Setting up, editing, verifying and keeping a Google Business Profile: where to click, what the rules say, what to do when something breaks.
If your postcard code has not arrived, Google says to wait rather than ask again: most codes arrive within 14 days, and requesting a new one cancels the code already in the post. Codes expire after 30 days, so the wait has an end.
Insights and performance data tell you how people found your profile and what they did next: the searches they typed, how many viewed the profile, and how many called, asked for directions, clicked the website, messaged or booked. Google publishes a named metric for each of those, and you read them on the profile itself.
You cannot add a Q&A section to a Google Business Profile: it is already there, and it fills up when people ask questions on your profile. What you can do is answer them: Google says owners and managers can answer questions in the Q&A section of their Business Profile.
Google posts are short updates, offers and events that you publish on your own Business Profile. Google says customers find them in the “Updates” or “Overview” tabs on mobile on Search and Maps, and in the “From the owner” section on a computer.
Photos you uploaded yourself you can delete: open your profile, select “Photos”, choose the picture, select “Delete” and confirm. A photo a customer added is not yours to remove: the only route Google gives you is “Report a problem”, and it says that review can take several business days.
Every photo you upload carries a status, and that status is the answer: “Pending” means it is still processing or the profile is not verified, “Not approved” means it was flagged against Google’s policies, and “Live” means customers can see it. Google says photos can take up to 24 to 48 hours to appear.
Your Business Profile ID is in the profile’s advanced settings: open your Business Profile, select “More”, then “Business Profile settings”, then “Advanced settings”, and the number is on that screen. Google describes it as the unique identifier for your listing on Google, and it is not the same thing as a place ID.
You edit it on the profile itself: open your Business Profile, select “Edit profile”, click “Edit” next to “Description”, type the text and select “Save”. Google reviews the change before it goes live, and Google publishes a limit of 750 characters for the field.
There is no email field on a Google Business Profile: the list of edits Google publishes covers the phone number, chat, website, social links and the rest, and not an email address. The email people mean is usually the Google Account that owns the profile, and that is changed under “People and access”.
There are two routes to a booking button: add your own booking link under “Edit profile”, or connect a booking provider under “Bookings”. Google says you can add up to 10 links for “Book an appointment”, and that a provider’s button shows on your profile within a week.