Filling in and maintaining your Business Profile properly

Module 6: Getting found locally · Reading time: 11 minutes

Learning objective: After this lesson you can fill in every important field of a Google Business Profile according to the guidelines, avoid the mistakes that lead to suspension, and maintain the profile on a regular schedule.

Key concepts: business name as used in the real world, extra information in the name, categories (as few as possible, as specific as possible), opening hours, special hours, temporarily closed, a phone number you control, website, business description, photos and videos, products and services, posts (updates, offers, events), suggested edits, suspension

Why filling it in is more than a formality

In its explanation of local ranking, Google says plainly that a complete and accurate profile helps: if Google understands what you do, it can show you for the searches that match. A profile with the wrong category or outdated opening hours is not only harder to find, it also drives away customers who end up at a closed door.

There is a flip side too. If you fill in the profile "cleverly" with extra keywords or fake addresses, you risk Google suspending it. That is why this lesson goes field by field through what is and isn't allowed. Everything comes from Google's own guidelines (see Further reading); they are updated regularly, so check them again once a year.

The business name: as it appears on your shopfront

This is the field where people cheat most often. The rule is simple: the name must match the name you use in the real world, on your shopfront, your website, your stationery and with customers. You add nothing: no slogan, no place name that isn't part of your name, no opening hours, no phone number, no web address, no services.

Correct	Not correct	Why not
Bloemenatelier Lotte	Bloemenatelier Lotte, bloemist Amersfoort	place and service added ("florist Amersfoort")
Bloemenatelier Lotte	BLOEMENATELIER LOTTE	all capitals, although that is not the real spelling
Bloemenatelier Lotte	Bloemenatelier Lotte, 24 uur bezorgen	service and hours in the name ("24-hour delivery")

Google itself gives examples such as "Regal Pizzeria Open 24 hours" and "Verizon Wireless 4G LTE": not allowed. Additions such as "B.V." (the Dutch equivalent of "Ltd") are only allowed if they demonstrably belong to the name in real life. According to the guidelines, unnecessary information in the name can lead to suspension of the profile. Competitors can also change such a name through a suggested edit, and then you've lost control.

Categories: as few and as precise as possible

The category tells Google what you are, not what you sell or have. A florist who also sells vases is a florist, not a home furnishings shop. The guidelines say: choose as few categories as needed to describe your core business, and choose the most specific one that is still accurate. Google adds more general categories itself.

On screen you choose one primary category and, if needed, additional categories. Start with the primary category; it must be your main activity. Only add extra categories if there really is a second core activity. If you share a building with another business, choose only categories for your own business.

Not sure? Search for your most important search term and see which category the businesses at the top have. That isn't a rule, but it shows which categories exist and how Google uses them.

Opening hours, phone and website

Opening hours: the hours when you actually receive customers. Work by appointment? Then opening hours are not required for some types of business. Seasonal business? Enter the hours for the current season and set the profile to temporarily closed outside the season.

Special hours are meant for public holidays, holidays and events. Fill them in well in advance: King's Day, Christmas, your summer closure. If you forget, Google shows your normal hours and someone ends up at a closed door on 25 December.

Phone number: a number that belongs to this location and that you control yourself, preferably a local number rather than a call centre. No number that forwards to another business, no premium-rate number.

Website: the homepage or, if you have several locations, the page for this location. No address that redirects to another site. Make sure that page shows the same name, the same address and the same phone number (lesson 6.4).

Description, photos, products and posts

Description: say what you do, for whom, what makes you special and since when. According to the guidelines: no links, no prices or promotions as the main focus ("the cheapest bouquets in town!"), no gibberish or odd characters.

Photos and videos: Google explicitly mentions photos and videos as a way to show what you offer. Use your own, real photos: the shopfront (so people recognise you), the interior, your work, your team. No stock photos; they say nothing about your business.

Products and services: here you can list what you do: bridal bouquets, funeral flowers, workshops, delivery. This is exactly the place for the words that aren't allowed in your name.

Posts: you can publish updates, offers and events. According to Google, posts older than six months are archived unless you set a date range. A post is handy for announcing a workshop or a holiday promotion, but it doesn't replace a good website.

Maintenance: a regular schedule

A profile is never finished. Anyone can suggest edits, and Google sometimes changes things itself based on other sources. A regular schedule prevents surprises:

When	What
Every week	Read and reply to new reviews (lesson 6.5)
Every month	Sign in and check whether Google or others have changed anything; look at photos from visitors
Every quarter	Opening hours and special hours for the coming quarter; update products and services
With every change	Move, new phone number, new website: update profile, website and listings at the same time
Every year	Reread Google's guidelines; review managers (who still has access?)

In practice: Bloemenatelier Lotte's checklist

Lotte goes through her profile. Name: "Bloemenatelier Lotte" (correct, as on the shopfront). Primary category: florist; additional category: none, because the workshops are a service, not a second business. Address visible, service area Amersfoort and surroundings for deliveries. Phone 033 000 0000, the same number as on https://www.example.com/contact. Special hours for Mother's Day and Christmas are already in. The description contained a link to her online shop: she removes it, because links aren't allowed in the description; the website is already in the Website field. In WebOké's AI Builder, in WordPress or in another website builder, she then checks that her contact page shows the same details.

Summary

The name is the real name, without keywords, place, hours or services; breaking this rule can lead to suspension.
Choose as few and as specific categories as possible: what you are, not what you sell.
Real opening hours, special hours for holidays, your own local phone number and the right page as website.
Services and products belong in their own fields; the description has no links and no price promotions.
Maintain the profile on a regular schedule and check regularly whether others have changed anything.

Quiz

Exercise

Exercise D6.2: Check your profile with the checklist. Open your own Business Profile (or, if you don't have a business, the public profile of a business near you) and go through the checklist from this lesson: name, categories, address or service area, opening hours and special hours, phone, website, description, photos, products and services. For each item, note what is right and what you will improve, and put the schedule from the table in your calendar.

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