Google Business Profile: a practical guide for African businesses

When someone in Lagos searches for a dentist near them, or a customer in Nairobi looks up a hardware shop before driving across town, Google often answers with a map and a short list of businesses. Those listings come from Google Business Profile, the free tool formerly known as Google My Business.

For many local businesses, the profile does more work than the website. It shows your opening hours, your phone number, directions, photos and reviews in one place, and it lets people act immediately: call, get directions or visit your site. If the information is wrong or thin, customers go to the next listing.

A profile is not a one-off task. Google updates features regularly, customers leave reviews, and your own details change. The businesses that benefit most treat it as a living storefront that someone owns and checks every week.

Start by searching for your business on Google Maps. A listing may already exist, created by Google or by a customer. If it does, claim it rather than creating a duplicate. Duplicates split your reviews and confuse both Google and your customers.

Use your real business name exactly as it appears on your signage and documents. Adding keywords or city names to the name field, such as “Best Accountant Lekki”, breaks Google’s guidelines and can get the profile suspended.

Verification methods vary by country, category and account history. Google may offer a video recording of your premises, a phone or SMS code, email, or a postcard, and the options it shows you can change over time. Video verification is common now: be ready to show your signage, your location and proof that you operate there, such as equipment, stock or business documents.

Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide which searches you appear in. Pick the most specific one that describes your core business: “Dental clinic” or “Cosmetic dentist” rather than a vague “Health”. Add secondary categories only where they genuinely apply.

Fill in the services or products section with the things people actually search for, written in plain language. A clinic in Johannesburg might list teeth whitening, root canal treatment and emergency dental care. A short description of each helps customers and gives Google context.

Opening hours need to be right, including special hours for public holidays. Nothing damages trust faster than a customer arriving at a closed door that Google said was open. Make sure your phone number is one that is answered, and that your website link goes to the most relevant page rather than a generic homepage when that makes sense.

Real photos help customers decide. Show the outside of the building so people recognise it on arrival, the inside, your team at work and your products or results where that is appropriate. Avoid stock images: customers notice, and they add nothing.

Posts let you share updates, offers and events directly on your profile. They are useful for seasonal promotions or new services, but they are not a substitute for accurate core information. A handful of useful posts is better than a stream of filler.

Some features come and go. Google ended the built-in chat feature on Business Profiles in 2024, and the questions-and-answers section has been changing too. Check what is currently available in your dashboard rather than relying on older guides. Where customers can no longer message you through Google, make sure your phone number, WhatsApp link on your website and other contact routes are clear.

Reviews influence both customers and local visibility. The honest way to get more is simple: ask satisfied customers at the right moment, and make it easy with a direct review link you can send by WhatsApp, SMS or email, or show as a QR code at your counter.

Google’s policies prohibit offering incentives for reviews, writing reviews for yourself, and selectively asking only happy customers while filtering out others. Buying reviews is a fast way to lose the ones you have and, in some cases, the profile itself.

Reply to reviews, including negative ones. A calm, specific response that acknowledges the issue and offers a way to resolve it offline shows future customers how you treat people. Never share private details about a patient or client in a reply.

Most profile problems are avoidable. They come from rushed setup, ownership lost when a staff member leaves, or information that drifts out of date. The consequences range from fewer calls to a suspended listing.

Consistency matters beyond Google too. Your name, address and phone number should match across your website, social profiles and directories. Inconsistent details make it harder for Google, and for AI assistants, to be confident about who you are.

Google Business Profile includes performance data showing how people found your profile and what they did next, such as calls, direction requests and website clicks. Review it monthly and look at trends rather than day-to-day movements.

To see what happens after the click, add UTM parameters to your website link so visits from your profile appear separately in your analytics. If calls matter most, ask new customers how they found you and record the answer. It is simple, and it fills gaps the data cannot.

Nobody can guarantee a position in the map results. Proximity to the searcher, relevance and prominence all play a part, and some of that is outside your control. What you can control is an accurate, complete, well-reviewed profile that turns the searches you do appear in into real customers.