How to Set Up a Google Business Profile for Your Daycare (Step-by-Step)

If you run a daycare and you’re not showing up when parents search “daycare near me” on Google, you’re missing families every single day. The fix is a Google Business Profile — it’s free, it takes about 30 minutes to set up, and it puts your daycare on Google Maps and in local search results.

This guide walks you through the entire process, start to finish. No tech background needed.

What You’ll Need Before You Start

Gather these things first so you can do everything in one sitting:

A Google account (Gmail). If you don’t have one, create one here. You can create one specifically for your business (like sunshinedaycare@gmail.com) or use your personal one.
Your business information: name, address, phone number, website (if you have one)
Your hours of operation for each day of the week
5-10 photos of your facility — exterior, classrooms, play areas, outdoor spaces. Don’t include children’s faces for privacy reasons.
A few sentences about what makes your daycare special — your approach, your experience, what parents love about you

Got everything? Let’s go.

Step 1: Go to Google Business Profile Manager

Open your browser and go to business.google.com
Sign in with your Google/Gmail account
Click “Manage now” or “Add your business”

If Google says a profile already exists for your address, someone may have created one (sometimes Google auto-generates them). You can request to claim it — follow the prompts Google gives you.

Step 2: Enter Your Business Name

Type your daycare’s name exactly as it appears on your signage. Don’t add extra words to try to game the search results.

✅ Do this: Sunshine Daycare

❌ Don’t do this: Sunshine Daycare - Best Affordable Childcare in Springfield

Google actually penalizes keyword stuffing in business names. Keep it clean.

Step 3: Choose Your Business Category

Google will ask you to select a category. Choose the one that best fits:

Child care agency — good general option
Day care center — if you’re a center-based program
Preschool — if you focus on preschool-age children

You can add more categories later (like “After school program” or “Montessori school”), but pick the most accurate one as your primary category.

Step 4: Add Your Location

Select “Yes” when asked if customers can visit your location
Enter your full street address
Position the map pin carefully — drag it so it’s right on your building. Parents will use this for directions, so accuracy matters.

Step 5: Add Your Contact Information

Enter your phone number — this is what parents will tap to call you directly from the listing
Add your website URL if you have one

These show up prominently on your profile, so make sure they’re correct.

Step 6: Verify Your Business

This is the step that trips most people up, but it’s straightforward — it just takes patience.

Google needs to confirm your business is real and at the address you entered. The most common method:

Postcard Verification (Most Common)

Google mails a postcard to your business address
It arrives in 5-14 days
Inside is a 5-digit verification code
Go back to business.google.com and enter the code

While you’re waiting for the postcard:

Don’t change your business name or address (this can reset the process)
Don’t request a second postcard unless 2+ weeks have passed
The code expires after 30 days, so enter it when it arrives

Other Verification Methods

Depending on your business, Google might offer phone, email, or video verification instead. These are faster if available — just follow the prompts.

Step 7: Set Your Hours

Once verified (or while waiting — you can edit your profile before verification completes), add your hours of operation:

Open your profile at business.google.com
Click “Edit profile” → “Hours”
Set your hours for each day of the week
Mark days you’re closed

Pro tip: Also set special hours for holidays you know about — parents appreciate not showing up to a locked door on a statutory holiday.

Step 8: Write Your Business Description

You get 750 characters to describe your daycare. This is your chance to tell parents what makes you special. Focus on:

How long you’ve been operating
What ages you serve
Your approach to care (play-based, Montessori, etc.)
What sets you apart

Example:

Sunshine Daycare has been providing nurturing childcare in the Westside community since 2015. We offer full-time and part-time care for infants through pre-K, with a play-based curriculum that encourages social, emotional, and cognitive development. Our licensed facility features a large outdoor play area, nutritious home-cooked meals, and a low teacher-to-child ratio.

Keep it genuine. Write like you’d talk to a parent on a tour. Avoid marketing-speak like “the best daycare in town” — it doesn’t help your ranking and it doesn’t build trust.

Step 9: Upload Photos

Photos are one of the biggest factors in whether parents click on your listing or scroll past it. Upload at least 5:

Exterior of your building — with signage visible if possible. This helps parents recognize the building when they arrive.
Classrooms — show learning areas, reading corners, art stations
Play areas — indoor and outdoor
Common areas — entryway, cubbies, eating area
Your logo — if you have one

Important reminders:

No children’s faces. You can show the spaces, artwork on walls, or activities from behind/at a distance, but protect family privacy.
Use well-lit, clear photos. Phone photos are totally fine — you don’t need a professional photographer.
Update your photos each season so your profile stays fresh.

