street address should be shown publicly.
P.O. boxes, mailbox stores, and virtual offices don't qualify.
Google: Service-area businesses · Our Service Area Business Guide
Choose how you serve customers above and click Continue to my walkthrough to see the steps for your business type.
Both paths continue with the same phone and website details below.
Section 3: Contact & Profile Details
Shared continuation · Both business types
Add your phone and website
Use the primary business phone number customers should call. Add your website if you have one; otherwise leave it blank and continue. You can create one later in this checklist.
Google may still ask for your business address
Google may ask either type of business for a physical or mailing address for verification. Enter the legitimate address associated with the business, not a P.O. box. A service-area business should still keep its operating street address off the public profile.
The screen states: “The address you provide here will be hidden from the public.” This is the private address Google uses for the business and verification process.
This verification screen is separate from a storefront's public business address.
Shared · Verification result, if shown
Google may verify your business automatically
In our demo, both example setup paths reached automatic verification. This is not guaranteed. Google chooses the verification method for each profile. If Google asks for video or another method, continue to the verification-preparation section below. If offered, choose to verify later while you prepare.
Add the services you actually provide
Google may suggest services based on your category. Select only services you genuinely offer. You can also add an appropriate custom service when needed.
Enter your actual business hours
Use the hours customers can genuinely interact with your business, for every day. Mark days you're closed as Closed. Do not extend hours simply to appear open longer. If you do not maintain normal public business hours, do not invent them. Google provides an "Open with no main hours" option.
Add a clear business description
Explain what your business does, who you serve, and where you operate. Do not add links, promotional pricing, keyword stuffing, or claims you cannot support.
Google may show you additional optional screens
You may be asked to add storefront or work photos, turn on notifications, claim advertising offers, or purchase Google Workspace or a domain. Add useful business photos if you have them. Advertising offers, domains, Google Workspace and other optional products are not required to create your Business Profile and may be skipped.
Screenshot everything you entered. You'll need it next.
Shared · Profile management after setup
You're in
Once setup is complete, search for your business while signed into the Google account that manages it. From here you can manage business information, services, photos, reviews, posts and performance.
Service Area Business · Address visibility example
What a Service-Area Business looks like
This example shows service areas and a phone number, with no publicly displayed street address. Google is still processing verification: a setup confirmation does not mean the profile is publicly visible.
Section 4: Match Your Website to Your Google Business Profile
Google doesn't require a website to verify your Google Business Profile. But if you want to grow your business, you need one. It's where customers check you out before they call, and it gives Google another place to confirm your business is real.
Your Google Business Profile is your source of truth. Your website should match it exactly.
Have a website?
Open your Google Business Profile and your website side by side. Each of these should be the same on both:
- Business name: spelled exactly the same
- Phone number: same number, written like (904) 555-1234
- Address: if your address shows on Google, show the same one on your website. If you hide your address on Google, only show your city and state.
- Hours: the same hours for each day of the week. Days you're closed say Closed.
- Service areas: the same cities or areas listed on your Google Business Profile
- Services: your website should describe the same kind of business as your Google category. If your category is "Plumber," your website should clearly say you're a plumber.
Fix inaccurate or outdated website information so it matches your profile.
No website?
Fill in each blank from your Google Business Profile and paste it into Lovable or any AI website builder.
Disclosure: we may receive credit or a commission if you sign up through our link. It doesn't change your price.
Want to see what this prompt can build?
View our example website built from the same prompt below.
The example business is fictional and is only provided to show what a simple website created from this prompt can look like.
Build a simple, mobile-friendly, one-page website for my local business.
The information below comes from my Google Business Profile and is the source of truth. Use it exactly as written. Do not invent, expand, or change any business information. Do not add reviews, testimonials, awards, statistics, prices, credentials, or anything else I didn't provide.
