For business owners
Guides
Step-by-step guides, each one checked against its official sources and dated.
- Google Local Services Ads: how they work, and what replaced Google Guaranteed and Screened
How Google Local Services Ads charge per lead, how to earn the Google Verified badge that replaced Google Guaranteed and Screened, and what moves your ad up.
Checked October 25, 2026 - How to add your business to Google Maps and create a Business Profile
Add your business to Google Maps with a free Business Profile: check that you qualify, claim a listing that already exists or create a new one, and fill in the name, category, location and contact details.
Checked October 25, 2026 - How to respond to Google reviews, negative ones included: reply templates
How to reply to any Google review, three templates for good reviews and five for bad ones, and what to leave out of a public reply.
Checked October 25, 2026 - How to change your business hours on Google: regular, special and holiday hours
Change your regular hours on Google from a computer or a phone, and set special hours for holidays and one-off days. Add delivery or pickup hours and check the changes Google makes.
Checked October 24, 2026 - Google Business Profile insights: what each performance metric means
Where to open the Performance report of your Google Business Profile and what Google counts in each metric. Also why views look lower than in Google’s emails or Analytics, and how to download the data.
Checked October 24, 2026 - How to delete a Google Business Profile, close it or remove a duplicate
The three ways Google lets you take a Business Profile down: remove it from your account, mark the business closed, or ask Google to remove the listing, plus what to do with a duplicate, a move or a home address.
Checked October 24, 2026 - How to rank higher on Google Maps: a checklist for local businesses
Steps you can do yourself on your profile, your reviews and your website, and the rules that can get your profile suspended.
Checked October 23, 2026 - How to choose your Google Business Profile categories
Which primary and additional categories to choose for your Google Business Profile, with Google’s rules and examples, the steps to change them and the features that depend on them.
Checked October 23, 2026 - How to change your business name on Google and Google Maps
When you can edit your business name on Google, when it counts as a new business, the steps and what to do if Google rejects the change.
Checked October 23, 2026 - How to add a manager to your Google Business Profile (and transfer ownership)
The two roles Google gives on a Business Profile, how to add a manager or owner, transfer primary ownership, remove someone and request access when someone else controls the profile.
Checked October 22, 2026 - Google Business Profile posts: how to publish updates, offers and events
The three kinds of post Google offers today, where customers see them, how to publish and schedule one, why Google rejects a post and what it says about posts and ranking.
Checked October 22, 2026 - How to verify your Google Business Profile (and what to do if it fails)
The verification methods Google offers today, what a verification video has to show, how long the review takes and what to fix when verification fails.
Checked October 20, 2026 - Google Business Profile suspended: why it happens and how to get it back
What suspended and disabled mean, what Google’s guidelines say causes them, what to fix first, how to appeal and what to check once your profile is back.
Checked October 20, 2026 - How to remove a Google review (and what to do when you can’t)
Which reviews Google takes down, how to report one and appeal, the legal route for defamation, and the shortcuts that break Google’s rules or the FTC’s.
Checked October 20, 2026 - How to get more Google reviews
Your review link and QR code, a message to ask every customer, and the Google and FTC rules that get reviews removed or a business fined.
Checked October 18, 2026