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Google Business Profile: A Guide for Kolkata Businesses
Written by Chayan Sarkar, founder of Boost It Junior
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in the map pack at the top of local searches. It carries your hours, phone number, photos and reviews, and for many local businesses it brings in more calls than the website does.
This guide covers setting one up, getting it verified and helping it rank, with notes for businesses in Kolkata.
What A Google Business Profile Is
It is Google’s free tool for managing how your business appears on Search and Maps. It used to be called Google My Business. People can call you, get directions, visit your website, send a message or read your reviews straight from the profile, often without ever opening your site.
Profiles are for businesses that meet customers in person, either at their own premises or at the customer’s location. A business that only operates online isn’t eligible.
Setting Up And Verifying Your Profile
Search for your business on Google Maps first. If a profile already exists, claim it rather than creating a second one. If it doesn’t, create one at google.com/business.
Decide whether customers come to you. If they do, show your address. If you visit them, or work from a place customers don’t visit, set yourself up as a service-area business, hide the address and list the areas you serve.
Google then verifies that you run the business. It chooses the method itself, from a phone or text code, an email, a recorded video, a live video call or a postcard. For a video, be ready to show your signboard, your premises or tools of the trade, and proof that you manage the business.
The Settings That Matter Most
Primary category. The single most important choice on the profile. Pick the category that describes what you are, not the one you’d like to rank for, then add a few accurate secondary categories.
Business name. Use your real name, exactly as it appears on your signboard and documents. Adding keywords or ‘Kolkata’ to the name breaks Google’s guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
Hours. Your real opening hours, plus special hours for Durga Puja, Diwali and other holidays, so nobody arrives to a closed shutter.
Services and description. List the services you actually offer, in the words customers use, and write a plain description of what you do and where.
Service areas. If you’re a service-area business, list the parts of the city you genuinely cover, such as Salt Lake, New Town or South Kolkata, rather than the whole state.
Reviews: Getting Them And Answering Them
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and that replying to reviews shows customers you value their feedback.
Ask every customer, using your review link or a QR code at the counter. Don’t offer discounts or gifts in return, don’t ask only the customers you think are happy, and never write or buy reviews. Google’s policies forbid all of these, and breaking them can get reviews removed or the profile restricted.
Reply to every review, briefly and politely. With a negative one, acknowledge the problem, avoid arguing in public and offer to sort it out by phone. If you run a clinic or hospital, check the NMC’s 2026 advertising guidelines before asking patients for reviews, as the rules for doctors are stricter.
Photos, Posts And Updates
Add real photos of your storefront, signboard, interior, team and work, and add new ones when anything changes. Customers judge a business by them, and stock images help nobody.
Posts let you share offers and news on the profile. They can help people choose you, but there is little evidence that they move rankings, so treat them as a nice extra. Google has also been phasing out the questions and answers section on profiles, so put the answers to common questions in your description and on your website.
Common Problems And How To Fix Them
Duplicate profiles. Two listings for one business split your reviews and confuse customers. Ask Google to merge or remove the duplicate.
A suspended profile. Common causes include keywords in the business name, an address where you don’t actually operate, or details that don’t match your website. Fix the cause first, then request reinstatement.
Someone else controls the profile. A former employee or agency may own it. You can request ownership from inside Google Business Profile.
Edits you didn’t make. Anyone can suggest changes to a profile. Check it regularly so a wrong phone number or closing time doesn’t sit there for weeks.
For a step-by-step recovery plan, see our suspended profile checklist.
| Setting | Do this | Avoid this |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real name, as on your signboard | Adding keywords or the city |
| Primary category | The one that describes your core business | A category you only want to rank for |
| Address | Your real address, or hidden if customers don’t visit | An address where you don’t operate |
| Hours | Real hours, plus festival and holiday hours | Open 24 hours when you aren’t |
| Reviews | Ask every customer, reply to every review | Buying, filtering or rewarding reviews |
| Photos | Real photos of your place, team and work | Stock images |
The Bottom Line
Your Google Business Profile is free, and for a local business it is often the most valuable page you have online. Get the category, name, hours and address right, keep it verified, earn genuine reviews and answer every one. Then build the rest of your local SEO around it.
Boost It Junior sets up and manages Google Business Profiles as part of our SEO services in Kolkata. Start with a review of your current profile.
FAQ
Questions before we cook.
Yes. Creating, verifying and managing a Business Profile costs nothing. Google also says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
Google chooses the method for you. It can be a phone or text code, an email, a recorded video, a live video call or a postcard, depending on your business type and region.
The usual reasons are that the profile isn’t verified yet, is under review or suspended, doesn’t match what people search for, or is too far from the person searching.
Yes, as a service-area business, if you meet customers in person at their location. Hide your address and list the areas you serve. Businesses that only operate online aren’t eligible.
Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence. Choose the right category, keep your details complete and accurate, earn genuine reviews and give your website a page for each service. You can’t pay for a better position.
Want your Google Business Profile reviewed?