How to set up a Google Business Profile in Pakistan

Get the basics exactly right because they are hard to change later. Your business name should match your signboard, with no keywords bolted on — "Al-Noor Dental", not "Al-Noor Dental Best Dentist in Islamabad", which risks suspension. Choose one primary category that is as specific as Google allows ("dental clinic", not "doctor") and add secondaries afterwards. Put the address in as it is written for a courier, and drop the map pin manually, because Google's geocoding for plot numbers in Pakistani sectors and phases is often several streets out.

Verification is where most people in Pakistan get stuck. Video verification is now the common route: you record a continuous walkthrough showing the street, the signboard, the inside of the premises, and some proof you run it — keys, a receipt book, the till. Have it ready before you start rather than being asked cold. If you are a service business with no walk-in address, like a photographer or a plumber, set yourself up as a service-area business and hide the address instead of faking a shopfront.

Then fill in everything the form allows, because empty profiles lose to complete ones. Hours, including the different Ramadan timings when they apply. A WhatsApp-capable phone number. Services and products with prices in PKR. At least ten real photos — outside, inside, staff, product, parking — not stock images. Add the attributes that matter locally: parking, wheelchair access, home delivery, card payment, women-friendly seating where relevant.

A profile is not a set-up-once job. Post to it weekly like a social account, answer the Q&A section yourself before someone else answers wrong, upload new photos monthly, and keep the hours accurate on Eid. We do exactly this as part of the Business bundle, alongside the website and social management, because for a local shop being findable is worth more than being followed.