Google Business Profile Setup for Swedish Businesses

Creating and verifying the profile

Log in with a Google account that belongs to the company, not to an employee or an agency, and search for the business name and address in Google Maps. If a listing exists, claim it; if not, create one. Use the exact legal trading name customers know you by, the address where customers can visit if you have one, and a phone number that is answered. Verification methods vary: Google may ask for a short video showing the premises, signage and evidence you run the business, or send a code by phone or email. Do not use a virtual office address; profiles at addresses with no real business presence get suspended.

Categories and services

The primary category has more effect on which searches you appear for than anything else on the profile. Choose the most specific category that describes your main business, such as plumber rather than contractor, then add secondary categories for real services you offer. Under services, list each service with a short description and a price or a starting price where you can. Write a description that says what you do, for whom and where, in plain Swedish, and avoid keyword lists; Google reads them as spam and customers read them as noise.

Service areas vs address

A business customers visit, such as a salon, a clinic or a shop, shows its address and appears on the map at that point. A business that goes to the customer, such as a cleaner, an electrician or a mobile mechanic, should hide the address and set a service area instead, listing the municipalities or towns it actually serves. A business that does both, such as a workshop that also does call-outs, shows the address and adds a service area. Getting this wrong is the most common reason a legitimate profile is suspended or shows in the wrong place.

• Customers come to you: show the address, set opening hours for the premises.
• You go to customers: hide the address, set a service area of realistic size, not the whole country.
• Both: show the address and add the service area.
• Several locations: one profile per location with its own phone number and hours, never one profile for all.

Photos, hours and attributes

Real photos of the entrance, the interior, the team and finished work do more for calls than any text, because they answer the two questions people have before contacting a stranger: does this place exist, and does it look competent. Skip stock images entirely. Set opening hours accurately, including special hours for Swedish public holidays and summer, because a customer who arrives at a closed door leaves a review about it. Fill in the attributes that apply to you, such as accessibility, payment methods including Swish and card, and whether you offer online booking, and add your booking link if you have one.

Keeping it active

Google favours profiles that show signs of life. The routine is short: ask every satisfied customer for a review, by SMS or a card with the direct link, and reply to every review, including the bad ones, briefly and politely. Post an update every couple of weeks, such as a completed job, a seasonal service or changed hours. Check the profile monthly for edits Google or the public may have suggested, and correct anything wrong. Track calls and direction requests in the profile's own statistics, because that is where you will see whether the work is paying.

1. Weekly: reply to new reviews, post one update if you have news.
2. Monthly: check hours, categories, phone number and suggested edits.
3. Quarterly: add new photos, review the services list and prices.
4. Always: ask for reviews as part of finishing a job.

When you do not need help with this: if you serve one area and can spare an hour to set it up and ten minutes a week to keep it, do it yourself; the guide above is all you need, and it pairs with our first SEO steps for small businesses. Paid help makes sense when you run several locations, when the profile has been suspended and you need it back, or when the profile is one part of a wider local marketing plan; that is what our growth retainer is for, priced on the pricing page. If your calls are increasing and you cannot answer them all, the next problem is a different one, and our guide on what missed calls cost covers it. A free 15-minute call is enough to say which situation you are in.

Frequently asked questions