How to claim Google My Business: a practical guide

By Bantam Growth Studio  ·  3 September 2026

If you have searched your own business name on Google and found a listing you do not control, or worse, one that someone else is managing, you are not alone. We see this constantly at Bantam Growth Studio when we run visibility audits for trades, clinics, salons and hospitality businesses across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast. A surprising number of owner-operators are losing customers every week simply because their Google Business Profile (still commonly called Google My Business) was never claimed properly, or was claimed years ago by a marketing contractor who has since disappeared. This guide walks through exactly how to claim it, what to expect, and the mistakes that cost small businesses real revenue.

What "Claiming" Actually Means

Google My Business was rebranded to Google Business Profile in 2021, but people still search for the old name because that is what they remember. Claiming a profile means proving to Google that you are the legitimate owner or authorised representative of the business, so you gain control over what appears in Google Search and Google Maps when someone looks for you.

There are two situations you will run into. Either the profile does not exist yet, or one already exists (Google often auto-generates a basic listing from business directories, address data or customer reviews) and you need to claim ownership of it.

Step 1: Search For Your Business First

Before doing anything else, search your exact business name plus suburb on Google. If a listing appears with a map pin, click it and look for an option that says "Own this business?" or "Claim this business". This tells you a profile already exists and you need to claim it rather than create a new one, which matters because creating a duplicate listing causes ranking and trust problems that are genuinely painful to untangle later.

Step 2: Go To Google Business Profile Manager

Head to business.google.com and sign in with the Google account you want to manage the listing with. We always recommend using a business email address rather than a personal one, since ownership disputes are far easier to resolve when the account belongs to the business rather than an individual staff member who may leave.

Enter your business name. If it appears in the suggestions, select it. If not, you will be prompted to create a new profile with your business category, address or service area, and contact details.

Step 3: Request Ownership If Someone Else Has It

This is where a lot of owner-operators get stuck. If the listing already exists and is managed by someone else, perhaps a previous agency, an old employee, or even a competitor, Google will show a "Request access" option instead of letting you claim it outright. This sends a request to the current owner. If they do not respond within about a week, Google gives you the option to escalate the request.

In cases where the listing was set up by a marketing agency that has since gone quiet, this is often the slowest part of the whole process. We have handled several of these disputes for local businesses on the Sunshine Coast where the original agency retainer had ended years earlier, but nobody had transferred the profile back. Do not skip this step out of frustration and create a duplicate profile instead. It will cause more problems than it solves.

Step 4: Verify Your Business

Verification proves to Google you are legitimately connected to the business address or service area. The available method depends on your business type and location, but commonly includes:

• Postcard verification, where Google mails a code to your business address, typically taking five to fourteen days
• Phone verification, available for some business categories, with a code sent by text or automated call
• Email verification, if your account is already linked to an existing profile
• Video verification, increasingly used for service-area businesses without a public storefront, such as many trades
• Instant verification, sometimes available if you have already verified the same business through Google Search Console

For trades and mobile services that operate from a home address without customer visits, video verification has become more common and it is worth having your ABN details, invoices and a short walkthrough ready to show genuine business activity.

Step 5: Complete Your Profile Properly

Claiming the listing is only half the job. An incomplete profile still loses customers to competitors with fuller listings. At minimum, fill in your correct category, service areas or address, opening hours, phone number, website link, and a handful of genuine photos. We consistently find in our audits that businesses with accurate categories and complete hours outperform competitors with thinner profiles, even when the competitor has more reviews.

Common Mistakes We See In Local Audits

• Multiple duplicate listings for the same business, often created by different staff members or past agencies, which splits reviews and confuses Google's ranking signals
• Using a personal Gmail account tied to one employee, meaning access is lost when that person leaves
• Wrong primary category selected, which is one of the most common reasons a business does not appear for obvious local searches
• Leaving the profile claimed but never updated, with old hours, old phone numbers or a closed-down address still showing
• Never checking who else has manager or owner access, which becomes a real problem when a past agency retains admin rights indefinitely

Why This Matters More Than Most Owners Realise

An unclaimed or poorly managed profile is one of the most common gaps we find when we run visibility audits for small businesses. It is not unusual to discover a clinic or salon that has been unknowingly invisible for certain high-intent searches simply because the listing was never verified, or the category was set incorrectly years ago and nobody noticed. These are missed customers, not abstract ranking issues, and they are usually straightforward to fix once identified.

Next Steps

If you have claimed your profile and it is verified, the next sensible step is checking whether it is actually working for you: correct categories, complete details, and genuine visibility for the searches that matter to your business. At Bantam Growth Studio we run visibility audits for small businesses across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast to identify exactly these kinds of gaps, then prioritise fixes on a flat monthly retainer with no lock-in contract. If you are simply trying to get your listing claimed and sorted, the steps above will get you there. If you want a second set of eyes on whether your local search presence is actually pulling its weight, that is the kind of first-hand, practical review we do every week.