Standard edits to your Google Business Profile—hours, phone number, website URL, photos—typically go live within 3 to 10 minutes. You'll see them reflected almost immediately in your dashboard and on Google Maps. More substantial changes follow different timelines. Business name changes, primary category switches, and address modifications require Google's manual review because they're fraud vectors. Expect 3 to 5 business days for approval, sometimes up to 10 days if you're in a competitive vertical like locksmiths or plumbers where spam is rampant. If you edit your name to stuff keywords or violate guidelines, Google will reject it and you'll get a notification in your dashboard. Post updates and Q&A answers publish instantly but may not trigger ranking changes for days. Google's local algorithm doesn't re-crawl your profile every hour. We've seen proximity and category relevance shifts take 48 to 72 hours to settle after a primary category change, especially if you're moving from a broad category to a niche one. Photos you upload appear in your gallery within minutes, but Google decides which image becomes your cover photo based on engagement signals. Owner-uploaded photos get priority over user-contributed ones, but it's not instant control—allow 24 hours for the algorithm to decide what shows first in search and Maps. Verification delays are the wildcard. If you trigger a re-verification by changing your address or phone number significantly, you might lose live status for 5 to 14 days while waiting for a postcard or video verification. At Ottawa SEO, we never make bulk changes to client profiles right before a busy season for this reason. Stagger edits if you're updating multiple fields, and avoid changing name, address, and category simultaneously unless you're certain the data is accurate and guideline-compliant. One rejected edit can cascade into a suspension review that takes weeks to resolve.