How to List Your Business on Google for Free (Step by Step)

You list your business on Google for free by creating a Google Business Profile: go to google.com/business, click Manage now, sign in with a Google account, enter your business details and complete Google's verification. Setup takes about 15 minutes, verification usually clears within five business days, and there's no fee at any stage (as at September 2026). This guide covers the current 2026 setup flow step by step; if you're already verified and want to rank and win reviews, go straight to our Google Business Profile optimisation guide.

What you need before you start

• A Google account the business controls — not a staff member's personal Gmail
• Your exact trading name as it appears on your signage and invoices
• Your street address, or the suburbs you service if customers don't visit you
• A phone number and website (if you have one)
• Your phone with the Google Maps app installed, and daylight access to your premises for verification

You don't need an ABN to list, but registering one is free and the record is handy evidence if Google ever asks you to prove the business exists.

Step by step: listing your business on Google

1. Sign in and click "Manage now"

Go to google.com/business and click Manage now. Sign in with the Google account you want to own the profile — whoever creates it becomes primary owner, and ownership is a pain to move later.

2. Enter your business name

Type your trading name. Google shows any matching profiles that already exist:

• Your business appears and nobody owns it. Google auto-creates listings from public data. Select it and claim it.
• Someone else owns it. You'll see "Someone else may manage this Business Profile" — skip to the already claimed section below.
• Nothing matches. Click Add your business to Google.

Use your real name only. "Smith Plumbing | Best Emergency Plumber Brisbane 24/7" is keyword stuffing — the most common reason new profiles get suspended.

3. Choose your business type and category

Google asks whether you're an online retailer, a local store customers visit, a service business that goes to customers, or a mix. Answer honestly — it controls the address questions that follow.

Then pick a primary category — the most specific match for your main money-maker ("Emergency plumber" over "Plumber", "Cafe" over "Restaurant").

4. Location or service area

Your situation	What to choose	What customers see
Shop, cafe, clinic, office customers visit	Add your street address	Address and map pin
Tradie, mobile service, cleaner, consultant	No public address; add service areas	Suburbs or regions, no pin
Workshop customers visit, plus call-outs	Address and service areas	Both

If you work from home, don't publish your home address — set up as a service-area business and list the areas you actually travel to. Verification works the same way.

5. Contact details

Add the phone number you'll actually answer (it becomes a tap-to-call button) and your website. Make sure both match what's on your invoices and site.

6. Verify your business

Google picks the verification method you're offered; you can't choose. The options (as at September 2026):

Method	How it works	Typical timing
Video recording (most common for new profiles)	One continuous, unedited clip recorded live in the Google Maps app, minimum 30 seconds	Review up to 5 business days
Live video call	Real-time walkthrough with a Google agent during your business hours	Usually decided on the call
Phone or text	Google sends a code; you enter it	Instant
Email	Code sent to your business email	Instant
Postcard	Code mailed to your address	Most arrive within 14 days

For video, be standing on the street before you tap Start recording, then show in one take:

1. Where you are — street signs, building number, neighbouring shops, your entrance.
2. That the business exists here — signage matching your profile name, a signwritten vehicle, stock or tools.
3. That you run it — unlock the door, open the till, enter a staff-only area, or show paperwork with the business name and address.

No people, no talking, no stopping partway. Most rejections come from skipping the street context or never showing the business name. If rejected, Google tells you why; reshoot in daylight and record again.

7. What to do while verification is pending

• Don't edit your name, address or category — if a postcard is on its way, that cancels the code.
• You can add hours, phone and website while you wait.
• Photos won't show publicly until you're verified, so hold them — and check the profile every day or two, because Google's confirmation email isn't always prompt.

8. Fill in the first five things after verification

1. Opening hours, including public holidays — answer Google's prompts before long weekends.
2. Photos — shopfront from the street, interior or workspace, vehicle, team, examples of your work.
3. Services or products, each with a short description and price range.
4. Business description — up to 750 characters, written for a customer, not for Google.
5. Booking link, if you take bookings online. It's under Bookings for eligible categories (dining, beauty, fitness, health, local services and similar); Google checks the link before it goes live.

Categories, posts, Q&A and reviews are covered in the full Google Business Profile guide, and the customer reviews guide explains how to ask for reviews legally under Australian Consumer Law.

How to manage your business profile now the app is gone

The standalone Google My Business app was retired in 2022. There's nothing to download:

• Desktop: sign in to the owning Google account and search your business name, or just "my business". A management panel appears above the results with edits, photos, reviews, messages and performance.
• Phone: open the Google Maps app, tap your profile picture, then Your Business Profile. This is also where video verification happens.
• Multiple locations: the older dashboard at business.google.com (the "Business Profile Manager") still exists for people running several profiles. Single-location owners get redirected to Search.

If an agency manages your profile, stay primary owner yourself and add them as a manager — businesses lose their own listings this way constantly.

Fixing a duplicate or unclaimed listing

Google allows one profile per business per location; a stray second listing can quietly hide your real one.

• You created it by mistake: open the duplicate and remove it. Deleting wipes its content and managers, so check you're on the wrong one.
• Google auto-created it: find it in Google Maps, tap Suggest an edit, and report it as a duplicate. Reviews on both profiles are combined, but your replies may be lost.
• An old unverified listing exists: claim it through step 2 rather than starting fresh — you'll inherit its reviews.

How long until your business shows on Google

Google's review of your video or code takes up to five business days, often less. Most verified profiles then appear in Search and Maps within a few days, though it can take a couple of weeks to fully settle. If nothing's showing after two weeks, the cause is usually a suspension or duplicate, not a delay.

Common problems and how to fix them

"This business is already claimed"

A former employee, an old agency or the previous tenant holds the profile. Go to business.google.com/add, find your business and click Request access. Google emails the current owner, who has three days to respond. Approved: you're in. Denied: you can appeal or suggest public edits. No response after three days: open your confirmation email, click View request, then Verify — you may be able to claim it yourself, though Google notes this option isn't always available.

Your profile is suspended

Suspensions usually trace back to a keyword-stuffed name, an address that doesn't match your other records (virtual offices and PO boxes are common culprits), or a burst of rapid edits. Fix the problem first, then appeal through Google's appeals tool: select the profile, read the stated reason, click Submit appeal, then upload evidence — you have 60 minutes to attach it. An ASIC business name extract or ABN record, a lease, a licence or a utility bill showing the same name and address all work. Don't create a second profile while you wait.

Key takeaways

• Listing your business on Google is free (as at September 2026): go to google.com/business, click Manage now, follow the prompts.
• Use your real trading name — keyword-stuffed names are the fastest route to a suspension.
• Google chooses your verification method; video through the Google Maps app is now the most common, with review taking up to five business days.
• The Google My Business app is gone. Manage your profile from Google Search on desktop or the Maps app on your phone.
• Never create a second profile to get around a problem — request access, report the duplicate, or appeal.
• Once verified, add hours, photos, services, a description and a booking link on day one.

Where to get help

• Google Business Profile Help — verify your business — official verification methods and timing.
• Request ownership and fix suspended profiles — Google's official processes for the two most common headaches.
• business.gov.au — plain-English guidance on your online presence.
• Our small business marketing guide and free marketing health check — see where your Google listing fits alongside everything else you're doing.
• Your accountant or bookkeeper can confirm the registered name and address to use, so the profile matches your ABN, invoices and website from day one.