Google Business Profile guide
The GBP playbook. Setup. Verification. Reinstatement.
This is the same checklist we run with every generator dealer we work with. Use it to set the profile up correctly, pass video verification on the first try, and get a suspended listing back. We update it as Google changes the rules, so bookmark it.
Universal NAP rule
Your business name, address and phone number must be identical everywhere they appear online: your profile, your website, the manufacturer dealer locator, Yelp, the BBB, every directory. Inconsistencies make one dealer look like three and quietly cap your map rankings.
Create or claim your profile
Before you create anything, check whether a profile already exists. Google auto-generates listings, and a former employee, a previous owner or an old web company may have made one already. Create a second and you've got a duplicate, and that's one of the top suspension triggers there is.
Step 1 — Search before you create
Search your exact business name plus city on Google Maps. Then search your phone number, then your address. If anything shows up, claim it instead of creating a new one.Step 2 — Use a Google account the business owns forever
Whatever account creates or claims the profile owns it. Use a dedicated business account like office@yourgeneratorco.com. Never an installer's personal Gmail, your web guy's account, or a marketing vendor's account. If a vendor sets it up, get it in writing that you own it and they hold manager access only.Step 3 — Enter your exact business name
The name on your LLC documents, license and insurance. No city, no 'Generac dealer', no keywords.Step 4 — Pick your primary category
'Electric generator shop' for most dealers, 'Electrician' if the majority of your revenue is electrical work. Supporting categories come while you're filling out the rest of the checklist.Step 5 — Decide how the address is handled
Shop customers can visit: list it publicly. House or truck-based: hide it and set service areas. Read the breakdown in section 3 before you choose. This is the decision that gets dealers suspended.Step 6 — Start verification
You'll usually be pushed straight into video verification. Do not record it yet. Work through section 4 first.
The 20-point setup checklist
Work through this the first time you claim the profile, then revisit it twice a year. Skip nothing. Google rewards profiles that fill every field, and most of your competitors have filled about six of them. Check items off as you go; your progress saves in this browser.
Your progress saves in this browser only. We never see it, and there's no email gate.
Service area vs. storefront: and what it does to your rankings
This is the single biggest decision on the profile. It determines where on the map you can rank, how homeowners find you, and whether you're at risk of suspension.
Option A
Storefront: address shown publicly
Your address appears on the profile and on Maps, and homeowners can navigate to you. Use this only if it's true.
- 1.You have a real shop, showroom or office space with signage.
- 2.Customers can and do actually come there.
- 3.You rank strongest in the immediate area around that pin, and fade with distance.
- 4.Best fit for dealers with a showroom floor and units on display.
Option B
Service area business: address hidden
Your address stays private and you show the cities and ZIPs you serve instead. This is the right setup for most standby dealers.
- 1.You run out of a house, a yard, or trucks with no walk-in space.
- 2.Hide the address and list every city and ZIP you install in.
- 3.You can rank across your service area rather than one pin, but competition in each city is stiffer.
- 4.Publishing a residential address instead of hiding it is the fastest way to get suspended.
Don't flip-flop
Changing the address, the name or the phone number after the profile is established is a suspension trigger on its own. Decide once, set it correctly, and leave it alone.
Passing video verification the first time
Google wants proof you're a real generator business operating from where you say you are. Almost every failed verification we see is a prep failure, not a legitimacy failure. Gather everything below before you press record.
Have these ready before recording
- —Business documentation (LLC docs, license) showing name and address
- —Certificate of insurance showing name and address
- —Your tools and install equipment
- —Your work truck or trailer, branded if possible
- —Your address number visible on the house, building or mailbox
- —A logo'd shirt, business cards, and someone to hold the camera
Scenario A
Home or truck based (most dealers)
No public office, address hidden on the profile. Record in this order.
- 1.Start outside. Introduce yourself by name and claim ownership of the business on camera.
- 2.Show your LLC documents, electrical license and insurance certificate. Make sure they're readable, showing name and address.
- 3.Show your work truck, including any wrap, lettering or magnetic signs.
