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Create Google Business Profile - Guidelines and Best Practices

Create Google Business Profile - Guidelines and Best Practices

Basic Eligibility

Your business is eligible for a Google Business Profile if it either:

  • Has a physical location that customers can visit.

  • Provides services by traveling to customers at their locations.

Online-only businesses without physical interactions are not eligible.

Core Guidelines

To ensure your Business Profile remains active and accurate:

Business Information Details

Business Name

  • Ensure business name, address, phone number, hours of operation and website url are consistent with active website and other directory sites.

  • Avoid adding extra information such as marketing slogans, location details, or special characters.

Address and Service Areas

  • Provide a precise, accurate address.

  • For service-area businesses, define the areas served without listing a physical address if customers do not visit your location via defining by zip code, city, county, state.

  • Virtual offices or co-working spaces are accepted if staff is available during business hours and clear signage can be shown in the video verificaition.

Contact Information

  • List a phone number that connects directly to your business location.

  • Use a website that represents your individual business location. Do not use generic urls for the company headquarters. Provide specific urls for the branch or user.

Business Hours

  • Provide regular customer-facing hours of operation.

  • For businesses with multiple departments or services, specify hours for each accordingly.

Categories

Content Guidelines

  • Business Description: Offer a clear, honest description of your products, services, mission, and history.

  • Prohibited Content: Do not include irrelevant information, promotional content, or links.

DBAs and Unique Brands within an Org

  • Departments within larger entities may have separate profiles if they operate distinctly. So long as they have a distinct address, website, phone number and hours of operation. DBAs, Departments and Practitioners

 

 

 

 

Practitioner Pages (Individual Users)

An individual practitioner is a public-facing professional with their own customer base.

  • Loan Officers

  • Real Estate Agents

  • Insurance Agents

  • Dentists

  • Lawyers

  • Financial Planners

Support staff or non-public-facing roles are not eligible for individual practitioner profiles.

Eligibility Criteria

To create a Business Profile as an individual practitioner, you must:

  • Operate in a public-facing role.

  • Can be contacted directly via the verified location, phone number and website during stated hours.

Naming Conventions

The Business Profile name should reflect the practitioner's name and their title or degree certification (e.g., Dr., MD, JD, Esq., CFA). Do not include the name of the organization in place of the user name as this will be counted as a duplicate office profile.

Multiple Practitioners at One Location

If multiple practitioners operate at the same location:

  • Each eligible practitioner may have their own Business Profile.

  • The organization should also have a separate Business Profile for the location.[Brand/Company]: [Practitioner Name] is not allowed as Google reads this as an office location.

  • Each profile should have distinct contact information to avoid confusion.

  • Contact Information: Provide a phone number and website that connect directly to the individual practitioner. Do not use primary or generic urls for the corporate headquarters.

  • Business Hours: List the hours during which the practitioner is available to see clients.

  • Categories: Choose the category that best represents the practitioner's profession (e.g., Dentist, Real Estate Agent).