Google Business Profile in Singapore: Setup, Verify and Rank

Is your business eligible for a Google Business Profile?

Google's Business Profile overview says profiles are free and meant for businesses that make face-to-face contact with customers: either a place customers visit during opening hours, or a business that goes to customers. Online-only businesses are not eligible, and neither are properties for rent or sale.

Google's service area help page adds that a business without permanent on-site signage is not eligible as a storefront and should be listed as a service-area business. That fits HDB and URA home-based business rules, which do not allow signs at home anyway.

How to set up a Google Business Profile, step by step

1. 1

   Use a Google account the business controls

   Sign in with an account tied to your business email, not a staff member's personal Gmail. Add a second owner later so you are never locked out.

2. 2

   Search first, then add or claim

   Search Google Maps for your business name. If a listing already exists, claim it; if someone else has verified it, request ownership. Otherwise add a new business.

3. 3

   Enter your real-world business name

   Use the name on your signage, invoices and website. Google's guidelines forbid adding taglines, locations or keywords to the name, and doing so can get the profile suspended.

4. 4

   Choose the fewest categories that fit

   Pick one precise primary category, for example 'Dental clinic' rather than 'Medical clinic'. Add secondary categories only if they describe a core part of what you do.

5. 5

   Add address or service area

   Storefronts enter the exact address and unit number. Service-area businesses clear the address and add up to 20 service areas, such as towns or postal areas.

6. 6

   Add phone, website, hours and booking link

   Use a local number that reaches you, link to your own website rather than a social media page, and add a booking link if you take appointments.

7. 7

   Verify the profile

   Follow the method Google offers. Until you are verified, your edits may not appear and you cannot manage reviews properly.

Verification in Singapore: video, phone or email

Google's verification help page says the method is chosen automatically based on your business type, public information, region and hours, and cannot be changed. Some businesses need more than one method.

• Phone or SMS: a code by call or text. It must reach a real person; automated phone menus will not receive it.
• Email: a link sent to an address Google selects.
• Video recording or live video call: Google recommends video when available. Be ready to show your location (outside signs, nearby shops, street signs), your products or equipment, and proof you manage the business, such as opening the premises with keys or showing the kitchen or storeroom.
• Postcard: not available for every business.

Home-based businesses can find this harder because there is no signage. Show branded packaging, equipment you use for the business, and business documents, and make sure the profile is set up as a service-area business with the address hidden.

Reviews: what Google allows and what gets removed

Reviews affect both trust and ranking. Google's Maps content policy is strict about how you ask for them.

Google can remove reviews that break these rules, so incentives can cost you the reviews you paid for. A simple request sent after every completed order, to every customer, is allowed.

How to rank higher on Google Maps in Singapore

Google says in its local ranking help page that local results are mainly based on relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the searcher) and prominence (how well known you are, including links to your site and the number of reviews and ratings). It also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

Your website matters for the prominence factor. A slow or thin site weakens your profile; see our guide to fixing website speed and Core Web Vitals.

Do it yourself or get help?

Most owners can set up and verify a profile themselves using the steps above. The longer-term work is the website the profile links to and keeping information consistent. If you run a home kitchen, our guide to selling food online from home explains why a service-area profile is the right choice, and clinics and salons can link the profile to online booking.

If you want help, our Business Website package (S$1,490) builds a fast site of up to 6 pages with your Google Business Profile linked and a map. For an existing site that is slow or missing from Google, the Speed & SEO Fix (S$390) improves load times, fixes titles and sets up Google Search Console. Verification itself must be done by you, as the owner.