Chains can use Google Business Profile to manage their business information and personalise their profiles on Google Search and Maps.
From a verified Business Profile account, owners of chains can use Business Profile features to keep current customers and attract potential customers.
Learn more about how to sign up for Business Profile.
What you can do
You can choose the information that potential customers find about your business in your Business Profile. Here are some things that you can do through your Business Profile:
- Manage your information. You can use a spreadsheet to update information in bulk, like opening hours and phone numbers.
- Engage with your customers. Respond to reviews and answer frequently asked questions.
- Post high-quality photos. Give your customers an idea of what to expect.
- Control who has access to your business profiles with location groups.
- Create ads to boost your business’ online presence.
How customers find your information
When customers search for a business on Google, your Business Profile may appear in their search results. Factors like search relevance, shopper distance, and your chain’s prominence determines whether your chain’s information appears when a customer searches for a business.
The information that your Business Profile displays for your chain may include:
- Website
- Directions
- Phone number
- Customer reviews
- Photos
- Short summary of your business
A verified Business Profile helps control the number of duplicate profiles that display for your business. Although most duplicates will be resolved during the bulk verification process, you can also flag business profiles for removal.
Manage your Business Profile
Verify your business and take ownership of account access
Here’s how to claim your business information and manage your account:
- Claim a Business Profile that’s already on Google Maps: If someone else owns your business or you want to transfer ownership of your profile, you can request a transfer. You can also add new members to manage your Business Profile.
- Create profiles for chains with future open dates: Businesses set to open within 90 days are able to create and verify Business Profiles. Learn more about how to add a business before it opens.
- Verify locations in bulk: Chains with more than 10 locations can instantly update and verify all of their Business Profiles with a single spreadsheet upload.
- Rebrand your chain: If the name of your chain has changed, you can change your Business Profile info. Learn more about whether your business is eligible for rebranding. If your business has significantly changed its identity, mark your existing locations as closed and create new locations.
- Resolve ownership conflicts (SABs): To claim or verify any Service Area Business (SAB) profiles that appear as 'Access needed' in your account, contact support.
Engage with customers
Below are some ways to increase awareness of your business and engagement with your customers:
- Create posts: You can create posts to help keep your customers up-to-date about your chains’ sales events, new or popular products and services. Posts also help attract potential customers with deals offered.
- Reply to customer reviews: Reply to customer reviews to build current customers' trust and gain new potential customers.
- Showcase your products: You can use local inventory ads to showcase your products and build a presence on high traffic surfaces. Local inventory ads show customers what type of products a business sells, and if a shop matches their needs.
- Answer customer questions: In Google Maps on Android, customers can ask and answer questions about your business. You can also directly respond to these Q&As.
- Message your customers directly: The Google Maps app lets you chat with customers who find your Business Profiles and answer their questions. Messaging with customers can help keep current customers and attract potential customers.
- Report potentially inappropriate reviews: You can flag a review for removal if it violates the Google Maps policy guidelines.
Manage your chain's information
Below are ways to manage your chain’s information:
- Write a business summary: Google Maps may provide a summary of your chain’s offerings in a short paragraph. If you find any of this information to be factually incorrect, contact us and we can make the changes for you.
- Include info from the business: Enter a brief description of your business, such as what you offer, what sets you apart, your history or anything else that's helpful for customers to know.
- Set special hours for your business: For days when your business has an irregular schedule, like holidays or special events, you can enter special hours in advance. If you schedule special hours, your regular hours remain in place for all other days.
- Create booking links: Offer a way for customers to directly book a reservation by signing up to work with a scheduling provider.
- Include actions, like online orders and reservations: Your Business Profile can include links to specific actions such as online orders or reservations.
Manage your chain's attributes
Google uses a variety of different sources when collecting information about a chain’s offerings. If you determine that the attributes for your chain are incorrect, contact support to address the issue.
Some attributes, such as 'has Wi-Fi' or 'offers outdoor seating', are editable by the business owner. Learn more about what attributes you can edit and how you can edit them.
Set location info if you're within another complex
If a branch of your business is located within another complex, such as a shopping centre that is already listed on Business Profile, you can request to have this information displayed in your profile. This can be useful for chains that don’t display their signage on the exterior of the building that it occupies.
Tip: Google can’t guarantee this information will show up when your business is searched.
