How to Set Up a Google Business Profile in the UAE (2026 Guide)

Preparing these first saves a failed verification later:

• A Google account you'll keep long term, ideally on a business email rather than a personal one.
• Your business name exactly as it appears on your signage and trade licence, with no extra keywords.
• Your address as it appears on official documents, or the list of areas you serve.
• A local phone number and your website address.
• A business document with your name on it, such as a trade licence or utility bill, in case you need it for verification.

This is the decision that causes the most suspensions in Dubai, so make it before you create the profile. If customers come to you, such as a clinic, restaurant, gym, or shop, list your address as a storefront. If you go to the customer, such as cleaners, movers, maintenance, or mobile services, set it up as a service-area business: hide the address and list the areas you cover instead.

Virtual offices and flexi-desks are a grey area. Google's guidelines are strict about businesses that don't staff the address during business hours, so check whether your setup qualifies before you list it, or use service areas instead.

• Go to business.google.com and sign in with your chosen Google account.
• Enter your business name and choose the category that best describes your main service. You can add secondary categories later.
• Add your address, or your service areas if you visit customers.
• Add your phone number and website.
• Submit, and Google will show you the verification options for your business.

Most new listings are now asked for a video. Google's rules are specific: it must be recorded live in the app, in one unedited take, and be at least 30 seconds long. Pre-recorded clips aren't accepted.

A passing video usually shows three things. First, where you are: the street, nearby landmarks, and the building. Second, that the business is real: signage that matches your profile name, and equipment or stock in use. Third, that you manage it: unlocking the door, opening a staff-only area, or showing a document like your trade licence with the same name. Google says reviews can take up to five business days.

Plan the recording before you start. A failed attempt isn't neutral: it can put the profile into repeated review cycles that are harder to get out of than passing the first time.

• Opening hours, plus special hours for Ramadan, Eid, and public holidays, so people don't arrive to a closed door.
• Real photos of the premises, team, and work, not stock images.
• Your services, with AED prices where you can share them.
• A plain description of what you do and where, without keyword stuffing.

Ask every satisfied customer, at the moment the job is done, and send them your direct review link on WhatsApp so it takes one tap. Reply to every review, including the negative ones, calmly and specifically. Never buy reviews or offer discounts in exchange for them: Google's policies prohibit it, and it can get reviews removed or the profile penalised.

The usual reasons are that it isn't verified yet, it was suspended for a guidelines issue such as extra keywords in the business name or an ineligible address, the main category doesn't match what people search for, or competitors closer to the searcher simply rank first. A verified, complete profile with regular reviews fixes most of these.