How to check your Google Business Profile for problems
Your Google Business Profile is the listing customers see when they look for your business on Google Search and Google Maps. This guide goes through it part by part, for business owners, so you can spot details that are wrong, missing or out of date.
Last updated:
Open your profile
- Sign in to the Google Account that is linked to your Business Profile.
- Search Google for your business name.
- Select “Edit profile”.
If you see no option to edit, you may be signed in to a different account, or the profile may not have been claimed and verified yet. Google explains both in Edit your Business Profile (opens in a new tab).
Check the business name
The name should be your real business name, written the way it appears on your sign, your paperwork and anywhere else customers see it. Google’s guidelines (opens in a new tab) say the name should reflect the business’s real-world name, as used consistently on the storefront, website and stationery.
Look for extra words that are not part of the name, such as a list of services or towns. Google says that including unnecessary information in the name isn’t permitted and could result in the profile being suspended.
Check the phone number and website link
- Call the number from another phone. It should reach your business. Google asks for a number that is under the direct control of the business.
- Tap the website link on a phone. It should open your own website. Google asks for the full address, including the “https://” or “http://” at the start.
- Make sure neither one sends people to a page or a number that belongs to someone else. Google does not allow links or numbers that redirect away from the actual business.
Check the address and service area
If you travel to your customers instead of having them come to you, Google calls your business a service-area business. If you do not serve customers at your business address, Google says to remove the address from the profile and set a service area instead.
Then look at the service area itself. According to Google’s page on service areas (opens in a new tab):
- You can list up to 20 areas, such as cities or postal codes.
- You cannot set the area as a distance around your business.
- The whole area should be within about two hours of driving from where you are based.
- It should be as specific and accurate as possible.
Check the opening hours
The hours should be the times customers can actually reach you. Google asks for your regular customer-facing hours. For public holidays and other days when your hours change, you can set special hours without changing the regular ones.
Check the categories
The primary category tells Google what your business is. Google’s guidelines ask you to:
- use as few categories as it takes to describe your core business
- choose categories that are as specific as possible
- pick categories that say what the business is, not everything it has or does
- never use a category as a keyword
You can add up to nine more categories after the primary one. Add one only if it truly describes the business.
Check the services and photos
Businesses in some categories can list their services on the profile. If you have that option, check that the list matches what you really offer. Google’s page on services (opens in a new tab) explains how the list works.
For photos, Google asks that they are in focus, well lit and not heavily edited, so that they represent reality. It accepts JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB. A logo, a cover photo and a few pictures of your own work are a sensible start. Details are on Google’s photos page (opens in a new tab).
Check who has access
In your profile settings, open “People and access”. It lists every owner and manager. Owners have full control and can add or remove people. Managers can edit most details but cannot add or remove people.
Remove anyone who no longer needs access, such as a past employee or an agency you stopped using. Each person should use their own Google Account, so you never have to share a password. Google covers this in owners and managers (opens in a new tab).
Look for changes you did not make
Google gathers information from other sources, such as reports from users, and may update your profile if those sources say a detail is wrong or out of date. In the editor, details changed by Google are shown in blue.
Google may also tell you about an edit that someone has suggested. You then have four days to accept or reject it. Read more in Google updates on your Business Profile (opens in a new tab).
After you make changes
Google reviews your changes before they go live on the profile, so an edit may not appear at once. For service areas, Google says an approved edit may take up to 48 hours to show. Google makes its own decisions about what it publishes.
Sources
Statements about Google in this guide are based on these official Google pages, checked on the date above.
- Google: Edit your Business Profile (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Guidelines for representing your business on Google (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Manage your service areas (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Manage your services on your Business Profile (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Manage your Business Profile photos and videos (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Manage your Business Profile owners and managers (opens in a new tab)
- Google: Understand Google updates on your Business Profile (opens in a new tab)
Would you rather have someone check it with you?