How to add a manager to your Google Business Profile

Somebody new needs to work on your listing. Maybe it is an employee who will answer reviews, a freelancer who will update photos, or a marketing company that has just been hired. Or the opposite problem: someone left months ago, and you are not sure they still have a way into your profile. Either way, you are worried about one thing, which is losing control of the page that customers see first when they look you up on Google. The good news is that you can add a manager to your Google Business Profile yourself in about two minutes, without sharing a password, and you can remove anyone just as quickly. The part worth slowing down for is choosing the right role and knowing who holds ownership. Related steps have their own posts: adding a second owner and changing the primary owner.

You add a manager from the People and access screen

Only an owner can invite people, so sign in with the Google Account that owns the profile. Google's own help page, Manage your Business Profile owners and managers, gives the path. Google renames menus from time to time, so if a label looks different on your screen, look for the section named People and access.

1. Open your Business Profile, either by searching for your business name while signed in or from business.google.com.
2. Select More, then Business Profile settings.
3. Select People and access.
4. Select Add.
5. Type the person's email address. It should be the Google Account they actually use.
6. Under Access, choose Manager.
7. Select Invite.

The person gets an invitation and accepts it from their own Google Account. Until they accept, the invite shows as pending in the same screen. If you typed the wrong address, cancel the pending invitation and send a new one to the correct email. A misspelled address is an easy way for an invite to go nowhere, so check the spelling before you send.

Notice what is missing from those steps: a password. Google says each user should use their own Google Account, which means you never hand over your login. That also leaves a clear record of who has access, and it lets you take that access away later without changing anything for everyone else.

A manager runs the profile but cannot control who has access

Before you send an invite, decide what the person actually needs to do. Google describes two roles, owner and manager, and one extra designation, primary owner, that belongs to a single owner. A manager was once called a "site manager" in Google's help pages.

A profile can have several owners but only one primary owner. That one-owner rule matters on the day someone leaves. The primary owner cannot remove themselves until primary ownership has been handed to another user, so if the person who set up your profile is the primary owner and is about to move on, handle that first.

The practical rule is simple. Editing your hours, answering reviews, publishing posts, updating photos and managing products are all manager tasks, so a person who does only those things gets Manager. Owner access is for someone who needs to decide who else has access, and that should be a trusted person inside the business. A good habit is to name two owners in the business so the profile never depends on one person's Google Account.

If a manager asks why they cannot add a teammate, the answer is in the table. Only an owner can add or remove users, so the manager should ask an owner to send the invite.

Employees and agencies should get Manager, with the business still owning the profile

When the person is an employee, the role is Manager unless they will be deciding who else gets in. When the person is a marketing company, Google's third-party policy is specific. If the agency creates a profile for you, you should be made an owner and the agency should be made a manager. If you already have a profile, the agency should ask you to invite it as a manager, not as an owner. Google's page on working with third parties says only profile owners control who has access and can change permissions at any time.

The same policy sets out what a fair arrangement looks like. In Google's third-party policy, the agency uses its own Google Account, does not share passwords, limits owner or organization-level access to trusted employees, and removes its access when the relationship ends. Google says customers must keep ownership or co-ownership of their profile "at all times," and it requires third parties to give clients a quick and easy way to end the relationship and regain exclusive control within seven business days of notice.

Use that as your checklist whenever you hire help:

• You are an owner, and the business account is the primary owner.
• The agency has Manager access through its own Google Account.
• Nobody asks for your Google password.
• You can end the relationship and remove their access without their permission.
• You have the arrangement in writing, including who is authorized to make changes.

Access to your Business Profile is also separate from access to Google Ads, Google Analytics, your website and your social accounts. Adding someone to the profile does not give them any of those, and each one has its own permissions screen. If you are also handing over an ad account, treat it as its own task.

Removing someone takes an owner and a few clicks

If a former employee or agency is still listed, remove them now. Do not wait for a convenient moment. An owner does it from the same screen:

1. Open your Business Profile and select More, then Business Profile settings.
2. Select People and access.
3. Select the person you want to remove.
4. Select Remove person.

Google emails the removed person, and they lose the ability to change business information or perform administrative tasks. This usually takes a few minutes.

What stays after you remove someone

Removing a person does not rewrite history. Google says their earlier replies, posts, comments and other actions stay on the profile. If a former employee wrote review replies in a tone you do not like, you will need to edit or replace those replies yourself after you remove their access.

If you are the manager and want out

A manager cannot remove other people, but a manager can remove themselves by selecting Stop managing. The primary owner has one extra step: that designation has to pass to another owner or manager first.

Passing on primary ownership before someone leaves

If the person leaving is the primary owner, the sequence is: invite a trusted person from the business as an owner, wait out any new-user limit (covered next), and have the primary owner select the new person in People and access, choose Edit beside Access, pick Primary owner and save. Google's page on transferring primary ownership says the transfer keeps business information, including reviews, in place when a business changes hands. The steps for the whole transfer are in changing the primary owner as well.

