What a Google Business Profile is, and what it is not
For many local searches, the first thing people see is not a website but a set of business profiles on a map. Your profile is often the first impression a potential customer gets: before they visit your site, they have already seen your rating, your photos and whether you are open.
The profile is free. It is not an advert, and paying for Google Ads does not improve how it ranks. It used to be called Google My Business; the name changed a few years ago, and you will still see the old name in older articles and tools. Management now happens largely directly in Google Search and Maps, and in the mobile app.
Who is eligible for a profile
Google's guidelines for representing your business on Google are written for businesses that deal with customers in person: either at a location customers visit, or at the customer's own address. Read the current guidelines before you start, because they are the rules your profile will be judged against.
- Premises customers visit, such as a dental practice in Birmingham or a hotel in Edinburgh: show the address.
- Service-area businesses, such as an electrician covering Greater Manchester: hide the address and set the areas you serve.
- Hybrid businesses, such as a garden centre that also delivers: show the address and add a service area.
A virtual office or a rented mailing address where you do not actually operate is not eligible. Businesses that only sell online, without that in-person contact, generally fall outside the guidelines; check the current rules for your situation.
Setting up the name, category and address
Business name
Use the name you use in the real world: on your signage, letterhead and website. Adding keywords or a location ("Smith & Co Solicitors Divorce Lawyers Leeds") breaks the guidelines and is one of the most common reasons for suspension. If you want a keyword in the name, it has to be in the real name of the business.
Primary category
The primary category is one of the strongest signals of what you are relevant for. Choose the most specific one that describes your core business. A practice deciding between a general dental category and a more specialised one should pick the category that matches most of its work, and add secondary categories only for services it genuinely offers. Google states that categories should not be used simply as keywords.
Address or service area
Enter the address exactly as it appears elsewhere online, including the postcode. Service-area businesses list the towns, cities or regions they cover, without trying to stretch that area far beyond where they actually work.
Verifying your profile
A profile only appears fully, and can only be managed properly, once Google has verified that you run the business. Google decides which verification methods are available for your profile; options can include a video recording, a phone call or text, or email. A video verification typically asks you to show the location, signage or branded equipment, and proof that you manage the business.
Prepare before you start: make sure your signage, address and business name match what you entered, and that you can show tools, a vehicle with branding or documents that link you to the business. Mismatches are a frequent reason for failed verification.
Completing the profile, field by field
A complete profile helps Google match you to more searches and helps customers decide. Use this table as a checklist.
| Field | What to enter | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Your real-world name, exactly as on signage and website | Adding keywords or locations |
| Primary category | The most specific category for your core business | Choosing a broad category or one that describes a single service |
| Additional categories | Only services you genuinely provide | Adding every remotely related category |
| Hours and special hours | Regular hours plus bank holidays and closures | Forgetting Christmas and bank holiday Mondays |
| Website link | The most relevant page, often a location page | Linking every branch to the home page |
| Services and products | Your main services with short, clear descriptions | Leaving the section empty |
| Description | What you do, for whom and where, in plain language | Keyword lists or promotional claims you cannot support |
| Photos | Real photos of premises, team and work, added over time | Only stock images or a logo |
| Phone number | A number that is answered during your stated hours | A number that differs from the website |
Reviews and how to respond
Reviews are part of how Google judges the popularity of a business, and they are often what convinces a searcher to choose you. Ask every genuine customer, at the moment the work is done, using the review link from your profile.
What you must not do is filter. Google's prohibited and restricted content policy forbids discouraging negative reviews and selectively asking for positive ones. Systems that route happy customers to Google and unhappy ones elsewhere fall under that rule. Incentives for reviews and reviews written by owners, staff or friends are not allowed either.
Replying well
- Reply to every review, personally and briefly.
- To criticism, respond calmly, acknowledge the experience and offer to continue the conversation directly.
- Never share personal details. Healthcare and legal practices in particular should not confirm that the reviewer is a patient or client.
- Report a review only if it genuinely breaks Google's policies, for example because it is spam or not about a real experience. Disagreeing with it is not a reason Google will accept.
Photos, posts and keeping the profile current
A profile is not a one-off task. Add photos of recent work, a new team member or a refurbished reception area. Use updates to share news, events or seasonal information. Answer questions customers ask. Check the profile every month: anyone can suggest edits to your hours, address or category, and Google sometimes applies them.
Keep ownership in the company's hands. Make the business owner or a company account the primary owner and give agencies and staff manager access. Profiles registered to a former employee's personal account are a common and avoidable headache.
Suspensions and how to avoid them
Profiles are most often suspended for keyword-stuffed names, ineligible addresses such as virtual offices, a mismatch between the profile and the real business, or sudden edits to key details. If your profile is suspended, correct the cause first, gather evidence that the business is real at that address (signage, utility bill, business registration) and then submit an appeal through the Business Profile help centre. Avoid creating a new profile to get round the problem; that usually makes things worse.
Your profile and your website work together
In competitive areas such as central London, a profile alone is rarely enough. Google looks at the website the profile links to, so that page should clearly confirm what the profile says: the same name, address and phone number, the services you offer and the area you serve. A fast, clear location page also converts the visitors your profile sends.
This is why we treat profile and site as one piece of work. Our local SEO service covers both, and our web design projects build location and service pages with this in mind. For dental practices, our dental SEO page covers the extra considerations around patient confidentiality and regulation. For the wider picture, read our local SEO tips and how to rank higher on Google.