Google Business Profile for Bahamian businesses: the 30-minute setup that gets you on the map

Search "restaurant near me" or "electrician Nassau" on your phone and the first thing Google shows is a map with three businesses. Not websites. Three businesses with names, ratings, hours and a call button.

Those three spots come from Google Business Profile, the free listing every business can claim. In The Bahamas most businesses have either never claimed theirs, or claimed it years ago and never looked at it again. Wrong hours, an old phone number, no photos, the previous owner's name.

Fixing it takes about half an hour and brings more customers than almost anything else you can do online.

Step 1: find out what Google already has

Search your business name on Google. One of three things happens:

• A panel appears on the right (desktop) or at the top (phone) with your business. Google has a listing. Look for "Own this business?" If you see it, nobody has claimed it. If you do not, someone has, possibly you years ago, possibly a former employee or a web company.
• A panel appears with wrong information. Same as above, but fix it after you claim it.
• Nothing. You will create one.

Step 2: claim or create it

Go to business.google.com, sign in with a Google account that belongs to the business (not an employee's personal account; people leave), and either claim the existing listing or add your business.

Google will want to verify you own it. Depending on the business this is a phone call, a text, an email, a video call where you show the premises, or a postcard to the address. Postcards to The Bahamas can take a few weeks; take the video or phone option if offered.

If someone else controls the listing and you cannot reach them, use "Request access". The current owner gets an email and has a few days to respond. If they do not, Google usually hands it over.

Step 3: fill in everything

Half-finished profiles rank below complete ones. Go through every field:

• Name: your real business name, nothing else. Stuffing in "Best Conch Nassau" gets listings suspended.
• Category: the primary one matters most. "Restaurant", "Dentist", "Electrician". Add secondary categories for other things you do.
• Address: exact, as it appears on the building. For a service business with no shop, hide the address and set a service area instead (New Providence, Grand Bahama, whichever islands you cover).
• Hours: real ones. Then add holiday hours for Boxing Day, Independence Day, Majority Rule Day and the rest. Nothing annoys customers more than driving to a closed door.
• Phone: the one that gets answered. If that is a WhatsApp number, say so in the description.
• Website: your site, and make sure it opens on a phone.
• Description: 750 characters about what you do, who for, and where. Plain English.
• Services or menu: list them with prices where you can.
• Attributes: wheelchair access, parking, outdoor seating, women-owned, whatever applies.

Step 4: photos

Listings with photos get far more clicks and calls than those without. Add at least:

• The outside of the building, so people recognise it when they arrive
• The inside
• Your best products, dishes or finished work
• Your team
• Your logo and a cover photo

Take them on a recent phone in good light. Do not use stock photos; Google and customers can both tell.

Step 5: reviews

Reviews are the main thing that moves you up the three-pack. Ask every happy customer, and make it easy: Google gives you a short link that opens the review box directly. Put it on receipts, in WhatsApp follow-ups, on a sign by the till.

Reply to every review, including the bad ones. A calm, short reply to a complaint shows the next customer how you handle problems.

Step 6: keep it alive

Google trusts listings that change. Once a month:

• Check the hours, especially before holidays
• Add a few new photos
• Post an update: a special, a new product, an event
• Answer any questions people have left

Set a reminder. Ten minutes a month keeps you in the top three.

What it does for your website

Your profile and your website work together. The profile gets you found and gets the call; the website closes the sale for people who want to see more first. Google also checks that the name, address and phone number on both match, so make sure they do.

Every 7-Day Bold Rebuild includes a Google Business Profile tune-up: we claim or recover the listing, fill every field, add the photos, connect it to the new site and set up the review link. If you would rather have it done than do it, say hello.