BUSINESS INFORMATION (copy each field from your Google Business Profile)
Business name (legal name or DBA, exactly as on my profile): [ ]
Primary category: [ ]
Additional categories: [ ]
Phone (format: (xxx) xxx-xxxx): [ ]
Email: [ ]
Do customers come to my location? [Yes / No]
Street address (only if Yes above): [ ]
City and state: [ ]
Service areas (exactly as listed on my profile): [ ]
Main services (one line each): [ ]
About my business (2 to 3 sentences): [ ]
Logo: [I'll upload my logo / I don't have a logo]
Business hours (one line per day, exactly like the example):
Monday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Tuesday: [ ]
Wednesday: [ ]
Thursday: [ ]
Friday: [ ]
Saturday: [ ]
Sunday: [ ]
(Write "Closed" or "Open 24 hours" for any day that applies.)
PAGE SECTIONS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Header with my logo (if uploaded) next to my business name, and a tap-to-call phone button
2. Short intro saying what I do and where, using my primary category
3. Services section built around my primary and additional categories, with only my actual supplied main services listed under them. Do not invent services.
4. About section using only the information I supplied. Do not invent years in business, credentials, awards, statistics, or claims.
5. Any other simple supporting content directly supported by information I supplied, if needed
6. Go directly into the footer described below. Do not create standalone Business Hours, Contact, or Service Areas sections above the footer. Business hours, contact details, and the service-area list belong in the footer only, not in duplicate page sections. The header tap-to-call button and short intro location above are still allowed.
FOOTER
Match the approved example at https://gwrcommerce.com/getrdunac for visual style and page structure only. Use only my supplied business information, never the example's fictional details.
Footer with:
- Three primary columns on desktop:
COLUMN 1: BUSINESS INFORMATION
Show my business name as large, bold text. Do not use or require a footer logo.
Under it, show City, State or my public business address when appropriate, then my phone and email with working phone and email links.
If my street address should remain private because customers don't come to my location, use City, State instead. Never display that street address.
COLUMN 2: SERVICES
Use the bold heading "SERVICES" and list only the actual main services I supplied above. Use approximately 5 to 8 services when enough were provided. Do not invent services.
COLUMN 3: BUSINESS HOURS
Use the bold heading "BUSINESS HOURS" and show Monday through Sunday vertically, one day per line, using only my actual supplied hours.
Format each line like "Monday: 8:00am - 5:00pm" or "Sunday: Closed", but do not substitute these examples for my hours or invent hours.
- A bottom service-area row below a thin horizontal divider:
Show "Service Areas:" followed by only my supplied service areas, separated by bullets, in one clean horizontal line on desktop that wraps naturally on smaller screens. Do not invent locations.
- Clean white background, large bold business name, clear bold headings, generous white space, and thin light-gray vertical dividers between the three desktop columns. Keep it professional and easy to scan. On mobile, stack the sections cleanly instead of forcing horizontal columns, and prevent sideways scrolling.
- Do not add social media icons, a footer logo, an About column, a separate Serving column, map-pin artwork, an extra call CTA/button, fake links, duplicate contact information, duplicate business hours, duplicate service areas, or invented business information. Use the same factual business information supplied above.
REQUIREMENTS
- If information is missing, omit it or clearly leave it for me to provide. Do not invent or expand business names, categories, services, hours, locations, service areas, phone numbers, emails, credentials, awards, statistics, pricing, reviews, or claims.
- Business name, phone, address or City/State, service areas, and hours must appear exactly as I wrote them everywhere on the site. Never vary spelling or format.
- Format the phone as (xxx) xxx-xxxx everywhere.
- If customers don't come to my location, never show my street address anywhere on the site or in the structured data. Use City, State and my service areas instead.
- List hours one day per line, Monday through Sunday, in this exact format: "Monday: 9:00am - 5:00pm". Use "Closed" or "Open 24 hours" exactly as I wrote them.
- If I uploaded a logo, use it in the header and in the structured data, but not in the footer. Don't change its colors or shape. If I don't have one, show my business name in clean text. Do not create a logo.
- Page title: [Business name] | [Primary category] in [Main city]
- Add LocalBusiness structured data using only the information above, matching the name, phone, hours, and address or service areas.
- Make it fast, clean, and easy to use on a phone.Don't have a domain yet? That's okay. You can publish your site on a Lovable web address first and use that live website on your Google Business Profile. If you want your own .com later, Lovable can help you connect a custom domain.
Tip: A custom domain can look more professional, but Google does not require one just to add your business website. Your site should accurately represent your business, be publicly accessible, and be under your control.
