How to check if your Google business listing is claimed
When customers in Minnesota look up your business on Google Search or Maps, they may find a Business Profile with your name, hours, and phone number. It's easy to assume that profile is yours. It may be. It may also be unclaimed, or managed by someone else, such as a former employee or a company you once hired.
Here is why it matters. Google says that to edit your business info, such as your business name or business hours, you need to verify your business, and that verifying gives you ownership of your Business Profile (Verify your business on Google). If you don't control the profile, you can't edit it yourself when your holiday hours or phone number are wrong.
The good news is that checking takes a few minutes.
Check on a computer
Google's help page on adding or claiming a profile lays out these steps (Add or claim your Business Profile):
- Open Google Maps.
- Search for your business's name and city, for example the name of your shop and "Duluth" or "St. Cloud." You can also find your business on the map and select it.
- Look at your profile. If you see Claim this business, the profile is unverified. Google describes this as the way to claim an unverified profile: select "Claim this business," then "Manage now."
Check on your phone
In the Google Maps app, the steps are almost the same (Add or claim your Business Profile):
- Open the Google Maps app.
- Enter your business name in the search bar.
- Select the correct business from the results.
- In the Business Profile, tap About and look for Claim this business.
What it means if you don't see a claim button
Google's page on ownership requests says that if you look for your Business Profile and can't find the "Claim this business" or "Own this business" button, you might already be the owner (Request ownership of a Business Profile).
"Might" is the key word. A missing button can also mean someone else verified the profile. To find out whether it's you, sign in to the Google Account you think is tied to the profile. Google says you must be signed in to that account to find your profile, and suggests these ways to look (Find your business on Google):
- On Google Search, search for your business's name and city, or search my business.
- On Google Maps, search for your business's name and city.
- In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right.
If you find your profile this way, the account you're signed in to is connected to it. If you don't, try any other Google Account you or your staff may have used, then move on to the steps below.
One more thing to watch for: if a Get verified button shows on your profile again, Google says it means Google couldn't completely verify your business, and you should try to re-verify (Verify your business on Google).
If there is no profile at all
If your business doesn't show up on Google Search or Maps, you can create a profile. Go to business.google.com/add, click Add your business to Google, follow the on-screen instructions, and choose a verification option (Add or claim your Business Profile). Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge.
If someone else already verified it
If a verified profile for your business is owned by someone else, and you're authorized to manage the business, you can request ownership from the current owner. For a storefront or a business that serves customers both at its address and on the road, Google lists these steps (Request ownership of a Business Profile):
- Go to business.google.com/add.
- Enter the name and address of your business, and choose your business from the list.
- You'll get a message that says "Someone else may manage this Business Profile."
- Select Request Access, fill out the form, and select Submit.
After you submit, you get an email confirmation, and the current owner is notified by email and has 3 days to respond. If you don't get a response after 3 days, you may have the option to claim the profile, though Google notes that option isn't always available.
If you're a service area business that works at customers' locations and doesn't have a physical shop or office, Google's page says to contact Google instead and choose "Transfer ownership of listing" as the issue.
If the person holding your profile is a marketing company or web designer you hired, it may be quicker to ask them. Google's rules for authorized representatives say they must never claim a profile without the owner's express consent, and must transfer ownership to the business owner immediately when asked (Business eligibility and ownership guidelines).
What verification looks like
Once you claim or add a profile, Google asks you to verify it (Verify your business on Google). A few things to know before you start:
- Google picks the methods. Verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can't be changed. They depend on your business type, public info, region, or business hours, and some businesses need more than one method.
- The options can include phone or text, email, a video recording, a live video call, or a postcard by mail.
- Phone codes need a real person. To get a code by phone, you need to be able to answer your business phone or get texts. Google says automated phone menus won't get the code.
- Postcards take time. Most codes arrive within 14 days, and codes expire after 30 days. While you wait, don't edit your business name, address, or category, or the code won't work. Don't request a new code either, because that cancels the one already in the mail.
- Keep the code to yourself. Google says it will never ask for your verification code, and that you shouldn't share it with anyone, even people who manage your Business Profile.
- Review takes up to 5 business days. After you finish the steps, Google reviews your info, and on rare occasions it takes longer. When you're verified, you get a confirmation email.
Check your address before you claim
Google's help page reminds you to make sure your business address is correct and meets its guidelines before you add a profile (Add or claim your Business Profile). From Google's guidelines (Guidelines for representing your business on Google):
- If you need a suite number, enter it as "Address Line 2."
- P.O. boxes and mailboxes at remote locations aren't acceptable.
- A virtual office, meaning a mailing address you rent but don't operate from, isn't eligible.
- An office in a co-working space only counts if it has clear signage, receives customers during business hours, and is staffed by your business during those hours.
- If you're a service area business, one that travels to customers instead of serving them at a storefront, you should hide your business address from customers.
- There should be only one profile per business.
Quick recap
- Search your business name and city on Google Maps.
- If you see "Claim this business," the profile is unverified, and if it's your business you can claim it.
- If you don't see it, sign in to the Google Account you think owns it and search for your business or "my business."
- If someone else verified it, request ownership or ask the person you hired to transfer it.
- If there's no profile, add one at business.google.com/add.
- Check that your address follows Google's guidelines, then verify with the method Google offers.
After your listing is yours
Customers who find you on Google often tap through to your website next. If you're a Twin Cities home service contractor, Pastel Brands' Lead Leak Test checks whether that next step works: your tap to call links, your quote or contact form, whether the phone numbers on your site match the business phone you give us, and your booking links. It reads your pages the way a customer's phone loads them, never submits your forms or calls your number, and your results arrive by email right after checkout.