New users face a seven-day wait on some actions

Plan for a delay if you add a brand-new owner or manager and then want to do something sensitive. Google says a new user may face a seven-day limit on removing users, removing the profile and receiving primary ownership. If you try to transfer primary ownership the same day you invite someone, the option may not be there yet.

That is one more reason to set up your second owner before you need one. If the only owner is leaving in two weeks, invite the replacement this week. If the only owner left yesterday, the fix is not a workaround, it is a request for access, which is covered next.

If nobody on your team has access, you request it

Sometimes the problem is that you cannot open People and access at all, because the person who owns the profile left, an agency set it up under its own account, or the previous owner of a business you bought still holds it. Google has a process for an authorized business owner:

1. Go to business.google.com/add.
2. Enter your business name and address, then select the profile.
3. Choose Request Access.
4. Complete the form and submit it.

Google gives the current owner three days to respond. If there is no response, a Claim or Verify option may become available, although Google says that option is not always offered. Google's help page on requesting ownership also notes that a service-area business without a physical location should contact Google support.

Send the request as soon as you notice the problem, and keep a dated copy of your message to the former agency or employee. If an agency is slow to let go, Google's third-party policy applies to it, which is the reason to keep your agreement and your written termination notice together.

A ten-minute check keeps the business in control

You do not need to wait for a problem. Set a reminder to run this check whenever staff or vendors change, and at least a couple of times a year.

1. Sign in with the Google Account that manages the profile.
2. Open your profile and select More, Business Profile settings, People and access.
3. Write down the primary owner, each owner, each manager and every pending invitation.
4. Confirm the primary owner is the business or a business-controlled account, not a personal inbox that one person controls.
5. Cancel invitations sent to the wrong address.
6. Remove former employees, former agencies and anyone you do not recognize.
7. Add current staff or your agency with their own Google Accounts.
8. Use Manager unless the person must manage access.
9. Save a dated copy of the list so the next person can read it in a minute.

Keep that saved copy somewhere the business controls, such as a shared folder, and not in one employee's inbox. When the list changes, update the copy the same day.

You can do this alone, and outside help fits a few situations

Everything above is something an owner can do from a laptop in a few minutes. Adding a manager, removing a former employee and checking the access list do not need an agency, and you should be wary of anyone who charges to change a permission you can change yourself, asks for your Google password, or keeps primary ownership of your profile. Google's own guidance says businesses should understand how Business Profile works so they can make informed decisions when working with third parties.

Outside help makes sense in a handful of cases: you have several locations to keep in order, the owner is unreachable and you are working through a request for access, a former agency will not release the profile, a business sale is changing who controls the accounts, or you want someone to handle reviews, posts and updates on an ongoing basis. In every one of those cases, the arrangement should look the same as the one Google describes: you stay an owner, the helper is a manager on their own account, and you can end the relationship and take control back.

Frequently Asked Questions About add manager to google business profile

How do I add a manager to my Google Business Profile?

Open your profile, select More, Business Profile settings, then People and access. Select Add, enter the person's Google Account email, choose Manager under Access and select Invite. The person accepts from their own account.

Can I add a manager without sharing my password?

Yes. Google gives each user individual access through their own Google Account, so nobody needs your login.

What can a manager do, and what can't they do?

A manager can edit profile information and manage posts, photos, products, services, reviews, Q&A, messaging and performance data. A manager cannot add or remove users or remove the Business Profile.

Who can remove a former employee from my profile?

An owner can. Open People and access, select the person and choose Remove person. A manager can only remove themselves with Stop managing.

Will removing someone erase their old posts or replies?

No. Google says their earlier replies, posts, comments and other actions stay on the profile, so you may need to edit them yourself.

What if someone else owns my profile and I cannot get in?

Go to business.google.com/add, find your business and choose Request Access. Google gives the current owner three days to respond, and a Claim or Verify option may become available afterward, though it is not always offered.

Final Thoughts

Adding a manager is a two-minute job: People and access, Add, an email address, Manager, Invite. The decisions around it matter more than the clicks. Use Manager for everyday work, keep Owner for the few people who should control access, and make sure the business itself holds primary ownership.

The same screen is also how you take access back. Removing a former employee or agency takes a few minutes, their past replies stay in place, and a new user's seven-day wait is the one delay to plan around. If nobody on your side can open the screen, the request-access form is the path Google provides. Check the list every time a person joins or leaves, and the listing stays yours.

If you would rather have someone run the check and keep your listing in order, Web Leveling can do that with you through our Google Business Profile management service, with the business as owner and our team as a manager on its own account. If an access check is all you need, we will tell you that and point you back to the steps above. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Tell us who has access to your listing today, and we will help you sort it out.

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