Step 10: Add Your Services

Go to “Edit profile” → “Services” and add everything you offer:

Infant care
Toddler care
Preschool program
Before-school care
After-school care
Summer program
Drop-in care

The more complete your profile is, the more likely you are to show up in relevant searches.

You’re Live! Now What?

Congratulations — your daycare is now on Google Maps. Here’s how to make the most of it going forward.

Get Reviews (This Is the Big One)

Reviews are the single most important factor in how your profile ranks and whether parents choose you. Here’s how to start collecting them:

When to ask:

After a family’s successful first month
When a parent gives you a verbal compliment (“We love it here!”)
At re-enrollment time
After milestone moments (first day, graduation)

How to ask:

“We’re so glad Emma is doing well here! If you have a moment, we’d really appreciate a Google review. It helps other families find us.”

Make it easy: Google gives you a short link you can share. Find it in your profile under “Ask for reviews.” You can text it to parents, email it, or even print a QR code and put it near your sign-out area.

Want a printable review card with a QR code? We built a free review card generator — just enter your daycare name and Google Place ID, and you’ll get a card you can print and post.

Respond to Every Review

Yes, every one — even the good ones.

For positive reviews, thank them and make it personal:

“Thank you so much, Maria! We love having Lucas in our toddler room. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!”

For negative reviews, stay calm, be professional, and take it offline:

“Thank you for your feedback. We take all concerns seriously. Please call us at [phone] so we can discuss this directly.”

Never argue in a review response. Never share private information about families. Other parents are reading these.

Post Updates Monthly

Your profile has a “Posts” feature — use it. It keeps your profile looking active and gives parents more reasons to choose you.

Great things to post:

Enrollment openings: “We have 2 spots available in our Pre-K class! Contact us to schedule a tour.”
Events: “Join us for our Spring Open House on Saturday, April 15th from 10am-1pm.”
Holiday hours: “Reminder: We’ll be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.”
New programs: “We’re now offering before-school care starting at 6:30am.”
Staff news: “Welcome Miss Sarah to our infant room! She brings 8 years of early childhood experience.”

Check Your Stats

Your profile shows you useful data:

How many people viewed your listing
What they searched to find you
How many people called, asked for directions, or visited your website

Check this monthly. It’s motivating to see the numbers grow, and it tells you what’s working.

The 5-Minute Weekly Routine

Once everything is set up, maintaining your profile takes almost no time:

Task	Frequency
Check & respond to reviews	Weekly
Check messages & Q&A	Weekly
Post an update	Monthly
Update photos	Every few months
Verify your info is still accurate	Every few months

That’s it. Five minutes a week to stay visible to every parent searching for childcare in your area.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Adding keywords to your business name. Google will suspend your profile for this.

❌ Ignoring negative reviews. Silence looks worse than a thoughtful response.

❌ Posting photos with children’s faces. Protect family privacy.

❌ Offering incentives for reviews (“Leave a review and get a free day!”). This violates Google’s policies.

❌ Creating multiple profiles for the same location. One location = one profile.

❌ Setting it up and forgetting about it. An inactive profile with outdated info does more harm than good.

Quick Troubleshooting

Profile not showing up in search? New profiles can take 2-4 weeks to appear consistently. Be patient.

Someone changed your information? Anyone can “suggest edits” to your profile. Check your dashboard regularly and reject incorrect changes.

Verification postcard never arrived? Wait at least 14 days, then request a new one from your profile dashboard. Make sure your address is entered correctly.

Profile got suspended? Usually caused by keyword stuffing in the business name or address issues. Review Google’s guidelines and submit a reinstatement request.

Your Reviews Follow You to Wee Queue

Here’s a bonus: if your daycare is listed on Wee Queue, we automatically pull in your Google reviews and display them right on your listing. That means the reviews you collect on Google don’t just help you on Google — they help you everywhere parents are searching for childcare.

The more reviews you have, the more your listing stands out to families browsing daycares with openings.

Don’t Have Time to Do This Yourself?

We get it — you’re busy running a daycare, not a marketing department. If you’d rather hand this off and have it done for you, we offer a complete setup service for $100 ($50 to start, $50 when it’s live).

We’ll handle everything in this guide — profile creation, description writing, photo uploads, verification, all of it — and walk you through how to manage it going forward.

Interested? Fill out this quick form and we’ll be in touch.

Or just email us at ian.knauer@weequeue.ca — we’re happy to answer questions first.

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