The short answer
Go to google.com/business, sign in with an account you'll keep, enter your real business name, choose the most accurate main category, add your address or service areas, and verify. It's free. The category and honest details matter most.
Before you start
- Use a Google account that you control and will keep for years, not your developer's.
- Check that you qualify. Google requires in-person contact with customers.
- Search for your business first. If it's already listed, you claim that one, rather than making a new one.
- Have a phone number you're happy to publish for years.
Step by step
1. Enter your real name
Use the name on your board, bills and stationery. Don't add "best" or "Mayiladuthurai" or a list of services. Google's rule is that your name "should reflect your business's real-world name".
2. Choose the main category carefully
In Whitespark's 2026 survey of local search experts, the primary category ranked as the top factor for map results. Pick the narrowest one that's true, and look at what the top businesses in your trade use. You can add others as secondary categories.
3. Add your location or service area
- Customers come to you: enter your address and set the pin correctly.
- You go to customers: hide your address and list the areas you serve. Google allows up to 20, within about 2 hours' drive.
- Working from home: always hide the home address.
- A virtual office doesn't count as a real location.
4. Add phone, website and hours
Only list hours when you really answer. If you don't have a website, you can leave it blank.
5. Verify
Google often asks for a short video. Its help page asks for three kinds of proof:
- Location: street signs, landmarks or other markers around your business. Home-based businesses can film signs and landmarks in their neighbourhood.
- Equipment: your tools, workspace, products or business cards.
- Management: you doing the work, or something only staff can access. Documents such as "a business permit, invoice, or utility bill" with a matching name can help.
Don't show bank, tax or ID numbers, or other people's faces.
6. Fill in everything
Services, description, photos of your real place and work. Write the description as you'd explain it to a customer, in plain language.
Getting reviews the honest way
- Copy your review link from your profile.
- After every job or sale, send it on WhatsApp with a short thank-you in Tamil or English.
- Reply to every review, including the bad ones, briefly and calmly.
Never buy reviews, write your own, or trade them with other businesses. Google says more reviews and good ratings can help your ranking, but fake ones can get you suspended.
What you can't change
Google ranks local results by relevance, distance and prominence. You can't change how far you are from the person searching, and nobody can sell you a way round that. A profile in one town rarely shows in the map results of another town that has its own businesses. Anyone who promises otherwise is guessing.
Common questions
How much does it cost to add my shop to Google Maps?
Nothing. Google Business Profile is free, and Google says there's no way to pay for a better local ranking.
How long does Google verification take?
It varies, and Google doesn't promise a fixed time. Video verification is often the route for new businesses, and review can take days. If it's rejected, you can usually try again with better proof.
Can I add my business if I work from home?
Yes, if you meet customers in person, for example at their place. Google asks you to hide your home address and list the areas you serve instead. A business that's only online can't have a profile.
Can I put keywords in my business name to rank higher?
No. Your name on Google must be your real-world business name. Adding keywords breaks the rules and can get your profile suspended, even though you may see competitors doing it.