Yes, Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, is free. Creating, verifying, editing and maintaining your profile costs nothing. Google doesn’t charge to list your business on Google Maps, and it doesn’t call offering “verification” or “first place ranking.” What’s paid, if you want it, is advertising on Google Ads or hiring someone to optimize your profile for you.
Every week, someone gets a call from a “Google consultant” warning that their profile will be taken down unless they pay a fee. It’s a scam. Knowing what’s free and what’s paid protects your money and your profile.
What’s free
The official Google Business Profile website presents the service as free. At no cost, you can:
- Create and verify your profile.
- Edit your name, category, address, hours, phone number, and website.
- Post photos, videos, and updates.
- Respond to reviews and messages.
- View reports on searches, calls, and direction requests.
There’s no paid Google Business Profile plan that improves your Maps ranking.
What you can pay for (and it’s optional)
Google Ads campaigns. You pay to show up front and center, with a sponsored label, including on Maps. It’s a different tool, with a different account. We explain this in Google Maps ads.
Someone else’s work optimizing your profile. Agencies and professionals charge for the work of setting up, writing, photographing, and monitoring the profile. It’s a service like any other, and you choose whether to hire it. Market rates are in how much it costs to optimize your Google Business Profile.
The most common scams
The call “from Google”
Someone claims to be a Google employee, says your profile will be removed, flagged as outdated, or “downgraded,” and asks for payment. Google never charges you this way over the phone.
The promise of a guaranteed first position
Nobody controls Maps rankings. Anyone who guarantees you the top spot is either lying or planning to use practices that could get your profile suspended.
The “verification fee”
Verification is free and done through Google’s own dashboard. See how it works in Google Business Profile verification.
The request for owner access
Scammers ask to be added as owners of the profile. With that access, they can change the phone number, website, or even transfer the profile. Anyone offering a legitimate service asks for manager or admin access, never ownership, and you can remove them at any time.
The review package
Selling fake reviews violates Google’s policies and can take down your real reviews along with them. The right way to do it is in how to get Google reviews without buying them.
How to protect yourself
- Hang up on calls claiming to be from Google that ask you to pay for anything.
- Keep yourself as the primary owner of the profile.
- Review the profile’s user list from time to time and remove anyone who no longer works with you.
- Use two-step verification on the Google account that manages the profile.
- Be wary of anyone guaranteeing you a ranking position.
Is it worth paying someone to manage your profile?
It depends on your time and how many customers Maps brings to your type of business. If you want to do it yourself, follow the optimization checklist. If you’d rather hand off the work, Ciclicko offers Google Business Profile optimization, with a one-time payment and without ever asking for your password.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a premium version of Google Business Profile? No. The profile is the same for everyone. What changes is how each business fills it out and maintains it.
Can Google call me? Google may reach out in specific situations, such as a support request you opened yourself, but it never calls asking you to pay to keep your profile active.
I paid a scammer. What now? Remove any access you granted, change your Google account password, and check that the profile’s phone number and website are still correct.
How do I know if my profile is set up right? Our free Google Business Profile audit compares your profile with three competitors in your area, without ever asking for a password.