A buyer searches for your service from an office in Upper Hill, sees three businesses on the map with photos, hours and reviews, and calls one of them. Yours was not on the map. A Google Business Profile is the free listing that decides whether a business appears in that moment, and for a new business in Kenya it is often the first place a buyer meets you, before your website. It takes an afternoon to set up properly and a few minutes a month to keep working.
What a Google Business Profile does that a website cannot
A website waits to be found. A Google Business Profile appears in Google Maps and in the local results at the top of a search, alongside directions, opening hours, photos, reviews and a button to call. Google renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile a few years ago, which is why both names still appear in searches.
The profile also matters for AI search. Assistants that answer questions such as “who offers this service in Nairobi” draw on the same business information Google holds, so an accurate profile is one of the sources that shapes how the business is described.
Check whether a profile already exists before creating one
Many businesses already have a listing they did not create. A customer may have added it, or a previous staff member may have set it up. Search for the business name on Google Maps first. If a listing appears with a “Claim this business” option, claim it. If someone else already manages it, Google lets you request access, and the current manager has a few days to respond before you can proceed.
Creating a second listing for the same business splits its reviews and confuses Google about which one is real.
Set up the profile with the details Google checks
Go to business.google.com and sign in with a Google account the business owns, ideally a company email rather than a personal one. Enter the business name exactly as it appears on your signage, registration documents and website. Adding service words or locations to the name, such as “Best Plumber Nairobi”, breaks Google’s guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
Choose the primary category carefully, because it carries the most weight in deciding which searches the profile appears for. Pick the category that describes what the business is, then add secondary categories for other services it genuinely offers.
If buyers visit you, add the physical address. If you serve clients at their premises or online and do not receive visitors, list the areas you serve and hide the address. Many consultants, home-based businesses and service providers in Kenya fall into this second group.
Add the phone number buyers should use, the website address and the opening hours. These three details should match the website character for character. Mismatches between the profile, the website and directory listings are one of the most common reasons a business is shown with the wrong details.
Verify the profile so you can manage it fully
An unverified profile can appear in search, but the owner cannot reply to reviews, post updates or fully control the information. Google chooses the verification method, and it varies by business. Video verification is now the most common: a short, unedited recording that shows the business location or signage, proof of operation such as equipment or stock, and proof that you manage the business. Some businesses are offered phone, email or a postcard instead.
Plan the video before you start it. Businesses without a shopfront often struggle here, so show the tools of the trade, branded materials and any documents that connect you to the business. If verification fails, Google usually allows another attempt.
Make the profile worth choosing
A verified profile with no photos and no reviews rarely wins the call. Four additions make the difference.
Photos come first. Add the logo, the exterior if buyers visit, the team and the work itself. Real photos of real work outperform stock images.
Services and products come second. List each service with a short description in the words buyers use. This helps Google match the profile to specific searches.
Reviews come third. Ask satisfied clients directly, with the review link from the profile, soon after a job is finished. Reply to every review, including the critical ones, because buyers read the replies as closely as the reviews. Paying for reviews or writing your own breaks Google’s rules and can remove the profile entirely.
Updates come fourth. Posts about a new service, an event or a recent project show buyers the business is active.
Keep ownership of the profile in the business
A Google Business Profile is a business asset, so treat it like the domain name. The business should be the owner, and any agency or freelancer should be added as a manager. If the person who set it up leaves, the business keeps control. The same principle applies to the website, its domain and its hosting, which is easy to overlook when comparing website quotes.
A profile works best with a website behind it
The profile introduces the business. The website is where a buyer goes to decide. A profile that links to a clear site, even a simple one, converts better than a profile that links nowhere. For a new business weighing how to get that site live, the choice between building it yourself and commissioning it comes down to what the site has to do.
When the business needs a site that carries more weight, Qallann builds websites on Wix, WordPress and Webflow.
Local search rewards businesses that keep their profile current
The businesses that win local searches keep their profiles current: new photos, steady reviews, accurate hours and services that match the website. Google Business Profile optimisation is part of the local search work Qallann does alongside website and content SEO.
If you want the profile, the website and local search set up to work together: See what Qallann’s search engine optimisation covers
