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Get Your Google Business Profile Details Right
What Google allows in the business name, categories, address or service area, hours, phone number and website—and what gets a profile into trouble.
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- 5Practical steps
- 2Official Google help pages
- 4 minReading time
- Oct 29Last reviewed
Three questions. Your next steps.
Answer all three questions for a field-specific checklist. This does not inspect or edit your live Business Profile.
- Use the name customers consistently see on signage and business materials; leave extra keywords out.
- Check the fields before submitting so the new profile accurately reflects the business.
- Show the staffed address where customers can actually visit during your stated hours.
Sources: Guidelines for representing your business ↗ Business Profile policies and eligibility ↗
Is this the right guide for you?
Use this guide if
- You are about to submit a new profile’s details.
- You want to check an existing profile against Google’s rules.
Check another path if
- The business may not be eligible at all: check eligibility in the setup guide first.
- Someone else controls the profile: resolve ownership before editing.
The rule behind every field
Each field should describe the business as customers meet it in the real world: the name on the sign, the place where customers are served or the area you travel to, and the hours customers can actually reach you.
Extra keywords, borrowed addresses and redirecting phone numbers or links are exactly what Google’s guidelines rule out. Put each piece of information in its own field instead.
- Signage or stationery showing the exact name
- The real address or the area you serve
- Regular hours plus holidays and closures
What belongs in each Business Profile field
Use the appropriate field for each real-world detail. These checks come from Google’s guidelines, not from an inspection of your account.
| Field | What to enter | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The name customers recognize on signs, the website and business materials. | Extra services, city names, taglines or phone numbers. |
| Category | The most specific category for what the business is. | Using categories as keywords or describing nearby businesses. |
| Storefront address | An accurate staffed location where customers can visit. | P.O. boxes, borrowed addresses or an unstaffed virtual office. |
| Service area | Where you travel to customers; hide the address if customers do not visit. | Displaying a home address for a service-area-only business. |
| Hours | Real customer-facing hours and relevant special hours. | Outdated holiday hours or made-up availability. |
| Phone and website | Direct business-controlled contact details for that location. | Redirects or third-party referral destinations. |
Summary of Google’s guidelines; eligibility and field availability can vary. Guidelines for representing your business ↗ Business Profile policies and eligibility ↗
5 practical steps. One clear next action.
Read the key points here. Open the extra detail only when you need it.
- Step 01
Use the name customers see in the real world
- The name should match what the business consistently uses on its storefront, website and stationery.
- Leave out marketing taglines, store codes, ® or ™ symbols, fully capitalized words, hours, phone numbers, URLs, service or product descriptions and location details.
Guidelines for representing your business ↗Details & things to check
Google allows special characters or legal terms such as LLC or Inc. only when they are part of the real-world name and you can show it, for example on signage or invoices. Repeating the same name in several scripts or languages is not allowed.
- Step 02
Pick the fewest, most specific categories
- Use as few categories as possible to describe the core business, and choose the most specific option available.
- Categories should complete the statement “This business IS a…”, not describe what it has or sells.
Guidelines for representing your business ↗Details & things to check
Don’t use categories as keywords or attributes, and don’t add categories for a nearby business or one located inside yours. Google adds broader categories automatically when you pick a specific one.
- Step 03
Use a real location, or a service area
- Use the precise physical address where the business operates. P.O. boxes, remote mailboxes and virtual offices are not acceptable.
- A business that serves customers at their location and doesn’t receive them at its address should hide that address and set a service area.
Guidelines for representing your business ↗Details & things to check
Put a suite or floor in address line 2 if needed. A co-working office qualifies only with clear signage, staff present and customers received during business hours. Google says a service area generally shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from the base, and a hybrid business that is staffed and receives customers can show its address and a service area.
- Step 04
List the hours customers can actually use
- Enter regular, customer-facing hours, and add special hours for holidays, closures or events.
- Businesses with varied schedules or appointment-only service, such as event venues or schools, generally shouldn’t list hours.
Guidelines for representing your business ↗Details & things to check
A seasonal business can use its current seasonal hours as regular hours and mark the profile temporarily closed in the off-season. Where a business has several sets of hours, Google names the main one to use, for example dine-in hours for restaurants or lobby hours for banks. “More hours” for specific services should generally fall within the main hours.
- Step 05
Use contact details the business controls
- Use a local phone number for the individual location where possible. It must be under the direct control of the business.
- The website should represent that individual business location.
Guidelines for representing your business ↗Details & things to check
Premium-rate numbers and numbers that redirect callers to other numbers are not allowed. Website links that redirect people or refer them to other pages, including social media pages, are not allowed either.
What to avoid
Common mistakes
- Adding a city, service or slogan to the business name to look more relevant.
- Listing a virtual office, P.O. box or borrowed address where the business does not operate.
- Using a call-forwarding or referral number, or a link that redirects to another site.
Before you continue
Can I add my city or main service to the business name?+
Only if it is part of the name the business really uses on its sign, website and stationery. Google treats added location details and service descriptions as unnecessary information.
Can a department have its own profile?+
A public-facing department that operates as a distinct entity can, with a name that differs from the main business and its own primary category. Sections inside a store, such as a hot food bar, don’t qualify.
Can individual professionals have their own profile?+
Public-facing practitioners, such as doctors or lawyers, who can be contacted at the verified location during stated hours may have one. Support staff can’t, and a practitioner shouldn’t create several profiles for different specializations.
Can I show a home address for a service-area-only business?+
Google says a service-area business that travels to customers should hide its address from customers and specify a service area. A business that receives customers at a staffed location can follow the storefront or hybrid guidance.
Does a co-working office qualify as my address?+
Only if the office has clear signage, receives customers there during business hours and is staffed by your own business staff during those hours. A rented mailing address alone is not eligible.
Where do holiday hours belong?+
Use special hours for holidays, temporary changes and closures instead of putting those details in the business name. Keep the regular hours accurate for ordinary customer visits.
Go straight to the source.
We reviewed Google’s guidelines for representing businesses and its eligibility policy on October 29, 2026. The field checklist distinguishes official rules from illustrative examples. We did not access any profile or test whether an edit will be accepted; Google may vary screens and enforcement by business.
Image credits: Photo by Se. Tsuchiya (Unsplash). Illustrations are not Google interface screenshots or real verification evidence.
Corrections and scope
For changes in Google’s instructions, follow the live official source. To flag an error, send this article’s URL and the relevant source through our editorial contact page. Do not send passwords, verification codes or identity documents. This is educational content, not Google support.
More Business Profile guides
How to Create and Set Up a Google Business Profile
Check eligibility, find an existing listing and follow the right setup path—without creating avoidable duplicates.
How to Verify Your Google Business Profile
Why your verification options differ from another business’s, how each method works, and what to show, avoid and do next so you don’t have to start over.
What to Do When Someone Else Owns Your Business Profile
How to request access to a verified profile someone else controls, what the three-day window means and your options if the request is denied or ignored.