If you’ve hired a local SEO agency or a marketing team member to help manage your online presence, one of the first things they’ll need is access to your Google Business Profile. This is the listing that shows up in Google Maps and local search results when someone searches for your business — and it’s one of the most important assets for any local business.
The good news is that Google makes it easy to share access without handing over your personal Google account credentials. In the video below, we show you exactly how to do it.
Why You Should Never Share Your Google Login
It might be tempting to just hand over your email and password so someone else can log in and make updates, but that creates real problems:
- You lose the ability to track who made changes to your listing
- If the relationship ends, removing their access becomes complicated
- Your personal Google account could be exposed to security risks
- It violates Google’s terms of service
The right approach is to invite them as a user through Google Business Profile’s built-in access management system. It takes less than two minutes and keeps you securely in control.
Understanding Google Business Profile Roles
Before you add someone, it helps to know what each role can and can’t do:
- Primary Owner – Full control of the listing, including the ability to remove the business from Google. There can only be one Primary Owner, and this should always remain you.
- Owner – Nearly identical to Primary Owner but cannot remove the business from Google. Can manage users, edit the listing, respond to reviews, and post updates.
- Manager – Can manage most aspects of the listing including editing business info, responding to reviews, and posting updates, but cannot manage users or transfer ownership. This is the most common role for agencies and marketing partners.
- Site Manager – Limited access primarily for managing photos and posts. Not typically used for full-service management.
For most agencies and marketing teams, Manager access is the appropriate level.
How to Give Access to Your Google Business Profile
Follow these steps to invite someone to your Google Business Profile:
- Go to your Google Business Profile. You can find it by searching your business name on Google while logged in, or by visiting business.google.com.
- Click the 3 Dots and then “Business Profile Settings” or the three-dot menu on your profile dashboard.
- Select “People and Access.”
- Click “Add” (the person icon with a plus sign).
- Enter the email address of the person you want to invite. This must be a Google account email.
- Select their role — Owner, Manager, or Site Manager.
- Click “Invite.”
The person will receive an email invitation from Google. Once they accept, they’ll have access to your profile at the role level you assigned. Until they accept, their status will show as “Pending” in your Managers list.
How to Remove Access Later
If you ever need to remove someone — for example, if you switch agencies or a team member leaves — the process is just as simple. Go back to the Managers section, find their name, and remove them. Their access is revoked immediately.
Need Help Managing Your Google Business Profile?
Your Google Business Profile is one of the highest-leverage tools for local search visibility. Keeping it optimized — with accurate information, fresh photos, regular posts, and timely review responses — can meaningfully improve how your business ranks in Google Maps and local search results.
The Raleigh SEO Company provides full-service Google Business Profile management as part of our monthly SEO retainer. If you’d like a team with over 25 years of search engine experience managing your local presence, we’d love to talk.
Contact us today for a free consultation.
