How to Get Your Business on Google Maps — A Complete Guide for Small Businesses
When someone searches "coffee shop near me" or "dentist Sukhumvit" on Google, the first thing they see is a map with three business listings — the Local Pack. These three businesses get the majority of clicks for that search. Everything below them — including the organic results — gets a fraction of the traffic.
Getting your business into that Local Pack is one of the highest-value things a small business owner can do for their digital presence. And unlike ranking on Google Search, which can take months, appearing on Google Maps can happen within weeks of doing the right setup.
Here's exactly how to do it.
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is Google's free tool for managing how your business appears on Google Maps and in local search results. It's the profile that shows up when someone searches for your business name, or when Google decides your business is relevant to a local search.
A complete, verified Google Business Profile can show:
- Your business name, address, and phone number
- Your opening hours
- Photos of your business, products, or team
- Customer reviews and your responses
- A link to your website
- Directions via Google Maps
- Your business category and services
For any business with a physical location or a defined service area, this profile is not optional. It's foundational.
Step 1 — Create Your Google Business Profile
Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account.
Click "Add your business" and follow the setup:
Business name: Use your exact business name as it appears everywhere else — on your signage, your website, your receipts. Consistency matters for local SEO.
Business category: Choose the most specific, accurate category available. This is one of the most important fields — Google uses it to decide which searches to show your business for. If you're a Thai restaurant, choose "Thai Restaurant" not just "Restaurant."
Location: If you have a physical address customers can visit, add it. If you operate from a home address or serve customers at their location, you can hide the address and set a service area instead.
Service area: If you serve customers in a specific area (e.g. Bangkok, or Sukhumvit to Silom), set this. It tells Google which local searches you're relevant for.
Contact details: Add your phone number and website URL. Make sure these match exactly what appears on your website and other online directories.
Step 2 — Verify Your Business
Google requires verification before your profile goes live on Maps. This proves you are actually associated with the business at the location you've claimed.
Verification methods vary by business type:
Postcard verification: Google mails a postcard with a verification code to your business address. Takes 5–14 days. Most common method for physical businesses.
Phone verification: Google calls or texts a code to your business phone number. Available for some businesses.
Video verification: You record a short video showing your business location, signage, and proof of operation. Increasingly common.
Instant verification: Available if you've already verified your business with Google Search Console using the same Google account.
Once verified, your profile goes live and your business becomes visible on Google Maps.
Step 3 — Complete Every Section of Your Profile
A complete profile outranks an incomplete one. Google uses profile completeness as a ranking signal for local search. Go through every section:
Business description (750 characters)
Write a clear description of what your business does, who you serve, and what makes you different. Include your primary keywords naturally — "Thai restaurant in Thonglor serving authentic northern Thai cuisine" is better than "We are a restaurant."
Hours
Add your opening hours for every day of the week. Keep these accurate and update them for holidays. Google shows a "Usually busy" indicator based on your hours — inaccurate hours damage trust.
Photos
Add at least 10 photos. Businesses with photos receive significantly more direction requests and website clicks than those without.
Include:
- Exterior photo (so customers can recognise your location)
- Interior photos
- Product or service photos
- Team photos if appropriate
- Logo
Services and products
Add specific services or products with descriptions and prices where relevant. This helps Google understand exactly what you offer and match you to more specific searches.
Q&A section
You can add your own questions and answers to the Q&A section before customers ask them. Add the 5 most common questions your customers ask and answer them clearly.
Step 4 — Get Reviews
Reviews are the single most powerful ranking factor in Google Maps local search. Businesses with more reviews, higher ratings, and recent review activity consistently outrank businesses with fewer reviews — even when other factors are equal.
How to get more reviews:
Ask directly — most customers who are happy with your service will leave a review if you simply ask them. The best time to ask is immediately after a positive interaction.
Make it easy — send customers a direct link to your Google review page. Find your review link in Google Business Profile dashboard under "Get more reviews."
Respond to every review — both positive and negative. Responding to reviews signals to Google that you're an active, engaged business. It also signals to potential customers that you care about service.
Never buy reviews or ask for reviews in exchange for discounts — Google detects these patterns and can suspend your profile.
Step 5 — Keep Your Profile Active
Google rewards active profiles. Businesses that regularly update their profile rank better than businesses that set it up once and never touch it again.
Weekly actions that improve local ranking:
Google Posts: Publish short updates, offers, or announcements directly on your profile. These appear in your Maps listing and in search results for your business name. Takes 5 minutes. Do it weekly.
Photo updates: Add new photos regularly — not all at once. Google tracks the recency of photos.
Q&A monitoring: Check and answer any new customer questions.
Review responses: Respond to new reviews within 48 hours.
Step 6 — Build Local Citations
A citation is any mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on another website. Local directories, review platforms, and business databases all create citations.
Google uses citation consistency as a trust signal. If your business name, address, and phone number appear identically across many reputable websites, Google has more confidence that the information is accurate — and ranks your profile higher.
Key citation sources for Thai businesses:
- Google Business Profile (already done)
- Facebook Business Page
- Foursquare
- TripAdvisor (for hospitality businesses)
- Wongnai (major Thai review platform)
- Yelp
- Apple Maps
- Bing Places
Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are identical across all of these. Even small differences ("Co., Ltd." vs "Co Ltd") can dilute your citation signal.
Step 7 — Optimise Your Website for Local Search
Your Google Business Profile and your website work together. Google cross-references the information on your website with your Business Profile to verify accuracy and relevance.
For local SEO, your website needs:
LocalBusiness schema markup — structured data that tells Google your business name, address, phone number, hours, and service area in a format it can read precisely.
Location-specific content — mention your location naturally in your website content. "We serve customers across Bangkok, from Silom to Thonglor" gives Google geographic signals.
NAP consistency — your business name, address, and phone number on your website must match your Google Business Profile exactly.
Mobile optimisation — the majority of local searches happen on mobile. A site that doesn't work well on mobile loses both rankings and customers.
How Krubly's SEO Plans Handle All of This
Setting up and optimising a Google Business Profile correctly takes time. Maintaining it consistently takes ongoing effort. And connecting it to a properly optimised website with LocalBusiness schema, NAP consistency, and location-specific content requires technical knowledge most business owners don't have.
Krubly's SEO plans take the entire process off your hands:
- Google Business Profile setup and optimisation
- LocalBusiness schema markup on your website
- NAP consistency audit across major directories
- Citation building in relevant Thai and international directories
- Monthly profile maintenance — posts, photo updates, review monitoring
- Local keyword targeting in your website content
You focus on running your business. Krubly handles getting it found.
[See Krubly's local SEO plans →]
