Two sweet shops stand on the same road in Chandannagar. One has made jolbhora sandesh for sixty years. The other opened last spring.
Search “sweet shop near me” from the station and only the new one shows up, with photos, opening hours and forty reviews. The old one has never told Google it exists.
The listing that appears on Google Maps and in Google Search is called a Google Business Profile (it used to be “Google My Business”). Google lets you add or claim one at no charge. Nobody needs to pay an agency to “put you on Google”; the steps below take about fifteen minutes, plus a day or two for verification.
Before you start: decide what kind of business you are
| If customers… | You are | Your address on Maps |
|---|---|---|
| come to your shop, chamber or counter | A storefront | Shown, with a pin |
| never come to you, because you go to them or deliver (electrician, plumber, home tutor, tiffin delivery) | A service-area business | Hidden. You list the areas you serve instead |
| do both, e.g. a shop that also delivers | A hybrid | Shown, plus your delivery areas |
Step by step
Check you are not already on Maps
Search your shop’s name and area in Google Maps. Customers or Google may have added it already. If it is there, tap it, then Claim this business and Manage now.
If not, add it
Go to business.google.com/add while signed in to a Google account you will keep (not a staff member’s). Choose Add your business to Google.
Name and category
Use your real business name, the one on your signboard. Do not stuff it with keywords like “Best Cheap Electrician Kolkata”; Google can suspend profiles for that. Then pick the closest category, such as “Sweet shop”, “Electrician” or “Tutoring service”.
Address or service areas
Storefronts: enter the address and drop the pin exactly on your door. Service-area businesses: say you do not serve customers at your address and list your areas instead.
Phone, WhatsApp and website
Add the number you actually answer. If you have no website, your free My West Bengal listing gives you a page you can put here.
Verify
Google must confirm the business is real before the profile goes fully live. Choose from the options Google offers you; often it asks for a short video showing your signboard, your workspace or tools, and something that proves you manage the place, such as the shop keys or a bill in the business name.
After it is live: what makes people call
- Hours, including holidays. Nothing loses a customer faster than a profile that says “open” on a Puja Sunday when your shutter is down. Set special hours for Durga Puja and other holidays.
- Real photos. The shop front so people recognise it from the road, the inside, your best work, your menu or price board. Add a few every month.
- Reviews, asked for honestly. Ask happy customers to leave one, and reply to every review, including the bad ones, politely. Google’s rules forbid offering discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews, and forbid buying them.
- Updates. Post your Poila Boishakh offer, your new winter menu or your Puja closing dates as an update on the profile.
- Questions. Answer the questions people leave on your profile; the answers show to everyone.
Questions people ask
Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?
No. Adding, claiming and managing a profile is free. Google sells ads separately, and you never need them to be listed.
I am a tutor who teaches at students’ homes. Can I be on Maps?
Yes, as a service-area business with your address hidden. If students also come to you, list your teaching address as well.
Someone else created my shop’s listing. How do I get it?
Open it on Maps and choose Claim this business. If it is already verified by someone else, Google lets you request ownership from the current owner.
How long until my shop shows up?
Usually soon after verification, though edits can take up to a couple of days to appear. Where you rank depends on how close the searcher is, how well your profile matches the search, and how well known your business is.