Find the profile and keep the right access
Google Business Profile presents your business in Search and Maps. It is separate from your website: correcting one does not automatically update the other. Creating a profile is free; a supplier may charge for assistance.
Sign in to the Google account linked to the business and search its name with “Geneva”, or “my business”. Management controls should appear. If a profile already exists, request access rather than creating a duplicate. Google may require verification.
The business should retain ownership of its profile. To delegate work, open the profile menu, then settings and “People and access”: invite the supplier’s account with the appropriate role, without sharing your password. Labels may vary between interfaces.
Fill in what customers need to know
- Management: who can correct the profile?
- Information: what does the customer see?
- Public check: do the profile and website agree?
- Name and activity: use the real business name and a category describing the main activity. Do not add “best” or lists of municipalities to the name to target searches.
- Address or service area: show where customers are actually welcomed. A tradesperson working at customers’ premises should follow Google’s service-area business rules; a mailing address does not become a fictional customer reception.
- Hours: check every day and exceptions, including Geneva public holidays. For a restaurant, also clarify kitchen hours on the website.
- Links and photos: use the current website address and, where available, the relevant booking link. Add recent photos that accurately show the premises or work.
For example, a salon should show the same prices and booking tool on its website and profile. A tradesperson describes the actual service area without claiming a workshop open to visitors if there is none.
Check what customers see
Open the public profile in Google and Maps. Test the phone number, website link and directions if you welcome visitors. Compare the contact page: same name, relevant address, phone and hours. An edit may need review; check the displayed result rather than assuming it changed.
Keep a short dated list of corrections. Repeat before holidays, a move or a change of booking tool. Invite real customers to review their experience, without payment, gifts, discounts or any other incentive, regardless of the rating.
Why a complete profile does not guarantee first place
Google describes three main local ranking factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Accurate information helps explain your activity; it does not remove the searcher’s distance or the competition.
Track available profile performance — interactions, calls or direction requests where applicable — separately from website impressions in Search Console. Searching your business name does not measure visibility for “hairdresser Geneva”. Website indexing and appearing on Maps are different checks.
For website information, see our restaurant and hair and beauty pages, and the roles of websites and Instagram. Our Geneva study explains how we surveyed businesses’ online presence.
Google sources and verification date
- Find your business on Google.
- Manage owners and managers.
- Guidelines for representing your business.
- Local ranking: relevance, distance and prominence.
- Google Maps rules on reviews and incentives.
Official documentation consulted on 17 October 2026; linked pages are in French. This procedure is based on that documentation; no client profile was changed to write this guide.