Claim Your Google Business Profile (The One That's Probably Already There)

Lesson 2 · taught by Pip · free preview

Here's a surprise that catches almost every business owner off guard: Google may have already made a listing for you, without asking. It builds these from public information — your storefront, a phone book entry, a customer who added you. So the question usually isn't "should I create a profile?" It's "is there already one out there that I don't control?"

An unclaimed listing is like a shop with your name on the door that you've never been inside. Anyone can walk in. Strangers can suggest edits. Your hours might be wrong. Your phone number might be a typo. And you'd never know, because it isn't yours yet.

Claiming it fixes all of that. It's free, and it's the single most important step in this whole course.

What "claiming" actually means

Claiming is just proving to Google that you're the real owner. Once you've done it, you get the keys: you control the name, hours, photos, replies to reviews, everything. Until then, you're a bystander to your own storefront.

Google calls this listing your Google Business Profile (you may also hear "Google My Business," its old name — same thing).

How to do it, step by step

1. Go to google.com/business and sign in with a Google account. Tip: use a business email you'll keep for years, not a personal one you might lose access to.
2. Type your business name. If Google already has a listing, it'll appear in the dropdown — pick it rather than making a new one, so you don't end up with duplicates.
3. If nothing appears, choose to add your business. Enter the name, category, and address (or service area, if you go to customers).
4. Verify that it's really you. Google offers a few ways — usually a postcard mailed to your address with a code, sometimes a phone call, text, or video. Pick whatever's offered and follow it through.
5. Wait for the code (the postcard can take a week or so — that's normal, not a mistake), enter it, and you're the owner.

A trap to avoid

If you search and find a listing that's already verified by someone else — maybe a former employee, an old agency, or a previous owner — don't panic and make a second one. Two listings for one business confuses Google and splits your reviews. Instead, request access through the listing; Google has a process to transfer it. One business, one profile. Always.

Your turn

Today, just do step one and step two: go to google.com/business and search for your business. Find out whether a listing already exists. You don't have to finish verifying today — the postcard takes time anyway. The win for today is simply knowing whether you have a storefront to claim.

🔦 Once you hold the keys, the next job is filling the shop with everything a customer needs to choose you. That's next — completing your profile so it actually sells.