How to edit your Google Business Profile

The short answer

Editing a Google Business Profile takes a minute. Getting the edit accepted is the part that needs care:

1. Sign in with the Google account that manages the profile. Then search your business on Google or open the Business tab in the Google Maps app and choose Edit profile.
2. Expect every edit to be reviewed. Google says most edits take about 10 minutes and some take up to 30 days.
3. Treat the name, category and address as big changes. Google says each of them can send you back to verification.
4. Use special hours for holidays, not new regular hours. Your normal week stays intact and customers see the change only on those dates.
5. Check for changes you didn't make. Google can update your profile from user suggestions and other sources, and for some of them you get only 4 days to reject the change.

The table below shows what Google says about each field. After it come the four edits people search for most: address, hours, name, and edits stuck on pending.

How do you edit your profile on a computer or phone?

You edit the profile directly on Google Search or in the Google Maps app. Google's help page, Edit your Business Profile, says you need to be signed in to the Google account that's linked to the profile.

On a computer (Google Search)

1. Go to your Business Profile. The quickest way is to search your business name on Google while you're signed in.
2. Select Edit profile.
3. Make your changes, then select Save.

On a phone (Google Maps app)

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. At the bottom right, tap Business.
3. Tap Edit profile, make your changes, then tap Save.

Inside Edit profile, Google's pages send you to the Location section for your address and service area, and to the Hours section for every kind of hours. If you can't see Edit profile at all, you're probably signed in to a different account than the one that manages the profile, or nobody has claimed it yet. Our guide on how to claim your business on Google covers that case.

If the profile isn't yours, you can't edit it, but you can use Suggest an edit on Google Maps to report a wrong detail. Your customers can do the same to your profile, which is why the last section of this guide matters.

Which edits does Google review, and which can trigger verification?

Google says it reviews your changes before they go live on the profile. Some changes go further and can ask you to prove the business again. Here is what Google's own pages say about each field, with a tip next to it. Where the third column says Google doesn't mention re-verification, we found nothing on its pages either way.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Sources: Google's pages on editing your profile, categories, service areas and what happens to your edits. The section names can differ a little between Search and the Maps app. For choosing a category, see our guide on Google Business Profile categories. For photos, see Google Business Profile photos.

Why bother keeping all of it right? Google says "businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results", and that a profile with wrong info might not show up for relevant searches (from its tips to improve your local ranking).

How do you change your business address on Google?

The steps are short. Google's page on managing your business address gives them like this:

1. Go to your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Location.
2. Next to "Business location", select Edit.
3. Enter the full address, including suite, floor or unit numbers.
4. If Google can't find the address, select Adjust and move the pin to where the business really is.
5. Select Save.

In the Google Maps app it's the same path after you tap Business at the bottom right. Google says address changes usually show in about 10 minutes, and in some cases take up to 30 days.

A few address rules from Google's guidelines for representing your business catch people out:

• A P.O. box or a remote mailbox isn't accepted. The profile has to be for the place where you actually work.
• A virtual office isn't eligible. Neither is a co-working desk, unless it has clear signage, receives customers and is staffed during your hours.
• Only official address details go in the address. Add cross-streets or landmarks only where the official address doesn't pinpoint you. No keywords or URLs.

Switching to a service area

If you no longer meet customers at your address, Google says to hide it and list your service area instead: in Edit profile, Location, select Edit next to "Business location" and turn off Show business address to customers. Then set up to 20 service areas by city or postal code. Google says the whole area shouldn't reach further than about 2 hours of driving from where the business is based. Details are on Google's service area page.

What should you do when your business moves?

This is where most address problems start. There are three different situations, and Google handles each one differently.

1. Your address was wrong, and you haven't moved

Edit the address as above. Restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues are the exception: Google's policy overview says that if such a business hasn't moved and needs to fix an incorrect address, it must contact Google support.

2. You moved, and you're a typical shop, office or trade

Edit the address on your existing profile. Google's edit page says that if you move to a new address after your business is verified, you must verify it again, so have your new signage up and be ready for whichever verification method Google offers. Our Google Business Profile verification guide covers each method.

Don't create a second profile for the new location while the first one still exists. Google's guidelines allow one profile per location, and a second one becomes a duplicate. If that has already happened, see our guide to duplicate Google Business Profiles.

3. You moved, and the place itself is what customers come for

Google's policy overview says location edits are rejected for businesses "whose physical identity is directly tied to customer experience", and gives dining, lodging and entertainment venues as examples. If such a business relocates, Google says to mark the existing profile as permanently closed and create a new profile at the new address. Its page on reopening a business adds that you must verify the new profile, and that you should contact Google if you want your reviews moved to it.

Whichever case you're in, update the address on your website too. Google says that if you don't answer a suggested edit within 4 days, it may publish it when other public information, such as your business website, supports it. A website that still shows the old address can work against you.

How do you change your business hours on Google?

Google has four tools for hours, and picking the right one saves you from editing your normal week every holiday:

• Regular hours are your normal week. Use them for permanent changes and for seasonal hours while the season lasts.
• Special hours cover single dates. Holidays, events, or a closure of up to 6 days in a row.
• More hours cover one service. Delivery, takeout, a drive-through or senior hours.
• Temporarily closed covers longer closures. Google says to use it when you're closed for more than 7 days, for the off-season, or indefinitely.

Change your regular hours

1. Go to your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Hours.
2. Next to "Hours", select Edit, then Open with main hours.
3. Tick each day you're open and set the times with the dropdowns. For a midday break, add a second set of hours to the same day with Add hours. For round the clock, choose 24 hours.
4. Select Save.

