How to get your practice or business on Google Maps
· 6 min read
When someone searches for “dentist near me” or “lawyer in Madrid”, the map results at the top come from Google Business Profiles, not from websites. Here is how to get yours set up properly.
What a Google Business Profile is
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your name, category, hours, reviews, photos and a “Website” button in Google Search and on Google Maps. It is separate from your website, and the two work best together: the profile gets you onto the map, and your website answers the questions people have before they call.
Individual professionals who meet clients in person, such as doctors, lawyers, therapists and tutors, can usually have one, as can clinics, firms, studios, salons and restaurants. If you only work online, check Google’s guidelines first, as the profile is meant for businesses that serve customers in person, at your address or at theirs.
Step by step
- Go to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want to manage the profile with.
- Enter your name exactly as clients know you. Don’t add keywords or cities to it; Google treats that as spam.
- Choose the most specific primary category (for example “Dermatologist” rather than “Doctor”). You can add a few secondary categories later.
- Add your address if clients visit you. If you visit them instead, set a service area and hide the address.
- Add your phone number and your website address.
- Verify the profile. Google chooses the method, which can be a phone call, text, email, a short video of your premises or a postcard. Until it’s verified, your profile won’t show publicly.
Fill it in completely
- Hours, including holidays, so people don’t arrive to a closed door.
- A short description in plain words: what you do, for whom and where.
- Services or products, with prices where you can.
- Real photos: you or your team, the entrance, the inside. Profiles with photos get far more clicks.
- Attributes such as wheelchair access or online appointments, where they apply.
Keep your details identical everywhere
Use exactly the same name, address and phone number on your profile, your website and anywhere else you’re listed. Search engines use these matches to be sure all of them describe the same person or business. A different phone number on an old directory listing is enough to cause doubt, so update or remove old listings.
Reviews
Reviews are one of the strongest signals for the map results. Ask happy clients directly, send them the review link from your profile, and reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely. Never offer anything in return for a review and don’t write your own; both break Google’s rules. Some professions, such as doctors and lawyers, also have their own rules about testimonials, so check yours.
Link your website
Put your website in the profile’s website field. It gives people somewhere to read about your work, your services and your fees before they get in touch, and it tells Google which site belongs to you.
If you use BeVisible, your page at bevisible.site/yourname is already set up for this: its title names you, what you do and where, and it carries the structured data search engines read. Your dashboard shows a “Get found” checklist with this step in it.