Get Found · Local SEO
How to Claim & Optimize Your Google Business Profile
When someone near you pulls out their phone and types "bakery near me" or "web designer in Titusville," Google shows a little map with three businesses pinned to it before any normal search results. That box is called the local pack, and getting into it is one of the most valuable things a local business can do online.
Here's the part most owners don't realize: getting in there is free, and it runs on something called your Google Business Profile (you may remember it as "Google My Business"). Most local businesses have either never claimed theirs or filled it out halfway and forgotten it. If that's you, this is an afternoon of work that can quietly bring in calls for years.
Why it's worth your time
- It's the first thing many people see — often before your website.
- It powers Google Maps directions, click-to-call, and your hours.
- It's free, and a complete profile ranks higher than an empty one.
- It's where your Google reviews live — the trust signal customers check first.
Step 1: Find and claim it
Go to google.com/business and search your business name. One of two things happens: a profile already exists (Google sometimes auto-creates them, or a previous owner made one) and you'll see a "Claim this business" option — or it doesn't exist yet and you'll create it from scratch. Either way, follow the prompts with your real business details.
Step 2: Verify it (don't skip this)
Google needs to confirm you actually run the business, usually by postcard, phone, or email. Until you verify, your changes won't go live and you can't manage reviews. It can take a few days for a postcard — start it and move on to the next steps while you wait.
Step 3: Nail the basics — name, address, phone, hours
This is the "NAP" (name, address, phone), and consistency matters. Write your business name, address, and phone exactly the same way they appear on your website and everywhere else online. Mismatches (St. vs Street, two different phone numbers) confuse Google and quietly hurt your ranking. Set your real hours — and remember to update them for holidays.
Step 4: Choose the right categories
Your primary category is one of the biggest ranking factors there is, so be precise — "Bakery," not "Store." Then add accurate secondary categories for the other things you do. Don't stuff it with categories that don't fit; pick the ones a real customer would use to find you.
Step 5: Write your description and add services
Use the description to say, in plain language, what you do and who you do it for. Then fill in your services or products with short, honest descriptions. The more complete your profile, the more Google trusts it — and the more reasons a customer has to choose you.
Step 6: Add real photos
Profiles with photos get noticeably more clicks, calls, and direction requests. Add a few real ones: the outside of your building (so people recognize it), the inside, your products, and you or your team. Phone photos are fine — real beats fancy here.
Step 7: Get (and answer) reviews
Reviews are trust and ranking rolled into one. Ask happy customers right after a good experience — most are glad to help if you simply ask. Then respond to all of them, the good and the bad. A calm, gracious reply to a tough review often impresses the next reader more than the review itself.
Step 8: Keep it alive
A profile you set up once and abandon slowly loses ground. Post the occasional update or special, keep your hours current, and add new photos now and then. Ten minutes a month is plenty.
The most common mistakes I see: inconsistent name/address/phone across the web, a vague primary category, zero photos, and ignoring reviews. Fix those four and you're ahead of most of your competitors already.
That's it. None of it is technical — it's just detailed, and the details are exactly the kind of thing that's easy to put off when you're busy running the actual business.