- 4.Show your tools and generator install equipment in the truck, garage or yard.
- 5.Show your address number clearly on the house or mailbox.
- 6.Locked-door demo: try the front door handle to show it's locked, then unlock it with your key.
- 7.Step inside briefly: desk, business cards, anything tying the business to this address.
Scenario B
You have a shop or showroom
Address publicly listed. The locked-door demo is required here, not optional.
- 1.Start outside in a branded shirt. Introduce yourself and claim ownership.
- 2.Show a business card and your vehicle branding.
- 3.Show your equipment and any units in the shop or on the yard.
- 4.Show the outside of the building, the street, neighboring buildings and the street sign.
- 5.Go inside and open your public office, the customer-facing room, and say on camera: 'This is where customers conduct business.'
- 6.Open a separate private office or storage room and say: 'This is where customers cannot enter.'
Why the public + private rooms matter
Google needs to see both a customer-facing space and a private business area. That pattern is the biggest single determinant of whether they believe you operate from that address. Skip either one and the verification fails.
Step 1 — Submit and wait up to seven days
If the 'Get Verified' prompt disappears from your dashboard, you're verified. You should get a confirmation email too.Step 2 — If Google asks for more documentation
This is normal, not a rejection. Reply in the same email thread, never open a new one, attaching your LLC docs, insurance, and photos of the truck, tools and yourself in a branded shirt.Step 3 — If you're still not verified, request a live call
Submit a request through Google's business support form asking for Live Video Verification, stating how many videos you've submitted and that your profile meets the guidelines. Live calls have a much higher success rate than another recording.
If you're still stuck
You did the prep, submitted the video, sent the documents, asked for a live call, and nothing. It happens. Here's how to push through.
Step 1 — Screenshot the error
Whatever error or stuck screen you're seeing, capture it. Without a screenshot attached, support tickets get closed as generic complaints.Step 2 — Open a new support ticket with the screenshot
Keep the message short: you've tried submitting a verification video, you're getting this error, and you're asking for a Live Video Verification call to fix the profile. Attach the screenshot. The image is what turns it into an actionable ticket.Step 3 — Reply to any existing Google email thread
If the form is unresponsive, reply to any verification email Google has already sent. List everything you've tried, re-attach the documents and screenshot, and ask them to escalate to a verification specialist.Step 4 — Call us
We've walked dealers through verifications that took weeks and several escalations. If you've worked the steps above and you're out of patience, get in touch we'll tell you straight whether it's fixable.
Suspension and reinstatement
Suspensions are common, sometimes for a real reason, often for nothing at all. Prevention is most of the job. The recovery process is the rest.
What triggers them
- —Changing the business name, phone number or address
- —A phone number already used by another business listing
- —A PO box, or a mailbox address dressed up as a street address
- —Publishing a residential address that should have been hidden
- —Duplicate listings for the same business
- —Keyword stuffing in the business name
How to get reinstated
- 1.Don't panic-edit the profile. Changes during suspension make it worse.
- 2.Fix the underlying violation first (hide the address, remove the duplicate, restore the original name).
- 3.File the reinstatement request through Google's business support form.
- 4.Attach LLC documents, electrical license, insurance certificate, a utility bill for the address, and photos of the branded truck, shop and signage.
- 5.State plainly what you do: sell, install and service whole-home standby generators in these cities.
- 6.Expect three days to three weeks. If it's denied, appeal once with better documentation rather than filing repeatedly.
Reality check
Your suspension may have no real cause. The automation has plenty of flaws. That doesn't change the fix. Work the steps, document everything, and don't create a second profile while you wait. That turns a suspension into a mess.
Recurring maintenance
A profile that sits still slides. This is the rhythm we keep for the dealers we manage: an hour a week, most of it from a phone in the field.
Your progress saves in this browser only. We never see it, and there's no email gate.
Questions
GBP, answered straight
Next
Profile done? Local Services Ads are next.
A verified, filled-out profile is now a hard requirement for running Google's pay-per-call program, and your profile reviews are what rank you inside it.
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