When it's live, compare it to your Google Business Profile one more time.
It's free and confirms to Google that you own your website. A verified site may get your profile instant verification. Not guaranteed, but worth 10 minutes.
- Go to Google Search Console and sign in with the same Google account you used for your Google Business Profile.
- Add your website under URL prefix and enter your full web address.
- Choose the HTML tag option and copy the tag Google gives you.
- Paste it into this prompt and send it to Lovable:
Add this Google Search Console verification tag inside the <head> of my site's public homepage. Keep the tag in place so Search Console can continue confirming ownership. Do not change anything else.
[Paste your HTML tag here]
Ensure the site has a sitemap at /sitemap.xml and that every public page is included. If a sitemap already exists, update the existing sitemap system rather than replacing or rebuilding it. Then publish the site and confirm the verification tag is live and the sitemap URL works.- Once Lovable confirms it's published, go back to Search Console and click Verify.
- In Search Console, open Sitemaps and submit sitemap.xml.
Section 5: Verify
- Your Google Business Profile is complete
- Your website matches it
- Your website address is added to your Google Business Profile
- Your proof is ready:
- Business license or permit with your exact business name and address
- Articles of incorporation or organization
- Utility bill or invoice with your business name
- Your tools or equipment
- Branded vehicle, when applicable
- Permanent business signage, if you have a storefront
If any document shows a tax or ID number, cover it before it's on camera.
Google determines which verification methods are available to your profile. If Google offers more than one option, you can choose from the methods it shows you. Be prepared for video verification.
Your video must be:
- Recorded live in your Google Business Profile on your phone
- One continuous take, at least 30 seconds
Tip: Keep it under 5 minutes. Show what's needed and stop.
What to show:
- Customers come to you: street signs nearby, your sign with your exact business name, and somewhere only staff can go
- You go to customers: street signs near your base, your tools or equipment, and proof you run it, like unlocking your branded vehicle or showing an invoice with your business name
Don't show: bank, tax, or ID numbers, or other people's faces.
Reviews can take up to 5 business days. Don't edit your Google Business Profile while you wait.
If Google shows a "Review issues" notice, open it and follow the instructions provided. Google may ask you to correct an issue or complete verification again. Don't make a new profile.
Section 6: After You're Verified
Something Went Wrong?
Verification keeps failing: Verification Support · Contacting Google
Profile suspended: Is My Profile Suspended? · Evidence Checklist · Suspension Recovery
Got a call from "Google"? Will Google Call Me to Verify My Business?
Don't delete your profile and start over. It usually makes things worse.
Need a hand? GWR Commerce helps with setup, verification, and suspensions.
Free to share. Created and maintained by GWR Commerce · Veteran Owned · Serving businesses across the United States.
Google Business Profile Setup & Verification Checklist
For business owners. Work in order: set up your profile, match your website, then verify.
Following this checklist doesn't guarantee you'll be verified. Google makes the final decision.
SECTION 1: GETTING STARTED
SECTION 2: BUSINESS LOCATION
- Customers come to you: show your address. Permanent sign with your business name required.
- You go to customers: hide your address and list your service areas, within about 2 hours of driving.
- Both: show your address and add service areas. Location must be staffed during your hours.
- No P.O. boxes, mailbox stores, or virtual offices.
SECTION 3: CONTACT & PROFILE DETAILS
SECTION 4: MATCH YOUR WEBSITE TO YOUR GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE
Write what's on each. They should match exactly.
| Item | On Google | On Website | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business name | |||
| Phone | |||
| Address, or City, State if hidden | |||
| Hours | |||
| Service areas | |||
| Services |
SECTION 5: VERIFY
- Business license or permit with your exact business name and address
- Articles of incorporation or organization
- Utility bill or invoice with your business name
- Your tools or equipment
- Branded vehicle, when applicable
- Permanent signage, if you have a storefront
Cover any tax or ID numbers before they're on camera.
- Customers come to you: nearby street signs, your sign with your exact business name, a staff-only area
- You go to customers: street signs near your base, your tools or equipment, proof you run it
- Don't show: bank, tax, or ID numbers, or other people's faces
SECTION 6: AFTER YOU'RE VERIFIED