Why this matters
A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your church's address, phone number, map pin and reviews when someone looks you up on Google Search or Maps. To get it right, you claim it from a Google Account the church owns, verify it, add a second owner, make it match your website, and check it once a month. Every step in this guide to Google Business Profile for churches follows Google's own help pages as of October 2026.
Most small church websites already show their service times. In our 2026 State of Small Church Websites study, an audit of 2,000 church websites, 83.9% of small church websites (n=1,734) make service times findable. The Google listing needs the same care. Say a couple new to town searches your church's name on a Saturday night, and the listing's description still says 11:00 for a service that now starts at 10:30. A listing the church controls and checks each month catches that before Sunday.
At a glance
- Claim your church's Google listing from a Google Account the church owns, then add a second owner, so it never depends on one person's login.
- As of October 2026, claiming is free, Google picks the verification method, and its review takes up to 5 business days.
- Make the listing match your website: the name on your sign, a church category, the full website address, and service times in the description rather than as hours.
- Ask everyone for reviews the same way, offer nothing in return, and check the listing once a month.
Does your church already have a Google listing, and who controls it?
Search your church's name and city on Google Maps, and what you find tells you where to start. Here is how to read it, based on Google's help pages as of October 2026.
| What you find | What it means | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| A "Claim this business" link | Nobody has verified the listing | Step 2: claim it |
| No claim link, and the church's account can't edit it | Someone else may manage it | Step 2: request access |
| No listing at all | It was never added | Step 2: add it |
| Your listing appears when the church's account searches "my business" | The church manages it | Step 4: add a second owner |
Say a volunteer set the listing up years ago on a personal Gmail account and has since moved away. Nobody did anything wrong; the login left with them. Google's request-access process in Step 2 is built for exactly this.
What do you need before you start?
- A Google Account the church owns, with its password kept where two people at the church can find it. As of October 2026, Google lets you create one with your church office email address instead of a new Gmail address.
- Your details as the public sees them: the name on your sign, your street address, your main phone number and your website address.
- A second person who will be an owner alongside the church's account.
How do you claim and verify your church's listing?
You claim or add the listing from the church's account, verify it, then add a second owner. These steps follow Google's help pages as of October 2026.
Step 1: Sign in with the church's account and look for your listing
Sign in to the church's Google Account and search "my business" on Google, or your church's name and city. If your profile comes up for you to manage, the church already manages it, so skip to Step 4. If not, find your row in the table above (Google: find your business).
Step 2: Claim it, add it, or request access
- Unclaimed: in Google Maps, open your listing and select Claim this business, then Manage now. In the Maps app, you tap About first.
- Not on Google: go to business.google.com/add and select Add your business to Google.
- Someone else manages it: at business.google.com/add, enter the church's name and address, choose your church, select Request access and fill in the form. The current owner has 3 days to respond. If they don't, you may get the option to claim it, though Google says that option isn't always available.
Adding or claiming is free (Google: add or claim, request ownership).
Step 3: Verify the listing
Google decides which verification methods you see, so use whichever one you can complete. After you finish, Google says its review takes up to 5 business days, and on rare occasions longer (Google: verify your business).
| Method | What you need | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Phone call or text | Someone who answers the church's number | An automated phone menu can't receive the code |
| Access to the address Google shows | Follow the steps in the email | |
| Video recording | A phone, at the building | At least 30 seconds, recorded live with no edits or breaks, showing your street, your sign and something only staff can open, such as the office |
| Live video call | A device with video, at the building | Only within your listed business hours, and not offered to every business |
| Postcard | A correct mailing address | Most arrive within 14 days and codes expire after 30; editing your name, address or category, or asking for a new code, stops the one in the mail working |
Google's video recording page also rules out other people's faces, so record on a weekday when the building is empty.
Step 4: Add a second owner
In your profile, you select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access. Select Add, enter the person's email address, choose Owner, and select Invite (Google: owners and managers).
Keep the church's account as the primary owner and make the pastor or your website volunteer a second owner, not a manager, since managers can't add or remove people. Google's eligibility page says ownership may be revoked when an owner hasn't signed in recently, so sign in monthly.
What should the listing say once it's yours?
It should say what your website says. Google's help pages describe the listing as a separate record: owners edit it, and Google may update it when it gets reports that something is wrong. So you set it carefully once, change it whenever your website changes, and check it monthly.
