Chapter 4 · 4.3
Filling in your details correctly
A complete and accurate profile helps Google understand what you do, so you appear in the searches that match. If you try to be too clever when filling in your profile, you risk Google suspending it. These are the rules from Google's guidelines, field by field.
Business name
Use exactly the name you use on your shopfront, your website and your stationery. Don't add anything: no slogan, no place name, no services, no opening hours, no phone number and no web address.
| Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
| Demo Bakery | Demo Bakery, fresh bread Utrecht |
| Demo Bakery | Demo Bakery, open 7 days |
Categories
- Choose a primary category that says what you are, not what you sell.
- Choose as few categories as necessary, and as specific as possible. Google adds more general categories itself.
- Don't use categories as keywords. Those words belong under products and services.
Address, phone and website
- Address: a real, complete address. No PO box and no virtual office. If you only visit customers at their location, hide your address and set a service area.
- Phone: a number you manage yourself that belongs to this location. Preferably a local number. No premium-rate number and no number that forwards to another business.
- Website: your homepage or, if you have several locations, the page for this location. No address that redirects to another site, and no social media page.
Opening hours
- Enter the hours when you actually receive customers.
- Set up special hours well in advance for public holidays and holidays. Otherwise Google shows your regular hours and a customer ends up at a closed door.
- Temporarily closed, for example for a renovation? Then mark your profile as temporarily closed.
Description, products and services
- In the description you explain what you do and for whom. No links, and no special offers as the main message.
- Under products and services you can list what you offer. This is where the words go that aren't allowed in your name.
The same as on your website
Use the same name, address and phone number on your website. With the AI Builder you enter them under SEO, Whole site, Business details and Opening hours. The AI Builder then also adds them to your pages as structured data (see Sitemap and robots.txt with the AI Builder). In WordPress you arrange this with your theme or an SEO plugin.
Please note: Anyone can suggest changes to your profile, and Google sometimes changes things itself. So log in once a month and check that everything is still correct.