When someone in Georgetown searches “printer near me”, “bakery Diamond” or “car parts East Coast”, Google shows a map with a few businesses at the top. Those businesses get the calls, the directions requests and the walk-ins. Getting into that list is free. It starts with a Google Business Profile.
What a Google Business Profile does
It’s your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps. It shows your name, location, phone number, opening hours, photos and reviews. Customers can call you, get directions or visit your website in one tap, without ever needing to know your exact name.
Step 1: Create or claim your profile
Go to google.com/business and sign in with a Google account you’ll keep long term (ideally a business email, not a staff member’s personal one). Search for your business name. If it already appears, claim it. If not, add it as a new business.
Step 2: Choose the right category
Your primary category is the single most important setting, because Google uses it to decide which searches you appear in. Be specific: “Printing service” rather than “Store”, “Hair salon” rather than “Beauty”. You can add a few secondary categories for other things you do.
Step 3: Get your location right
Addresses in Guyana can be tricky, so drop the map pin exactly on your building and write the address the way locals describe it, including the village and region. If you deliver or visit customers rather than having a shop, you can list a service area instead of a street address.
Step 4: Verify
Google needs to confirm you’re real. Depending on your business, it may ask for a short video of your premises, a phone or email code, or another method. Follow the steps shown in your account. Your profile won’t fully appear until it’s verified, so do this straight away.
Step 5: Fill in everything
- Phone and WhatsApp number customers can actually reach
- Opening hours, including holiday hours
- Website or Facebook page link
- Description: what you do, who you serve and where, in plain words
- Products or services with prices where you can
Step 6: Add real photos
Profiles with photos get far more clicks. Add your logo, your shopfront (so people recognise it when they arrive), the inside, your team and your best products. Add a few new photos every month; fresh activity helps your listing.
Step 7: Get reviews and reply to them
Reviews are the biggest factor in whether people choose you. Ask happy customers directly, and make it easy by sending your review link over WhatsApp right after a good experience. Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and quickly. A calm, helpful reply to a complaint often impresses future customers more than a five-star review.
Keep it alive
Once a week, spend five minutes on your profile: reply to new reviews, answer questions, add a photo or post an update about an offer or new product. Businesses that keep their profile active tend to show up more often than ones that set it up and forget it.
Your checklist
- Create or claim the profile at google.com/business
- Pick a specific primary category
- Place the map pin exactly and verify
- Complete phone, hours, website and description
- Upload 10 good photos
- Ask 5 happy customers for a review this week
Want help getting found online? 592 Solutions sets up and manages Google profiles, social media and websites for Guyanese businesses. WhatsApp +592 621 8504.