How to Edit a Google My Business Listing

Your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is your modern-day storefront. Editing it is one of the highest-impact marketing tasks you can do, and thankfully, it's easier than ever. This guide will walk you through exactly how to access and update every part of your listing, ensuring new customers can find you and have all the right information at their fingertips.

Why Keeping Your Google Business Profile Updated Is a Big Deal

Before getting into the how-to, let's quickly cover why this matters so much. An outdated or incomplete profile doesn’t just look unprofessional, it actively costs you business. When a potential customer searches for "coffee shop near me" or "plumber in Brooklyn," Google serves up a map and a list of top local businesses. Profiles with complete, accurate information, recent photos, and positive reviews get prioritized.

An updated profile does three critical things:

• Boosts Local SEO: Google's algorithm rewards active and accurate profiles. Consistently updated information signals to Google that your business is open and relevant, which can improve your ranking in local search results.
• Builds Trust with Customers: Incorrect hours, an old address, or a disconnected phone number create immediate friction. When a customer finds the right information easily, their experience starts on a positive note, building trust before they've even contacted you.
• Drives Conversions: An optimized profile gives customers one-click access to everything they need to make a decision: your phone number, website link, directions, customer reviews, and even appointment booking links. Removing barriers means more calls, website clicks, and foot traffic.

Think of it as digital curb appeal. Keeping it fresh and accurate is a simple way to win over both Google's algorithm and potential customers.

How to Find and Edit Your Google Business Profile (The New Way)

If you've managed a profile in the past, you might be looking for the old Google My Business dashboard or app. That's gone. Google has streamlined the process, allowing you to edit your profile directly from Google Search and Google Maps. It's much faster once you know where to look.

Here’s how to access your profile editing tools:

1. Log In to the Correct Google Account: Make sure you are signed into the Google account that you use to manage your Business Profile. This is the most common reason people can't find their editing panel.
2. Search for Your Business: Open Google Search or Google Maps and search for your exact business name. For example, "Aria's Flower Shop San Diego." If there are multiple businesses with similar names, you might need to add your city to find yours.
3. Locate the Management Panel: If you're logged in correctly, you'll see your business profile appear along with a special management panel just for you. This often appears above the main search results and includes buttons like "Edit profile," "Read reviews," and "Add photo." This panel is only visible to you, the business owner or manager.

From this management panel, just click "Edit profile" to begin making changes. You’ll be taken to an interface where you can edit all the core details of your business.

A Complete Breakdown of What You Can Edit (And How to Optimize It)

Once you click "Edit profile," you'll see a menu with different sections. Let’s go through each one and talk about best practices.

Business Information

This is the foundational information people look for first. Accuracy here is everything.

Name: Your business name should be just that - your actual, real-world business name. Resist the temptation to stuff keywords in here like "Joe's Plumbing - Best Plumber in Miami." This violates Google's guidelines and can lead to your profile being suspended. Stick to your official brand name.

Category: This is one of the most important fields for your local SEO. Your primary category should be the one that best describes what your business is (e.g., "Italian Restaurant," "Hair Salon," "Bicycle Repair Shop"). You can also add several secondary categories that describe other things you do (e.g., your Italian restaurant might add "Pizza Delivery" and "Catering" as secondary categories). Be as specific and accurate as possible.

Description: You have 750 characters to tell your story. Don't just list services. Use this space to explain what makes your business unique. Are you family-owned? Do you use sustainable materials? What's your mission? Write naturally, but do try to include a few important terms that customers might search for. And definitely don't waste this space on promotional language or links - they're not allowed in the description field.

Location: For brick-and-mortar businesses, make sure your address is entered precisely and that the pin is dropped in the correct location on the map. If you're a service-area business (SAB) without a physical storefront customers can visit (like a plumber or landscaper), you should clear your address and instead define your service areas by city, postal code, or a specific radius.

Hours of Operation: This is a big one. Keep your regular weekly hours up to date. More importantly, use the "Special hours" feature for holidays or special events. Mark your business as closed on days like Christmas or Thanksgiving. If you’re closing for a vacation, you can set temporary hours or mark the business as temporarily closed. This simple step prevents a lot of customer frustration.

