Many Nigerian businesses are already on Google Maps without knowing it. Google builds listings automatically from public information. Until you claim yours, it does not belong to you — and anyone can request it.
How to tell whether yours is unclaimed
Search your business name on Google Maps. If you see “Claim this business” or “Own this business?”, the listing exists and nobody controls it. That means:
- You cannot correct the phone number, hours or address
- You cannot reply to reviews
- Anyone can submit a claim, including a competitor
- Google may be showing customers information that is simply wrong
Why this is urgent rather than merely important
Recovering a listing that somebody else has claimed is far harder than claiming an open one. It becomes a dispute, and disputes take time you do not have while your competitor holds your reviews. Claiming takes minutes; recovery can take months.
Claiming it
- Find the listing on Google Maps and tap Claim this business.
- Sign in with the Google account you want to own it — use a business account you control, not a staff member's personal one.
- Confirm the details are correct, especially the name and the pin.
- Complete verification.
Choose the owning account carefully. If you use an employee's personal Gmail, you lose the listing when they leave.
If somebody else already claimed it
Google provides a process to request access. The current owner is contacted and has a window to respond. If they do not, you can proceed. If they refuse, you can appeal with proof that the business is yours — CAC registration, signage photographs, utility bills.
This is slow and frustrating, which is precisely why claiming early is worth doing today rather than next month.
The agency trap
Some agencies claim client profiles into their own account and keep them there. The client then cannot leave without abandoning their listing and every review on it.
Your profile should be owned by your Google account, with any agency added as a manager you can remove at will. That is how we do it, and you should insist on it from anyone you work with.