Manage Your Google Business Profile Owners and Managers Easily

Why Managing Google Business Profile Access the Right Way Matters

To add a user to your Google Business account, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Business Profile in Google Search and click More
2. Select Business Profile settings > People and access
3. Click Add, then enter the user’s email address
4. Choose their role: Owner or Manager
5. Click Invite — they’ll get an email and can accept right away

If you’ve ever needed a team member or marketing agency to help manage your Google Business Profile, you already know the problem. Do you hand over your login? Or is there a better way?

There is. Adding a user to your Google Business account lets you give others controlled access — without ever sharing your password. Google Business Profile is used by over 150 million businesses worldwide, and for good reason: a well-managed profile directly drives local visibility, customer calls, and foot traffic.

But managing it alone — responding to reviews, updating hours, posting offers — takes time. That’s where adding owners and managers makes a real difference.

I’m Samir ElKamouny, founder of Fetch and Funnel, and I’ve helped countless businesses streamline how they add users to their Google Business account as part of a broader local SEO and growth strategy. Let’s walk through everything you need to know to do it safely and correctly.

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Why You Should Add User to Google Business Account Instead of Sharing Credentials

When you need help managing your online presence, it is incredibly tempting to just text your password to your new employee or agency partner. We strongly advise against this. Sharing your primary Google login credentials is one of the most significant security risks a local business can take.

If you share your primary password, that person gains access to your entire Google ecosystem. This includes your Gmail, Google Drive files, search history, saved passwords, and potentially your Google Ads accounts. If that employee leaves your company on bad terms, or if your agency partner suffers a security breach, your entire digital footprint is compromised.

By choosing to add a user to your Google Business account through the official invite system, you maintain complete security and control. Here are the core security best practices we recommend for local businesses:

• Individual Accounts Only: Every single team member or external marketer should use their own unique Google Account. Never create a “shared” Gmail account for your staff to use collectively.
• Principle of Least Privilege: Only assign the minimum level of access required for a person to do their job. If someone only needs to respond to customer reviews and write updates, they do not need to be an Owner.
• Regular Audits: Review your user list at least once a quarter. Remove users who no longer work with you, and downgrade permissions for those whose roles have changed.
• No Password Sharing: Under no circumstances should you share password credentials. Google’s invitation system is completely free and takes less than two minutes to set up.

Managing access securely is a standard best practice across all digital marketing platforms. If you are also running campaigns on other networks, you should follow similar protocols. For example, you can read our step-by-step guide how to add users to Facebook Business Manager and Meta Business Suite to ensure your social assets are just as secure as your Google assets.

Understanding Google Business Profile Roles and Permissions

Before you invite anyone to your profile, you must understand the different roles Google provides. Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) offers three distinct roles: Primary Owner, Owner, and Manager.

Choosing the wrong role can lead to security vulnerabilities or unnecessary administrative friction. Let’s break down exactly what each role can and cannot do:

Feature / Permission	Primary Owner	Owner	Manager
Edit Business Information (Hours, Phone, etc.)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Respond to Customer Reviews & Q&As	Yes	Yes	Yes
Create Posts, Offers, and Update Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes
View Profile Performance Insights	Yes	Yes	Yes
Add or Remove Users	Yes	Yes	No
Change User Roles	Yes	Yes	No
Delete the Business Profile	Yes	Yes	No
Transfer Primary Ownership	Yes	No	No
Remove Themselves from the Profile	No (Must transfer first)	Yes	Yes

As shown in the table, Owners have almost the same level of administrative power as the Primary Owner, with the key exception that they cannot transfer primary ownership or delete the primary owner’s access. Managers, on the other hand, are perfect for day-to-day operations. They can edit business hours, post updates, upload photos, and reply to reviews, but they cannot touch your user list or delete your listing.

For a deeper dive into how Google structures these roles, you can consult the official documentation on how to Manage your Business Profile owners & managers – Google Business Profile Help. For a practical agency perspective on managing client permissions, you can also read BrightLocal’s guide to Google Business Profile roles.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding and Managing Users

Now that you understand the security risks of password sharing and the different roles available, let’s walk through the actual process of managing your team.

In the past, managing your business listing required logging into a dedicated Google My Business dashboard. Today, Google has streamlined this experience. You can manage your users directly from Google Search or Google Maps.

How to Add User to Google Business Account via Email Invite

To invite a new team member or agency partner to your profile, follow these steps:

1. Sign In: Make sure you are logged into the specific Google Account that currently owns the Business Profile.
2. Search Your Business: Go to Google Search and type your exact business name, or search for “my business”. You will see your merchant panel appear at the top of the search results.
3. Open Settings: On the right side of the main merchant menu, click the three vertical dots (More) icon.
4. Navigate to People: From the dropdown menu, click on Business Profile settings, then select People and access.
5. Send Invitation: Click the Add button at the top of the screen.
6. Enter Email and Assign Role: Enter the Google Account email address of the person you want to invite. Choose their role (Owner or Manager) based on the permissions they require.
7. Invite: Click Invite to send the email invitation.

The invitee will receive an email notification. Once they open the email and click “Accept,” they will immediately gain access to your profile, and you will receive a confirmation email.

If you make a mistake or need to cancel a pending invitation, you can return to the “People and access” menu at any time, locate the pending invite, and click the “X” or “Cancel” option. For more details on managing invitations, you can review Add & remove owners & managers for your Business Profile – Google Business Profile Help.

Managing Multiple Locations and Agency User Groups

If you operate a franchise, a multi-location brand, or work with an external agency, managing users on an individual profile basis quickly becomes a nightmare. If you have ten locations, you do not want to manually send ten separate email invites to every new employee.

