A Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the free tool from Google that a business owner uses to manage how the business appears on Google Maps and in Google Search. Here is how to get on, get verified and show up, plus Apple Maps and Bing.
On a 20-minute call we go through your Google, Apple and Bing listings with you. The free scan checks your website and what AI assistants say about you.
An independent guide. MITS SFL is not affiliated with Google, Apple or Microsoft.
Through a free Google Business Profile. Search Google Maps for your business first. If it is already listed, claim it; if not, add it at business.google.com/add. Enter your real business name, your address or service area, phone, hours and category, then verify in the way Google offers you. Google says only verified businesses can show the business information they manage on Google Maps and Google Search.
Google lists businesses that meet customers in person during their stated hours. Online-only businesses, lead generators, P.O. boxes and virtual offices don't qualify.
Search Google Maps for your business name and city. If you are there, open the listing and choose the option to claim it. If someone else already verified it, request ownership; the current owner has 3 days to respond.
Your real-world business name, with no extra keywords or city names (Google says they can lead to suspension), plus your address or service area, phone, hours and category.
Google picks the method and you can't change it. If a postcard is on its way, don't edit your name, address or category until the code arrives.
Google says to make your profile as complete as possible. Fill in your category, a business description, your website, details such as parking or Wi-Fi, and photos. Keep your hours right, and use special hours for holidays or a short closure, such as before a storm. Google reviews edits first, usually within 10 minutes, sometimes up to 30 days.
What people ask Google · our research, October 2026
The questions owners type into Google when customers can't find them, answered from Google's, Apple's and Microsoft's own help pages (checked October 2026).
Google verifies you, not us, and Google picks the method: you can't change it, and some businesses need more than one. Methods Google lists today include a recorded video (its recommended option if you are eligible), a phone call or text, email, a live video call, or a postcard, which isn't offered to every business. A phone line behind an automated menu can't receive the code call. Google says reviews take up to 5 business days.
For a video, Google wants one live, unedited take of at least 30 seconds from your phone. Show where you are, such as street signs or a building number. Show that the business exists, such as a sign with your business name, or your tools and branded gear. Show that you run it, such as opening a register or a staff-only area, doing the work, or a permit, invoice or utility bill in the business name. Don't show ID, bank or tax numbers, private information or other people's faces.
If verification fails, Google says to re-verify or try another method it shows you, and to contact Google support if you still can't verify.
Enter any code yourself: Google never asks for it and says not to share it, even with someone who manages your profile.
Check verification first: Google says only verified businesses can show their business information on Maps and Search. You manage your profile while signed in to its Google Account, which is why it can look live to you. A suspended or disabled profile is also hidden from others until the issue is resolved; appeals go through Google's appeals tool. To see what customers see, sign out or use a private browser window and search your business name and city.
Google says local results are based mainly on relevance (how well you match the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and popularity, which it also calls prominence: how well-known you are, reviews included.
Other reasons Google lists: not verified, a new profile, wrong or incomplete details, or suspended. A new profile can take up to a month to appear in rankings, and Google reviews edits before they appear. There is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
A verified Business Profile can show your business information on Google Maps and in Google's local results. Your website shows up in the regular results only if Google can find and index it. Google says it usually finds sites on its own, but it can take a few weeks to notice a new site, and some sites are missed.
To check, search Google for site:yourdomain.com (Google says this may not list every indexed page). Add your site to Google Search Console to see errors that stop Google from understanding it. Make sure a noindex tag isn't keeping your pages out of Google, and that your robots.txt file isn't blocking Google's crawler. Removing those blocks is part of our Quick Fix; Google still decides what it indexes and how it ranks.
Yes, as a service-area business. If customers don't come to your address, Google says to remove it and set service areas instead: up to 20 cities, ZIP codes or other areas, about 2 hours' drive at most, with no radius option. Google's own examples are plumbers and cleaners. Bing Places also lets service providers hide their address, but still needs a valid one to verify.
Ask every customer, the same way. On a computer, open your profile, go to your reviews and use the option to get more reviews, then share the link or QR code on receipts, thank-you emails or a printed sign. Google's rules ban offering anything for a review (discounts, freebies or payment), asking only happy customers, pressuring people on the spot, staff review quotas, and reviews from employees or family. Reply to every review, including the bad ones.
Apple Business Connect is now part of Apple Business, which launched on April 14, 2026; existing Business Connect data moved over automatically. It is free at business.apple.com. Add your location under Brands, then Locations, with the map pin on top of your building. A new organization verifies with two methods within 60 days, which can take up to five business days. If you are already on Apple Maps, Apple may verify you by calling the number it has on file.
It is free, so there is little reason not to. Bing Places now lives at bing.com/forbusiness. If Google has already verified you, you can import your Google Business Profile and Bing verifies the import automatically; publishing typically takes 7 to 12 days. Bing warns that importing can create duplicate listings and that categories may not carry over exactly, so check afterwards. Otherwise Bing sends a PIN by phone, mail, email or text.
We can't verify you, rank you or promise reviews. That is up to the platforms and your customers. We make sure everything you control is right. We're based in Hollywood, FL, and work with businesses across Broward and South Florida.
Google Business Profile is free from Google. You never have to pay anyone to have one. If you hire help, including us, read Google's notice on working with a third party. You stay the owner of your profile: if we need access, you add us as a manager, and we never ask for your password.
The free scan checks your website and what AI assistants say about you. We go through your Google, Apple and Bing listings with you on a call. Then you decide.
One-time prices in US dollars. Google Business Profile, Apple Business and Bing Places are free; you pay us only for our work. Google and Apple verify businesses themselves, and no one can guarantee verification, ranking, placement or reviews. Results are measured, not promised. Monthly monitoring is on the AI Visibility page.
Yes. Google says creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free, and Apple Business and Bing Places are free too. You only pay someone if you want help.
No, and be careful with anyone who does. Google verifies and ranks businesses itself, says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and forbids agencies from promising top placement. We fix what you control and tell you exactly what we changed.
Yes. Google's rules say the business keeps ownership. If we need access, you add us as a manager; we never ask for your password, and you enter any Google verification code yourself. If you want us out, Google requires an agency to hand back full control within 7 business days.
It depends mostly on the platforms. Google, for example, says verification reviews take up to 5 business days and postcard codes usually arrive within 14 days.
For the scan: your business name, website and city. For a fix: access to your website and your listings, or we walk you through the changes on a call.
Book a free 20-minute call and we go through your Google, Apple and Bing listings with you. The free scan checks your website and what AI assistants say about you, and you keep the report.
(754) 203-4594 · Call or WhatsAppSources, checked October 13–14, 2026: Google's help pages on verification, video verification, local ranking and reviews policy, Google Search Central on getting your site on Google, the Apple Business user guide, and Bing Places help. Google, Google Maps, Google Business Profile and Gemini are trademarks of Google LLC. Apple and Apple Maps are trademarks of Apple Inc. Microsoft and Bing are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Yelp is a trademark of Yelp Inc. ChatGPT is a trademark of OpenAI. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic. MITS SFL is an independent company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yelp, OpenAI or Anthropic.