Step 5: Make the listing match your website
- Name: the name on your sign, and nothing more. Google's guidelines don't allow extra words in a business name and say adding them could get a listing suspended.
- Category: the most specific church category in Google's list that is true of your church. Changing a category can mean verifying again.
- Hours: you might expect to enter your service times here. As of October 2026, Google's guidelines say not to, naming worship services among the varied schedules that shouldn't be entered as hours, and a business must meet people in person during any hours it lists. If someone keeps regular office hours at the building, list those. If not, you choose Open with no main hours under Edit profile, then Hours (Google: edit your hours). If you list hours, set Special hours for a holiday closure.
- Website: the full address, starting with https://.
- Description: up to 750 characters, with no links (Google: edit your profile). Start with your service times, then say who you are and what a first visit is like.
How do you ask for reviews without breaking Google's rules?
Ask everyone the same way, offer nothing in return, and leave the wording to them. As of October 2026, Google's content policy prohibits incentives for reviews, asking only people likely to leave positive ones, and reviews written from a conflict of interest, such as staff reviewing their own employer. It also says a business shouldn't pressure people to leave a review while they're on its premises, so ask in writing rather than during a service.
Step 6: Share one review link with the whole church
On a computer, open your profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and copy the link (Google: request reviews). Put it in your weekly email or bulletin. Here is a template you can change to fit:
> If you have a Google account and would like to, you can leave an honest review of [church name] on Google. It helps people looking for a church know what to expect. Here is the link: [review link]. Thank you.
When reviews come in, reply to each one briefly and kindly, including the critical ones.
How do you keep the listing right each month?
One person signs in with the church's account once a month and compares the listing with the website. As of October 2026, when Google changes a listing because of outside reports, it shows an alert under Edit profile (Google: what happens to edits).
Step 7: Run the monthly check
Here is the whole check as a note you can forward to whoever keeps the listing:
> Once a month, sign in to our church Google account and search our church's name. Check that the service times in the description, the address, phone and website match our homepage. Fix anything wrong, review any change Google made under Edit profile, reply to new reviews, and remove anyone who has left under People and access.
When can you skip this, or hold off?
Skip all of it if your listing already passes three checks: the church's own account manages it, at least two people are owners, and its details match your website. You don't need Church Digital or anyone else for that; the monthly check is enough.
If your church meets in a rented space, read Google's rules before you add a listing at that address. As of October 2026, its eligibility page says an ongoing service or meeting at a place you don't own or have the authority to represent isn't eligible, and its guidelines say a business that shows its address should keep a permanent sign with its name there. If either rule leaves your church out, keep the meeting place, times and parking on your website, where you control every word.
If you find two listings for your church, don't create a third. Start with Google's help page on duplicate profiles and ownership issues.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Google Business Profile free for a church?
Yes. As of October 2026, Google's help page says adding or claiming a Business Profile is free. If someone offers to set one up for a fee, you are paying for their time, and a volunteer can follow every step in this guide.
What if someone else already manages our church's Google listing?
Request access. Go to business.google.com/add, enter your church's name and address, choose your church, and select Request access. As of October 2026, the current owner has 3 days to respond, and if they don't, you may get the option to claim it.
How long does Google verification take?
As of October 2026, Google says its review takes up to 5 business days after you complete a verification method, and on rare occasions longer. Most postcard codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days, and editing your name, address or category while you wait stops the code from working.
Should a church list its service times as hours on Google?
No. As of October 2026, Google's guidelines name worship services among the varied schedules that shouldn't be entered as hours, and a business must meet people in person during any hours it lists. List regular office hours if someone is there to greet a visitor. Otherwise choose Open with no main hours, and put your service times at the start of your description.
Can we ask our church family to leave Google reviews?
Yes, if you ask everyone the same way, offer nothing in return, and leave the wording to them. As of October 2026, Google's policy prohibits incentives for reviews, asking only people likely to leave positive ones, and reviews from staff about their own church.
Where this connects in our work
- Our 2026 State of Small Church Websites study for how the 2,000 sites were sampled and where the service-times figure comes from.
- Google Ad Grants for churches for another free Google program a church may qualify for.
- More guides on the blog for the monthly website routine that pairs with this listing check.
Next step
If you'd like a second pair of eyes on the website your listing points to, ask for a free homepage review. You get a video, about 4 minutes long, within 2 business days.