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How to Update Your Google Business Profile and Keep It Accurate

Last updated: October 27, 2026 Reading time: 8 minutes


TL;DR

Your Google Business Profile is not only edited by you. Members of the public can suggest edits, and Google can update your details from other sources. Some of those changes reach Maps and Search before you notice, which is how businesses end up with wrong opening hours or an old phone number.

To keep your profile accurate:

  1. Check how your listing looks to customers, not just in the editor.
  2. Watch for Google's notifications about suggested edits, and answer them quickly.
  3. Look for details marked as changed by Google, and correct anything wrong.
  4. Set special hours before holidays.
  5. Make one place the source of truth for hours, address and phone, and keep your website and profile matching.

Each step is explained below, with links to Google's own help pages.


Who can change your Google Business Profile?

Three different sources can change what customers see on your listing.

1. You (and anyone you added as a manager)

You edit your profile in Google's profile editor. Google reviews edits to verified profiles before they go live. Google says the review usually takes up to 10 minutes but can sometimes take up to 30 days, and an edit can show as Accepted, Not approved or Pending while that happens (Google Business Profile Help: understand what happens to your Business Profile edits).

2. Members of the public: suggested edits

Anyone can suggest a change to a business on Google Maps. According to Google, it notifies owners about certain suggested edits before publishing them, by email or in-product notification. Once notified, you have 4 days to accept or reject the suggestion. If you don't respond, Google may publish the change if it is supported by other public information, such as your website. Google also says it may apply suggested user edits without prior review when they are needed to meet its policies (Google Business Profile Help: understand Google updates on your Business Profile).

3. Google itself: Google updates

Google says it can update your profile when its sources (for example user reports and licensed content) indicate that your information is incorrect or outdated. In the profile editor, details changed by Google appear in blue, and a notification appears at the top of the page when your profile has Google updates. Google also notes that you can't manage all Google updates through your Business Profile (same help page).


Why owners often never notice

None of this is a secret, but it is easy to miss in a busy week:

  • Notifications land in an inbox you rarely check. The email address on your Google account may be an old one, or the message may sit among promotions.
  • Four days is short. A suggested edit that arrives while you are on holiday or busy can be published before you see it, if Google finds supporting information elsewhere.
  • You don't search for yourself. Owners know their own hours, so they rarely look them up on Maps. Customers do, and they trust what they see.
  • Some changes don't ask first. Google may apply edits without your review in some cases, and some Google updates can't be managed from your profile at all.
  • Your other listings disagree. If your website still shows old hours, that old information can look like "other public information" supporting a wrong suggestion. Your website and your profile should say the same thing.

The result is familiar to many local businesses: a customer arrives to a locked door because Google said you were open, or calls a number you stopped using.


How to check your profile

Make this a monthly routine, and do it again after any change to your hours or location.

  1. Search for your business as a customer would, on your phone, in Google Search and Google Maps. Check the name, hours (including today's), address, phone and website link.
  2. Open your profile editor and look for details shown in blue (changed by Google) and for any notification at the top of the page (Google Business Profile Help).
  3. Check the status of your own recent edits. If something you changed still shows as pending or was not approved, it is not live yet (Google Business Profile Help).
  4. Look ahead at holidays. Google lets you set special hours for holidays, special events and other temporary changes, and recommends confirming your hours for official holidays even when they are the same as usual (Google Business Profile Help: how to set special hours).
  5. Compare your profile with your website. Hours, address and phone should match word for word.

How to fix what's wrong

  • To correct a detail, edit your profile: Google's help page on editing your Business Profile covers each field, including hours, special hours, phone and website.
  • To answer a suggested edit, open the notification and accept or reject it. Do it within the 4 days Google gives you.
  • To reverse a Google update, edit the field back to the right value in your profile.
  • If your edit was not approved, Google says you may be able to appeal rejected business information edits (Google Business Profile Help).
  • Then update everything else: your website, menus, social profiles and other directories, so they all support the right information.

Make one place the source of truth

The simplest way to stay accurate is to stop keeping the same facts in two places by hand.

If your website is built with Croisa, you can link your Business Profile from the Croisa dashboard by signing in with Google and choosing your location. After that:

  • Edit once, update both. When you change your opening hours, address or phone number in Croisa, by chat or in the dashboard, Croisa updates your Google listing at the same time.
  • Differences are caught for you. Each time you open the Google panel in your Croisa dashboard, Croisa reads your listing live from Google and compares the hours, address and phone with your website. Anything that differs, whether from a suggested edit, a Google update or a change made somewhere else, is flagged, and fields that are waiting for Google's review are marked as pending. You choose which version is right: keep yours and Croisa sends it to Google, or accept Google's and Croisa updates your website.
  • Your Google reviews show on your site. Reviews customers leave on Google appear on your website automatically.

You can start a website from your Google Business Profile if you don't have one yet. If you're still deciding on a tool, our guide to turning your Google Business Profile into a website compares the options.

Whatever tool you use, keep the monthly check above. Two minutes on your phone is cheaper than one customer turned away.


Common questions

How do I update my Google Business Profile?

Open your Business Profile on Google, choose to edit your profile, change the field and save. Google reviews the edit before it goes live, usually within minutes but sometimes longer (Google Business Profile Help).

Why did my Google Business Profile hours change by themselves?

Most likely a member of the public suggested an edit that was published, or Google updated your hours from another source. Look for details shown in blue in your profile editor and correct them (Google Business Profile Help).

Can I stop people from suggesting edits to my profile?

Google's help pages describe how owners are notified about certain suggested edits and how to accept or reject them, not a way to turn suggestions off. The practical defence is to respond quickly and keep your website and other listings consistent with your profile.

How often should I check my profile?

At least once a month, before every holiday, and after any change to your hours, phone or address.


Related reading


Facts about Google Business Profile come from Google's help pages, checked on October 27, 2026. Croisa is not affiliated with Google.

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