Before you start
- Decide which Google account will own the profile. Only that one account can edit it later, and there is no way to add a second person.
- If you have a YouTube channel, use the Google account that owns it. Google also accepts a channel you manage.
- Have the login for your biggest counting platform to hand: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or X.
- Prepare your photo, cover, bio, links and the posts you want pinned. What to prepare lists them.
First, check whether Google already made one for you
If your name already shows a knowledge panel in Google Search, Google has probably generated a Search profile for you. Search your name or handle, and under the knowledge panel look for "View Search Profile". If it's there, you claim that profile instead of creating a new one.
If you run more than one identity (yourself and a podcast, say), Google may have generated a profile for each. They are claimed separately.
The steps
- 1Open profile.google.com/claim.
- 2Sign in to the Google account you chose.
- 3Sign in to a social account that meets the 10,000 requirement.
- 4If Google finds an existing unclaimed profile linked to that account, it tells you. Check the other accounts attached to it really are yours, and remove any that aren't.
- 5Optionally sign in to your other platforms so they're linked too. A green tick shows each verified account.
- 6If asked, complete "Selfie with ID". Google skips this if you've already claimed your knowledge panel.
- 7Click Create Profile, or confirm the profile you're claiming.
What happens next
- Your handle is taken from your most-followed linked account. If that handle is already in use, Google uses your next most-followed one. Your address becomes profile.google.com/@handle.
- Content from each linked account is added automatically. Google says new content typically appears within 24 to 48 hours.
- Edits to your name, bio and linked accounts show as Pending until Google has checked them. More on pending edits.
Where it goes wrong
- Claiming with a personal Gmail when the YouTube channel sits on another Google account. Google requires the channel's own account.
- Claiming with an account a former manager or agency controls. Ownership can only be moved by asking Google through its support form.
- Linking an account that isn't clearly yours or isn't relevant. Google can refuse it.
- Leaving the name and bio for later. They are reviewed by hand, so every later change waits again.
We do this with creators on a short screen-share call, with everything prepared beforehand. You do the clicking and we never see a password. How it works.