To solve this, Google allows you to use Location Groups (formerly called Business Account Groups) and Agency User Groups. This feature lets you group multiple physical locations together and assign user access to the entire group at once.

To manage these groups, you will need to use the advanced Google Business Profile dashboard. Anyone within your organization can create a user group, which allows teams to manage specific locations with uniform access levels. However, keep in mind that Google Groups cannot be added as owners or managers of a profile; you must invite individual Google Accounts or official agency accounts.

When working with external partners, you can easily share access to these groups. If you’re setting up broader marketing portfolios across multiple platforms, we recommend reading our guide on how to add people to a business portfolio and assign assets to keep your workflows organized. For agency-specific instructions, consult Manage agency user groups – Google Business Profile Help. If you are managing listings at scale, you might also consider using platforms like Hootsuite’s social media management tools or Whitespark’s local citation services to streamline your local search presence.

Modifying Access, Transferring Ownership, and Troubleshooting

As your business grows, your team will change. You will hire new managers, part ways with agencies, or eventually sell your business. Knowing how to modify roles, remove users, and troubleshoot common access errors is essential to keeping your profile secure.

How to Change Roles, Remove Users, or Transfer Primary Ownership

If you need to adjust an existing user’s permissions, remove someone entirely, or hand over primary ownership, you can do so in just a few clicks.

To Change a User’s Role:

1. Go to your Business Profile on Google Search.
2. Click More (three dots) > Business Profile settings > People and access.
3. Select the user whose role you want to change.
4. Click Edit access, choose their new role (Owner or Manager), and click Save.

To Remove an Owner or Manager:

1. Navigate to the People and access menu.
2. Click on the name of the person you want to remove.
3. Click Remove person and confirm your choice.

To Transfer Primary Ownership:

If you are selling your business or transitioning your primary corporate account, you must transfer primary ownership. You cannot simply delete yourself if you are the Primary Owner.

1. First, add the new user as an Owner using the standard steps.
2. Wait 7 Days: Google enforces a mandatory 7-day waiting period for security. The new user must be an Owner for at least 7 consecutive days before ownership can be transferred.
3. After 7 days, go back to People and access, select the user, and change their role to Primary Owner.
4. Click Transfer to finalize the process. Once the transfer is complete, your role will be downgraded to a standard Owner, and the new Primary Owner can choose to remove you if necessary.

The 7-Day Security Limitation

To protect businesses from unauthorized takeovers, Google restricts new owners and managers from performing sensitive actions during their first 7 days. During this initial week, a new user cannot delete the profile, remove other owners or managers, or transfer primary ownership. If they attempt these actions, they will receive an error message.

Why Can’t I Add User to Google Business Account?

If you are trying to add a team member but cannot find the settings, or if the “Add” button is missing entirely, you are likely experiencing one of these common issues:

• You Are Logged in as a Manager: Only Owners and Primary Owners have the authority to add or remove users. If you are logged in as a Manager, you will not see the “Add” button or the “People and access” option. You must ask an Owner to upgrade your permissions.
• The Account is Suspended: If your Google Business Profile is suspended or undergoing verification, certain user management features may be temporarily locked until the listing is restored.
• Browser or Cache Issues: Sometimes, browser extensions or cached data can interfere with Google’s interactive merchant panel. Try opening an Incognito window or using a different browser to access your settings.

Google Business Profile vs. Google Workspace User Management

It is incredibly common for business owners to confuse Google Business Profile user management with Google Workspace (formerly G Suite). These are two entirely different systems.

Google Workspace is your company’s IT hub. It is managed via the Google Admin Console, where you pay for licenses, create custom business email addresses (like [email protected]), and manage cloud storage. Adding a user in the Google Workspace Admin Console creates a new email inbox and login for your company, but it does not automatically grant them access to your Google Business Profile.

Conversely, Google Business Profile is a free tool used strictly to manage your public-facing listing on Search and Maps. You do not need a paid Google Workspace license to add someone to your Google Business Profile.

If you are looking to set up a new email inbox or manage your organization’s broader Google licenses, you can refer to the official instructions on how to Add an account for a new user | User management | Google Workspace Help.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Business Profile Access

Does the person I add need a Gmail address?

No, the person you add does not need a “@gmail.com” email address. However, they do need a Google Account. Anyone can link their existing custom business email address (such as [email protected]) to a free Google Account. When they accept your invitation, Google will guide them through linking their custom email to a Google login if they haven’t done so already.

Can a manager delete my Google Business Profile?

No. Managers do not have the administrative authority to delete a Google Business Profile or remove other users. This restriction protects business owners from malicious actions by disgruntled employees or compromised manager accounts. Only Primary Owners and Owners can delete a profile.

How many owners can a Google Business Profile have?

A Google Business Profile can have multiple Owners, but it can only have one Primary Owner. The Primary Owner is the ultimate controller of the listing and is the only user who can initiate a primary ownership transfer.

Conclusion

Managing your Google Business Profile securely is the foundation of a successful local SEO strategy. By taking the time to add a user to your Google Business account using official invites rather than sharing passwords, you protect your digital assets while empowering your team and agency partners to drive growth.

Once your team has access, they can optimize your profile to attract local customers, respond to reviews faster, and run high-performing local campaigns. If you want to scale your business profitably, local SEO is just the beginning.

At Fetch and Funnel, we specialize in full-funnel digital marketing. From setting up your Google Ads Manager to designing a high-converting Google Ads Performance Max Campaign, we help brands scale with data-driven strategies.

Don’t let your marketing budget go to waste. Work with a trusted partner. Read our guide on why you should hire a Google Partner Agency: Don’t Let Your Budget Go Up in Smoke, or explore our specialized Fetch and Funnel Google Ads Agency Services to see how we can help you grow. Ready to dominate your local market? Reach out to us today!