Google Business Profile: How to Easily Add/Remove Managers and Owners

Ever felt like you’re in a never-ending game of tag with your Google Business Profile?

One minute you’re “it,” trying to add the right people to your profile, and the next, you’re chasing down how to claim ownership. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle where the pieces keep moving.

And let’s not even start on those pesky ownership conflicts that pop up when you least expect them, turning a simple task into a full-blown detective mission.

Navigating a Google Business Profile can be tricky. You’ve got this powerful tool at your fingertips, meant to catapult your visibility and connect you directly with customers, yet sometimes it feels like you’re stuck trying to crack a secret code just to manage your profile.

Whether it’s adding team members to help manage the load, wrestling to claim ownership of your profile, figuring out how to pass the torch smoothly with a transfer, or duking it out (metaphorically, of course) to resolve ownership disputes, it’s enough to make you want to throw your hands up in defeat.

But here’s the good news: you’re not alone in this, and there’s a way through the maze.

In this video, we’ll go over:

• How to add and remove people from your Business Profile
• How to Request Ownership of A Business Profile
• How to Transfer Ownership of A Business Profile
• How to Resolve Ownership Conflicts
• And what to do if you still have issues

Let’s get started.

How to add & remove owners & managers for your Business Profile

Owners of Business Profiles can invite users to become owners and managers. Each person can have their own access, and they don’t share sign-in info. Owners and managers have different levels of access to the profile.

• Only owners can add or remove users.
• Managers can remove themselves from a profile.
• Only the primary owner can transfer primary ownership.

Add Owners & Managers

• Go to your Business Profile.
• Click Menu, Business Profile settings, People, and access.
• At the top left, click the Add People icon
• Enter a name or email address.
• Under “Access,” choose Owner or Manager.
• Click Invite.

Invitees will have the option to accept the invitation and immediately become users. When they accept your invitation, you’ll get a notification email. Users in the account can find the names and email addresses of the owners and managers.

You can find all active users and people who are invited to become users. To cancel pending invitations, click in the row.

Understand New Owner & Manager Limitations

The new owner or manager of a Business Profile must wait for 7 days before they can manage all the features. During this 7-day period, they get an error if they:

• Delete or undelete a profile.
• Remove other owners or managers from a profile.
• Transfer primary ownership to themselves or a third user.

If the new owner or manager deletes their account within the first 7 days, they’re removed from the profile. If they change their mind, they must be added again.

Remove Owners & Managers

• Go to your Business Profile.
• Click Menu, Business Profile settings, Managers.
• Click the person you’d like to remove, and remove the person.

If you can’t click Remove, it could mean that:

You’re trying to remove the primary owner from the profile. Transfer primary ownership to someone else, then remove the user from the profile.

You’re signed in as a manager. Only owners can remove other owners and managers.

If you remove a user, they’ll get an email notification. They can’t edit business information or take any administrative actions. But their past responses to reviews, posts, comments, and other actions will remain.

Change Access of Owners & Managers

• Go to your Business Profile.
• Click Menu Business Profile settings, Managers.
• Click the person you want to change access.
• Select the role: Primary owner, Owner, or Manager.

Request Ownership of a Business Profile

If a Business Profile on Google has already been verified and you’re authorized to manage the profile, you can request ownership from the current profile owner.

If you can’t find a “Claim this Business” or “Own this business” link on the Business Profile, you’re likely already an owner for the business. On your profile, search for a “You manage this business profile” badge.

To find the Business Profile you want to request ownership of, use either of these methods: Go to business.google.com/add.

Enter the name and address of the business, then choose it from the search results.

Find your business on Google Search or Google Maps.

Under the Business Profile, click Claim this business.

Click Continue.

You’ll get a message that says someone else verified the profile. If you’re authorized to manage the profile, you can request ownership from the current profile owner.

• Click Request Access and fill out the form.
• Click Submit.

Tip: The current profile owner will get an email that asks them to contact you and you’ll get a confirmation email.

After You’ve Requested Ownership

After you request ownership, the current profile owner has 3 days to respond. To check the status of your request, sign in to Business Profile or click the link in your confirmation email.

If your request is approved: You’ll be notified by email and can manage the Business Profile.

If your request is denied: You’ll be notified by email, and you can still suggest an edit to the profile. Also, you might be able to appeal the denied request.

If you don’t hear back: If you don’t get a response after 3 days, you might have the option to claim the profile yourself. To claim a Business Profile:

• Open the original confirmation email you received about your ownership request.
• Find your request and follow the instructions on-screen to verify. Alternatively, sign in to Business Profile, and look for a “Claim” or “Verify” button on your dashboard.

Tip: The option to claim a profile is not always available.

Transfer Primary Ownership of a Business Profile

Only primary owners and owners of a profile can transfer primary ownership. Primary owners can’t remove themselves from the Business Profile without transferring the primary ownership to a different person first. We commonly do this for our clients that we claim and set up the profile for.

If you’re the only person associated with a profile, you can add additional owners or managers.

To transfer primary ownership of a Business Profile:

• Go to your Business Profile.
• Select three-dot menu  Business Profile settings, Managers.
• Select the person you’d like to change access.
• Select the role of Primary owner.
• Select Save.

The transfer of ownership happens immediately. No confirmation is necessary from the new primary owner.

Resolve Owner Conflicts

Each location on Google can have only one verified owner. If you see the status “Access needed” in your account, this means another owner has verified this location on Google.

When you add a location that matches a live location with a different owner, it is treated as a duplicate and will be ignored when importing your spreadsheet.

You have several options to address this issue:

1. Check within your organization to see who you may need to coordinate with, including agencies your company may have hired to manage on behalf of the business. Learn more about how to share ownership of a set of locations.
2. Request management if you’d like to request a transfer of ownership from the current owner or to be added as a manager. Learn more.
3. Remove the location from your account if you’d like the current owner to continue to manage the location. Learn more.
4. Leave the location in this state if you only use it to run Google Ads location extensions. Learn more

If you claimed the location with a different account and have forgotten that account’s username or password, visit the Accounts troubleshooter to get help.

As always, if you have any issues, you have a few options.

First, you can drop a comment right here, and I will do my best to help you out.

Next, you can hop on over to the Google help community, where other Google pros can offer up some advice.

Or if you’d prefer, you can contact Google Support or set up an appointment with a Google Advisor. I will put all those links in the description for you.

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