Go to business.google.com. Sign in with a Google account. Search for your business name. If it doesn’t come up, click “Add your business” and follow the prompts. That’s the start of it. The setup takes about 10 minutes. Verification can take a few days depending on the method Google offers you.
Here’s what the full process looks like.
Step 1: Claim or create your listing
When you search for your business on business.google.com, one of two things happens. Either a listing already exists and you claim it, or there’s nothing there and you create a new one. Both paths end up in the same place. If there’s already a listing, Google will ask you to verify that you’re the owner. If there’s no listing, you’ll enter your business information from scratch.
If someone else already claimed your listing, Google has a process to request ownership — it’s under Support on the dashboard.
Step 2: Fill it out completely
Once you have access, fill in every field. Business name, address, phone number, website, hours, and at least one service category. The category matters more than most people realize. Google uses it to decide what searches to show your business for. A roofer who lists “General Contractor” instead of “Roofing Contractor” will miss most of the searches that actually lead to roof jobs.
Add photos. At least five. A photo of the storefront or work truck, a couple of job photos, and something showing the team or the work in progress. Google’s algorithm treats profiles with photos as more active and complete, which affects where you show up.
Step 3: Verify
Google needs to confirm that your business is real and that you’re the person who runs it. Depending on your business type, they’ll offer one of a few options: a postcard mailed to your address (takes 5-14 days), a phone call or text with a code, or a video call where you show your workspace and equipment. The postcard is the most common for service businesses.
Until you verify, your profile won’t show up on Maps.
Step 4: Keep it active
A fully verified listing that nobody touches for a year still underperforms. Google weights active profiles higher. After you’re verified, post once a week (it takes two minutes), respond to reviews when they come in, and update your hours when they change. A roofer I work with had a profile that sat untouched for 18 months. Wrong hours, no recent photos, missing service categories. He was invisible on Maps for searches he should have been winning. We fixed those things, built up his Google review count, and he started showing up in the map pack within a few weeks.
One thing to check right now
Search your business name on Google and look at the phone number, address, and hours on whatever comes up. If any of those are wrong, that’s the first thing to fix. Wrong contact information across directories is one of the most common reasons businesses don’t show up where they should.
If you’re not showing up on Google Maps and you’re not sure why, I can usually spot the issue in a few minutes. Request a free visibility audit and we’ll show you exactly what’s keeping your listing out of the top three. Good Company AI does this kind of work for local service businesses in San Antonio.
Lex Stewart runs Good Company AI, a local SEO and AI services firm in San Antonio.