Module 0

Do You Already Have a Listing?

Before we create anything, let's check if you already have a Google Business Profile. Many businesses do — sometimes created by Google automatically, sometimes by a previous owner or employee. Finding out now saves headaches later.

Search for Your Business on Google

What to do

Open Google and search for your business name exactly as customers would. We're looking to see if a Business Profile already exists for you.

Step by step

  1. Open Google. Go to google.co.uk (or google.com) in your web browser.
  2. Search for your exact business name. Type your business name as it appears on your signage or paperwork. For example, "Smith's Plumbing Services" or "The Corner Café Exeter".
    Add your town or area if you have a common business name — this helps Google find the right one.
  3. Look at the right side of the results (on desktop) or the top (on mobile). If a Business Profile exists, you'll see a panel with business information — name, address, photos, reviews, opening hours.
  4. Also try searching your business name plus your town. For example, "Harrison Solicitors Birmingham". Sometimes this brings up listings that don't appear otherwise.
  5. Check Google Maps too. Go to maps.google.com and search for your business name. Zoom into your location and see if a pin appears for your business.

Examples by industry

Search: "Aquaflow Plumbing Plymouth" — Look for a panel showing your business details on the right side of the results. If it shows your address and phone number, you have a listing.
Search: "The Corner Café Exeter" — If you see your café with photos, hours, and reviews, you already have a profile. If you see "Claim this business" anywhere, it exists but isn't claimed yet.
Search: "Riverside Dental Practice Bristol" — Dental practices often have auto-generated listings from NHS directories. Check if the details are correct.
Search: "Harrison & Co Solicitors Birmingham" — Professional services often have listings created from business directories. Look for your firm in the results.

What Did You Find?

What to do

Based on your search, you'll be in one of three situations. Find yours below and follow the appropriate path.

Step by step

  1. Situation A: "I found my business and it says 'Claim this business' or 'Own this business?'" — Great! A listing exists but hasn't been claimed. You'll need to claim it and verify you're the owner. This is the most common situation. Go to Module 1: Claiming an Existing Listing.
  2. Situation B: "I found my business and it looks like someone is already managing it" — This means someone has already claimed your listing. This could be a previous owner, an old employee, or an agency you worked with. You'll need to request access or ownership. Go to Module 1: Dealing with Problems (Someone else has claimed it).
  3. Situation C: "I can't find my business anywhere" — No listing exists yet. You'll need to create one from scratch. This is actually the simplest path! Go to Module 1: Creating a New Listing.
  4. Situation D: "I found multiple listings for my business" — This is a problem we need to fix. Duplicate listings confuse Google and can hurt your visibility. Go to Module 1: Dealing with Problems (Duplicate listings).

How to Tell if a Listing is Already Claimed

What to do

If you found a listing for your business, here's how to tell whether someone is already managing it or if it's unclaimed and waiting for you.

Step by step

  1. Look for "Claim this business" or "Own this business?" link. If you see this text anywhere on the listing (usually near the bottom of the panel), the listing is unclaimed. Good news — you can claim it.
  2. Check how complete the listing looks. Unclaimed listings are usually bare-bones: maybe just a name, address, and a basic category. No photos uploaded by the business, no posts, no detailed description. Claimed listings typically have more detail.
  3. Look for recent activity. Has the business responded to reviews? Are there recent posts? These are signs someone is actively managing it.
  4. Try to claim it anyway. Go to business.google.com, sign in with your Google account, and search for your business. If it's unclaimed, you'll be able to start the verification process. If someone else owns it, Google will tell you and offer options to request access.
Where do unclaimed listings come from?

Google creates Business Profile listings automatically using data from various sources: business directories, government registrations, web crawling, and user suggestions. If your business has existed for a while, there's a good chance Google has created a basic listing for you. These auto-generated listings are often incomplete or have outdated information, which is why claiming and updating them is so important.

Google's official guidelines

Do You Have Multiple Locations?

What to do

If your business operates from more than one location, each location needs its own separate listing. Check for all of them now.

Step by step

  1. Search for each location separately. If you have shops in Manchester and Leeds, search for "Your Business Manchester" and "Your Business Leeds" separately.
  2. Note down what you find for each. Some locations might be claimed, others might not. Some might have listings, others might not.
  3. Plan to handle them one at a time. Start with your main or busiest location. Once you've got that sorted, move on to the others.

Examples by industry

Service-area businesses typically only need ONE listing, based at your home/office address (which stays hidden). You don't need separate listings for each area you serve.
If you have two café locations, each needs its own listing. "The Corner Café - Exeter High Street" and "The Corner Café - Exeter Quay" would be two separate profiles.
Multi-site dental practices need a listing for each surgery location. The Riverside Dental Practice in Bristol and the branch in Bath would each need their own profile.
If you have offices in multiple cities, each office needs its own listing with its specific address, phone number, and potentially different opening hours.
The rules for multiple locations

Google's guidelines are clear: each distinct location where customers can visit OR each distinct service area you operate from can have its own listing. However, you cannot create multiple listings for the same location just to cover more keywords or areas. One physical address = one listing. For service-area businesses, one business = one listing (even if you serve multiple areas). We'll cover the details of service areas in Module 2.

Google's official guidelines

Before moving to Module 1, confirm:

What's Next

What to do

You've completed the preparation stage. Now it's time to either claim your existing listing or create a new one.

Step by step

  1. Found an unclaimed listing? Head to the next section: Claiming an Existing Listing. We'll walk you through the verification process step by step.
  2. No listing exists? Skip to: Creating a New Listing. We'll create your profile from scratch.
  3. Found problems (duplicates, someone else has claimed it)? Go to: Dealing with Problems. We'll help you sort it out before moving forward.