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Google Practitioner Page - Best Practices

Google Practitioner Page - Best Practices

Owned by Heather Day
Last updated: May 19, 2025

Following are best practices to gain approval for a Practitioner Google Business Profile.

What is a Practitioner Profile?

A practitioner profile on Google refers to an individual professional's business profile that appears in Google Search and Google Maps—typically linked to a broader organization or business, such as a medical clinic, law firm, or salon. Practitioner profiles appear when people search for that person or related services and enhances the individual’s visibility in local search results. Unlike office profiles, Google Practitioner Profiles highlight a specific professional (e.g., a loan officer, real estate agent, lawyer, therapist, dentist) rather than the organization.

Displayed Information:

  • Name and title

  • Services offered

  • Business address with link to Google Maps placement

  • Phone number and website

  • Working hours

  • Reviews specific to the individual practitioner

  • Google Ads, Posts and Q&A

Best Practices for Practitioner Approval on Google:

  • Duplicate Practitioner pages are not allowed, even if the contact and location information is different. It is highly recommended to look up the professional on Maps.Google.com to confirm that past profiles do not exist. If so, they need to either be claimed or marked as permanently closed before a new Google profile is created. Note: Google reviews cannot be transferred to new business profiles in the same way that reviews can be transferred on Experience.com

There are 2 options to close a Google practitioner profile:

  • Option 1: If You Manage the Business Profile

    1. Sign in to your Google Business Profile account:
      Go to Google Business Profile Manager.

    2. Choose the business you want to mark as closed.

    3. In the left menu, click "Info".

    4. Look for the section labeled "Close or remove this profile".

    5. Click "Mark as permanently closed".

    6. Confirm your action when prompted.

Important Reminder: If you intend to keep the Google reviews, do not mark the profile as closed. You will need to keep this profile and re-verify the new location information.

  • Option 2: If You Do Not Manage the Business Profile

    1. Search for the business on Google Search or Google Maps.

    2. Click on the business listing.

    3. Select "Suggest an edit" (usually near the bottom of the profile panel).

    4. Choose "Close or remove" → "Permanently closed".

    5. Choose a reason (e.g., “Business has shut down”).

    6. Submit your suggestion.

  • Linked social media connections and website should match the business information on the Google Business Profile. Mismatched information could result in a suspension.

    • LinkedIn profiles, Instagram Pages, YouTube channels and other social media linked accounts should not contain any business information that does not match, such as the physical address, phone number, website url, hours of operation and license information.

    • The linked website url must link to the individual’s web page, not company headquarters or an office web page. The physical address, phone number, hours of operation and license information must exactly match what is on the Google Business Profile. This information should not be contained within an image on the web page, but should be plain text that can be scanned by web crawlers.

  • Business license information (company business license, NMLS or real estate license for example) must have a matching office address and phone number. Google usually requires both the company business license in the given local area as well as the individual’s business license.

  • Office leasing information must match the company details listed on the Google Profile. If an umbrella company name or a DBA is listed, supporting documentation must be provided to prove that the mentioned company on Google works from this address (such as a business license to operate in the given county and state).

  • Have clear photos to submit that show company branded signs at the address listed. If the office is a shared space, a branded sign must at least be present on the door of the office.

  • If claiming an existing practitioner profile, any reviews that dispute the validity of the location or phone number must be addressed at least with a reply to that review. Ideally, the end user who left the review should be contacted to remedy the matter.