Google Business Profile: a simple guide for Singapore SMEs

Short answer: Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in local search results, with your address, hours, photos and reviews. Claim it, verify it, fill in every section accurately, and keep earning honest reviews. It's one of the cheapest ways for a local business to get found, including in Google's AI answers.

Written October 2026 by our local SEO team. Google changes these features often, so we date and update this guide.

Who can have a Business Profile?

A business that meets customers in person, either at its own location or by going to them. Google's verification help says online-only businesses without in-person services aren't eligible. Virtual offices and P.O. boxes aren't allowed as addresses either.

If you visit customers (aircon servicing, cleaning, renovation), you can set up as a service-area business and hide your home or office address.

How do you set it up?

1. Search for your business on Google Maps first. It may already exist. If it does, claim it instead of making a new one.
2. Use your real business name. Google's guidelines say your name should reflect your "real-world name", the same as your signboard, website and invoices. Adding keywords like "Best Aircon Service Tampines" to the name breaks the rules and can get the profile suspended.
3. Add an exact address or service area. One profile per location.
4. Choose your categories (more below).
5. Add your hours, phone, website and WhatsApp-friendly number.
6. Verify.

How does verification work now?

Google decides which verification options you see, and you can't choose them yourself. As of October 2026, Google's help pages list these methods:

Google says reviews can take up to 5 business days. While you wait for a postcard, don't edit your name, address or category, and don't request a new code, as that can slow things down.

For video, have this ready before you start: your street sign or block number, your business name on a permanent sign, and something that shows you run the place, like opening your cash register or showing your tools and a branded invoice. Don't film customers' faces or show bank or ID numbers.

How do you choose categories?

Your primary category matters most. Google says to pick the one that "best describes your business", use "as few categories as possible", and choose categories that complete the sentence "This business IS a...", not "This business HAS a...". A café that sells cakes is a café. A clinic with a pharmacy counter is still a clinic.

Pick the most specific category that fits. Add a few extra categories only for real parts of your business, and use the services and products sections for the details.

What photos should you add?

Real ones. Google asks that photos "represent reality", be in focus and well lit, and avoid heavy filters. The technical basics from Google's help page:

Add your logo, a cover photo, your shopfront (so people can find you), inside shots, your team, and your products or work. Add new photos from time to time so the profile looks active.

How do you get more reviews, ethically?

Ask every customer, the same way, and make it easy. Google lets you create a review link or QR code from your profile. Put it on your receipts, WhatsApp follow-ups and counter.

What Google does not allow, under its Maps content policy:

1. Offering discounts, freebies or anything else in exchange for reviews, or for changing or removing a negative review.
2. Asking only happy customers, or discouraging negative reviews.
3. Pressuring customers to review while they're still at your premises.
4. Reviews from staff, owners, family or anyone with a conflict of interest.
5. Asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews that mention specific staff names.
6. Buying reviews, "directly or in kind".

Fake reviews also carry legal risk here. Singapore's Competition and Consumer Commission (CCCS) has said that a business posting fake reviews engages in an unfair practice under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.

Reply to reviews, good and bad. Google suggests short, polite, personal replies, and advises against copy-paste "thank you" messages. For a complaint, acknowledge it, apologise if it's fair, and invite the person to call or email you. Never share their private details. If a review breaks Google's policies, you can flag it.

If you're a clinic or another regulated business, also check your industry's advertising rules before quoting or promoting reviews elsewhere.

Are posts and Q&A worth it?

Posts: you can publish updates, offers and events, with photos, videos and a button. Google says posts older than six months are archived unless you set a date range. A post every couple of weeks keeps your profile fresh.

Q&A: the old public Q&A section on Maps is on its way out. Google switched off the Q&A API on 3 November 2025, and in December 2025 a Google Product Specialist confirmed in the Business Profile Help Community that it's being replaced by an AI "Ask" button that answers using your business details and reviews. In March 2026 Google also started rolling out "Ask Maps", a Gemini chat inside Google Maps, but only in the US and India so far, not Singapore. Google hasn't given a date for every country. The practical takeaway: make your description, services, attributes and website FAQ complete, because that's what the AI draws on.

How does this tie into AI answers?

Google's guidance on AI Overviews and AI Mode says there are "no additional requirements" to appear, and lists keeping your Business Profile information up to date among the things that still matter. Other AI assistants may also draw on what's published about you online, such as reviews and directory listings. A complete, consistent profile with honest reviews helps you show up when someone asks "good dentist near Tampines?".

Keep your name, address and phone number the same everywhere: your profile, website, Facebook page and directories.

Quick answers

Is Google Business Profile free? Yes. Google says creating a Business Profile and listing your business is free. You only pay if you choose to run Google Ads.

How long does verification take? Google says reviews can take up to 5 business days, and postcards usually arrive within 14 days.

Can I have a profile if I work from home? Yes, if you serve customers in person. Set it up as a service-area business and hide your address.

Can I delete a bad review? Only Google can remove reviews, and only if they break its policies. Reply calmly and fix the issue if it's fair.

Should I offer a discount for reviews? No. Google prohibits it and can remove those reviews.

Sources

1. Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
2. Verify your business with a video recording, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
3. Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
4. Choose a business category, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
5. Manage photos and videos for your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
6. Tips to get more Google reviews, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
7. Prohibited and restricted content, Google Maps user contributed content policy (checked 26 Oct 2026)
8. Create a post for your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help (checked 26 Oct 2026)
9. Google quietly kills Q&A for an AI button, PPC Land (checked 26 Oct 2026)
10. AI features and your website, Google Search Central (checked 26 Oct 2026)
11. Business Profile FAQ, Google Business (checked 26 Oct 2026)
12. CCCS media release on fake customer reviews, 21 June 2024 (checked 26 Oct 2026)
13. Q&A API change log, Google Business Profile APIs (checked 26 Oct 2026)
14. Google confirms it's replacing Maps Q&A with "Ask", Search Engine Roundtable, 15 Dec 2025 (checked 26 Oct 2026)
15. Ask Maps and Immersive Navigation: new AI features in Google Maps, Google blog, 12 Mar 2026 (checked 26 Oct 2026)