How to show up on Google Maps: Google Business Profile step by step
When someone searches for “car service in Saburtalo” or “coffee near me”, the first thing they see is a map. Here's how to set up your business profile so that they find you.
Think back to the last time you looked for a café, a pharmacy or a tradesperson. Most likely you typed a few words into Google and first saw a map and three or four businesses, with addresses, reviews and photos. Your customers do exactly the same.
You don't need a website to get into this block. What you do need is a well-filled Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). Below we explain step by step how to set it up.
1. Create or “claim” the profile
Before creating a new one, search for your business on Google Maps. Often a profile already exists: customers or Google itself may have added it. In that case use the button to claim ownership of the business (“Claim this business”) and management passes to you. If there's no profile, create one at business.google.com.
2. Get verified
Google needs to be sure the business is really yours. Google offers the method itself: it may be a short video, a call or SMS, an email, or sometimes a postcard.
Video verification is common and worth preparing for. In one continuous shot, show the street and entrance, the sign with the business name, the interior and something that proves you run the place, for example the till, work tools or opening the door with your own key.
3. Choose the category precisely
The main category is one of the most important settings. Choose as precisely as possible: “dental clinic”, not just “clinic”; “pizzeria”, not just “restaurant”. Add other areas as additional categories, but only what you actually do.
4. Name, address and phone
Write the name exactly as it appears on your sign. It's tempting to add keywords to the name (“Luka: the best car service in Tbilisi”), but that's against Google's rules and can even get the profile suspended.
The address and phone should be the same everywhere: on the site, Facebook, Instagram and local directories. When the information matches everywhere, Google trusts you more.
5. Opening hours, including holidays
Few things annoy a customer as much as arriving at a locked door when Google said “open”. Give exact hours and add special hours for holidays: New Year, Christmas, Easter, Mariamoba, Giorgoba. It takes a few minutes and keeps customers' trust for a long time.
6. Upload real photos
Stock photos don't work here; people need to see where they're going. Upload:
- the façade and entrance, so people can find you easily on arrival;
- the interior, in daylight and tidy;
- the team, because people trust faces;
- your product or finished work.
7. Reviews: ask for them and reply
Satisfied customers rarely write reviews on their own; they just don't think of it. So ask: put a QR code by the till, send a link after the order or simply tell them their opinion matters to you.
Reply to every review, good and bad. A calm, personal reply to a negative comment often says more about you than ten positive reviews. And don't even think about buying fake reviews: Google deletes them and the profile itself is put at risk.
What decides who comes first
Google officially names three factors: relevance (how well the profile matches the search), distance (how close you are to the user) and prominence (reviews, links, general activity). You can't change distance, but the other two are entirely in your hands.
A well-filled profile isn't a one-off job. Regularly updating photos, news and hours shows Google that the business is alive.
If setting up or verifying the profile is giving you trouble, write to us and we'll go through every step together.