Contact Info: Double-check your phone number and website URL. For your phone number, use the primary number your customers should call. For your website, you can link to your homepage or, even better, a special landing page for customers coming from Google with a clear call to action.

Visuals: Photos and Videos

Shoppers trust their eyes. A profile with many high-quality photos and videos is significantly more engaging than one with a lonely, outdated picture of your storefront.

• Logo & Cover Photo: Upload a high-resolution logo to help customers recognize your brand. The cover photo is your most important image, choose one that best represents your business, like a beautiful shot of your dining room, a photo of your happy team, or your branded company vehicle.
• Add a Variety of Photos: Upload photos to different categories to give customers a full picture of your business. Include exterior shots (so people can find you), interior shots (to showcase your setup), photos of your products, photos of your team at work, and even photos of happy customers (with their permission, of course). Regularly adding new photos signals to Google that your profile is active.
• Leverage Video: You can upload videos up to 30 seconds long. These are perfect for a quick virtual tour, showing off a product in action, or introducing your team. A short video can be far more compelling than a static image.

Products and Services

Many businesses overlook these sections, but they are great for showcasing exactly what you offer before a user even gets to your website.

Products: If you sell physical items, you can use the Products editor to create a visual catalog right on your profile. You can add high-quality photos, product names, categories, prices, and descriptions. This is amazing for retail stores, bakeries, or any business with tangible goods.

Services: For service-based businesses, this section is a goldmine. Don't just add a primary category like "Roofer." Use the services editor to list every single service you offer, like "Roof Repair," "Shingle Replacement," and "Gutter Cleaning." You can even add descriptions and pricing for each service, giving potential customers all the details they need.

Attributes and Other Details

Attributes are specific badges that can show up on your profile, answering common questions at a glance. You review a list and select the ones that apply to you. These can include facts like "Woman-owned," "Black-owned," "Wheelchair accessible," "Free Wi-Fi," or health and safety information like "Mask required." These small details can be the deciding factor for a potential customer.

You can also edit other key functions:

• Bookings: If you use compatible third-party booking software, you can integrate it directly with your profile so customers can book an appointment without leaving Google.
• Question & Answer (Q&A): This lets anyone ask a question about your business - and you (or anyone else) can answer it. Proactively use this feature by asking and answering your own FAQs. It’s a great way to provide helpful information and head off common customer service queries.
• Updates: Formerly known as Google Posts, this feature lets you share short updates, offers, events, or news about your business. These act like mini-blog posts or social media updates and appear directly on your profile. Consistently sharing Updates keeps your profile fresh and engaging.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Editing

Editing is straightforward, but a few common slip-ups can hurt your visibility. Watch out for these:

• Keyword Stuffing: As mentioned, don't add keywords, city names, or taglines to your business name. Keep it clean.
• Setting the Wrong Address: If you're a service-area business, don't use your home address or a P.O. Box if it's not a place customers can visit. Doing so is against Google’s guidelines. Hide your address and set your service area instead.
• Ignoring "Suggest an Edit": Anyone can suggest an edit to your business profile. Google may notify you of these suggestions. Always review them. If the suggestion is incorrect, reject it. If you ignore it, Google might automatically apply the incorrect information.
• Leaving Old Information: Did your phone number change? Did you move? Did your business close for good? You must update this information. Nothing erodes customer trust faster than trying to contact a business with information that doesn't work.

Final Thoughts

Your Google Business Profile isn’t just another directory listing, it’s a dynamic tool for attracting and converting local customers. Making edits is no longer hidden in a separate app but available directly on the search results page, so taking a few minutes each month to refresh photos, share an update, or confirm your hours is a simple, high-impact task you can’t afford to ignore.

Managing ongoing content like Google Updates on top of all your primary social media platforms can feel like a constant battle to stay visible. It’s exactly why we built Postbase. We wanted a clean, modern tool that streamlines a marketer's entire workflow in one place, from planning content on a visual calendar to scheduling posts across every channel and managing all your comments in a unified inbox. It's built to make keeping a consistent online presence feel manageable, not overwhelming.