Guide · Better Hospitality Reviews

How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile

Step 1: Claim or create the profile

Search your business name on Google or Google Maps first. Many venues already have a profile Google generated automatically, and you need to claim that one rather than create a duplicate (duplicates split your ranking and confuse customers). If a listing exists, look for "Claim this business" or "Own this business?". If nothing exists, create a new profile from google.com/business. Use the real, public-facing account you will keep long term, not a staff member's personal login that walks out the door when they do.

Step 2: Verify it

Verification is Google confirming you really run the business, and until it is done your profile has limited visibility and you cannot edit much. Google will offer a method (postcard, phone, email or video depending on the business). Do it as soon as possible, because nothing else you do counts for much until the profile is verified.

Step 3: Get the foundations exactly right

This is where most venues quietly lose before they start. Take the time to get each of these correct:

• Business name: your real, real-world trading name only. Do not stuff keywords or a location into it. Naming it "Best Pizza Seminyak" violates Google's rules and risks suspension.
• Primary category: the single most important setting on the whole profile, and one of the biggest ranking factors. Pick the one category that best describes what you fundamentally are ("Italian Restaurant", "Cocktail Bar", "Coffee Shop"), then add secondary categories for the rest of what you do. Be specific and accurate; a lazy or wrong primary category is the most common silent killer we find.
• Address and map pin: accurate, and check the pin actually sits on your front door in Maps from a customer's view. A pin dropped on the wrong side of the block quietly costs you direction requests and trust.
• Hours: regular hours plus holiday and special hours. Wrong hours are one of the fastest ways to earn an angry review from someone who arrived to a closed door.
• Contact links: phone, website, and your booking or ordering link. Test each one actually works; a broken booking link is lost revenue you never see.

Step 4: Complete every remaining field

Google rewards complete profiles, and each field is another signal about what you are and who you are for. Write a clear description (what you are, what you serve, where, in plain language, no keyword stuffing), switch on every accurate attribute (dine-in, outdoor seating, vegan options, wheelchair access, free wifi, reservations), and add your menu, products or services. The more complete and accurate the picture, the better you perform.

Step 5: Add photos that actually help

Photos are not decoration; Google reads them to understand your venue, and guests judge you on them in a heartbeat. Set a strong cover image, and add bright, real shots of your food, your space (busy, not empty) and your team. This matters enough that we wrote two dedicated guides: how Google's AI reads your photos and the five photos every profile needs.

Step 6: Now keep it alive

Setup is the starting line, not the finish. A profile that is created and then abandoned slowly slides behind venues that stay active. The ongoing work, answering every review, posting weekly, refreshing photos and keeping information current, is what actually builds rankings over time. Our ranking guide explains why, and the monthly routine keeps it healthy.

If setting all this up properly and then keeping it up sounds like a job you do not have time for, that is exactly what we do: our profile optimisation service handles the full setup and the ongoing management, and Google support steps in if a profile is suspended or broken.

Frequently asked questions