Google's page on editing your hours notes that after you update them, your profile shows a message confirming the change, and on phones a post about it appears in the Updates tab. You can edit that post to add detail, or delete it to remove the message.

Set holiday or special hours

1. In Edit profile, Hours, select Edit next to "Special hours".
2. Select Review to confirm a date Google suggests, or Add a date for your own.
3. Leave "Closed" ticked for a day off, or untick it and enter the hours you'll be open.
4. Select Save.

Google's special hours page says special hours only show if your regular hours are set to "Open with main hours", and suggests confirming your hours for official holidays even when they don't change. That tells customers you've checked. One small inconsistency: that page puts the line for Temporarily closed at 7 or more days, while Google's closing page says more than 7. So for a closure of exactly 7 days, Google's own pages allow either.

Set more hours for a service

Under Add more hours in the same Hours tab, pick a type such as "Delivery" or "Happy hours" and set its days and times. Google's more hours page says these don't display until your regular hours are set, and that they should usually fall inside your main hours.

One more rule from Google's guidelines: some businesses shouldn't list hours at all, including hotels, schools, movie theaters, event venues, and businesses that work only by appointment.

How do you change your business name on Google?

You edit the name in Edit profile like any other field. The hard part is whether Google will accept it, and that depends on two rules in its guidelines for representing your business.

Rule 1: the name must match the real world

Google says the name should be the one on your storefront, website and stationery, and that adding anything else "could result in the suspension of your Business Profile". Its guidelines list what can't go in the name:

• Marketing taglines, store codes, and trademark or registered signs
• Words in all capitals, except real acronyms like KFC or IHOP
• Hours or status ("Open 24 hours", "Closed"), phone numbers or website addresses
• Service, product or location details that aren't part of the real name
• Special characters or legal terms like LLC, unless you can show real-world proof such as signage or invoices

As an example (a fictional business): "Northside Plumbing" is fine. "Northside Plumbing | 24/7 Emergency Plumber Denver" isn't. If extra words in the name have already cost you the profile, our guide to suspended Google Business Profiles covers what to do.

Rule 2: a rebrand isn't the same as a new business

Google calls an eligible name change a rebrand: a minor change where "the proper nouns and services described in the business name remain unchanged and the business category remains unchanged". A chain whose name changes across several locations may also qualify. A rebrand is simply an edit to your existing profile, though Google says you might need to verify again.

Anything bigger counts as a new business. Google says you must mark the existing profile as closed and create a new one under the new name. Its policy overview adds that edits which significantly change a business's name or category may be rejected, and that if a different business now operates at the location, the old profile should be marked permanently closed, not renamed.

Why is my edit pending or not approved?

After you save, Google's page on what happens to your edits says an edit shows one of three states:

• Accepted means it's live. The new detail shows on your profile.
• Pending means it's still under review. Google says this usually takes 10 minutes, but sometimes up to 30 days.
• Not approved means Google couldn't confirm it. Google says it might not approve changes "if it can't confirm its accuracy".

Google has a troubleshooting tool for this, Check your edit status. If an edit stays pending or comes back not approved, work through these causes, which come from Google's policy overview:

1. The profile isn't verified. Google says it may reject content added to unverified profiles. Verify first.
2. The profile is suspended or disabled. It has to be reinstated before any edit can go through.
3. The edit changes what the business is. Big name or category changes may be rejected; see the name section above.
4. It's a location edit for a venue. Restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues that move need a new profile.
5. The detail is already there. Adding the same phone number or photo twice fails because Google already has it.

If you're sure the edit is correct, you can appeal it. Google's appeals page says businesses in the UK or the European Economic Area use the appeals tool for rejected name, category, address, phone and website edits, while businesses everywhere else use the contact us form. Have proof ready, like a business registration, license or utility bill with the same name and address as the profile. Google says decisions can take up to 5 business days, and asks you not to send several appeals for the same issue.

Our advice, not Google's: make one big change at a time and wait for it to be accepted before the next. If you change the name, category and address on the same day and something gets rejected, you won't know which change caused it. If your whole profile has disappeared, not just one edit, start with our guide on why a business isn't showing on Google.

Why did Google change my profile, and can you undo it?

Your profile can change without you touching it. Google's page on Google updates to your Business Profile says it gathers information from sources like user reports and licensed content, and may update your profile when those sources say something is wrong or out of date. The good news: you can review these changes and correct them.

Here is how Google says it works:

• Changed fields show in blue. In the profile editor, text in blue is information Google changed. A notification at the top of the page tells you there are updates.
• Some suggestions wait for you. For certain suggested edits you get an email or a notification, and then you have 4 days to accept or reject the suggestion.
• Silence can count as a yes. If you don't respond within 4 days, Google may publish the update anyway if other public information, such as your website, supports it.
• Some edits skip you. Google may apply a suggested edit without asking first when it's needed to meet its policies.

Google's page doesn't walk through the accept and reject buttons step by step, and it says not every Google update can be managed from your profile. What it does say is that you can always correct your profile directly: open Edit profile, fix the field, and save.

In some regions Google also contacts businesses by automated call, text or WhatsApp to confirm details. According to Google's edit page, you can review what it collected under Edit profile, Collected info, see the source and date, and delete anything wrong.

Our advice: open your profile once a week, look for blue text or a notification, and answer any suggested edit the same day. Keep your website's hours and address matching your profile, because that's the public information Google checks a suggestion against.