Guide: How to Set Up and Manage Your Google Business Profile

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A Google Business Profile can be a powerful marketing tool for farm businesses. An up-to-date listing can help people find your farm on Google Search and Maps. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for claiming, creating, managing and updating your profile.

How to Claim or Create Your Google Business Profile

1. On your phone or computer, open your web browser and go to business.google.com.
   1. If you have an existing Google Account for the farm business, click ‘Sign in’ to sign in.
   2. If you do not have a Google account, click ‘Start now’ then ‘Create account’ and follow the prompts to make an account before continuing. Hint: you do not need to have a Gmail Account to create a Google Account. You can use your existing farm email if you would like!
2. Type your farm’s business name into the search box.
3. If your business’s name and location appear on the list, click on it. If it does not appear, click on the first option which should now have the farm name you’ve typed with the subheading ‘Create a business with this name’. See the ‘Test Farm’ example below (image 2).
4. Choose a business category. Start typing a word that describes your farm business and choose the category that best fits your main farm business. For many farms, this will probably be something simple like 'farm' or 'orchard'. After your profile is set up, you can go back into Edit profile to add additional categories if needed. For help on categories, see Google’s Category Guidance page.
5. Do you want to add your business location?
   1. If customers come to your farm for things like a farm stand, CSA pickup or events, select yes to enter your farm’s address.
   2. If you do not serve customers at your address, select no. You’ll be prompted next to select a service area instead. This tells Google the geographic area where you provide products or services without listing your address publicly. You can enter up to 20 locations using a mix of city names, zip codes, counties or other geographical areas. But remember, more isn’t always better for local businesses.
6. Add your contact information. Enter the phone number and website you want customers to use. If you do not have a website yet, you can continue without one and update your profile later.
7. Click Finish.

8. Complete the verification step. This is how Google confirms that your farm business is real and that you are the right person to manage the profile. Google determines which verification methods are available for each business, so the options you see may vary but will include video recording, phone, text, email, live video call, or mail. In some cases, Google may require more than one verification method. 

   It may take up to 5 business days for Google to review your information. If verification by mail is available and you choose that option, most codes arrive within 14 days. When your business is verified, Google will send a confirmation email. If the ‘Get Verified’ button appears again, it means Google could not completely verify your business. Follow the prompts to try again. If Google shows more than one verification option, you may be able to use another available method.

9. Complete your profile. Once your listing is verified, continue filling out your Business Profile using steps in the following section.

How to Update Your Google Business Profile

Once you have claimed or created a Google Business Profile listing, it’s time to make sure all the information your customers need is available on your profile.

1. On your computer, go to your Business Profile by searching for your business name on Google Search, in Google Map or by going to your business at business.google.com.
2. Click Edit profile.
3. Click through the listed tabs to add or edit contact information, location, hours and attributes.
   1. Google lets you update main hours, special hours for holidays or temporary changes and in some cases more hours for specific services or features.
   2. Under the 'More' tab, you may also be able to add or edit attributes, which tell customers more about your business. Examples vary by business type and may include things like accessibility or amenities. Available attributes depend on the business category.
   3. In ‘About’, write a description. You only have 750 characters for this description, so craft this section carefully. Think about what you want your customers to know about your farm. At a minimum, include your location, what you sell and how customers can buy from you. Google recommends including what you offer, what makes your business special and anything else that is helpful for customers to know. Do not include links or HTML code.
   4. Click ‘Save’ when you are finished making each change.
4. Continue adding information to your profile. Depending on your business type and what Google makes available for your profile, you may be able to add or update photos, videos, services, posts, offers, events, social media links and other details. Not every feature is available for every business category or region, so use the ‘Complete info’ link on the top right of your Business Profile to easily see what is left to fill out.

How to Maintain Your Google Business Profile

After the initial setup, there is some maintenance work to be done throughout the year. You’ll want to respond to customer reviews, update your business information as needed and check your profile’s performance regularly. For farm businesses, it is a good idea to review your profile whenever your hours, offerings or seasonal schedule change. Check out UNH Extension’s How to Maintain Your Google Business Profile article for more detailed guidance.