Google Business Profile Knowledge Base Guide

Last reviewed: June 2, 2026

1. Purpose of a Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile helps a business control and improve the information shown to customers on Google Search and Google Maps. It is often one of the first customer-facing touchpoints for local discovery, directions, phone calls, website visits, appointment actions, reviews, photos, service research, and purchase decisions.

The agent’s goal is to create accurate, trust-building, policy-compliant copy and media assets that help customers quickly understand:

• What the business does
• Where it serves customers
• When customers can visit or contact the business
• Why the business is credible or distinctive
• What action the customer should take next

The agent must prioritize real-world accuracy over promotional exaggeration.

2. Core Operating Rules for the Agent

Accuracy first

All profile copy and assets must represent the real business as it exists in the real world. Do not keyword-stuff, invent services, exaggerate claims, create fake scarcity, or use imagery that misrepresents the location, product, service, team, or customer experience.

Customer usefulness first

Write for customers who are deciding whether to call, visit, book, buy, request service, or ask a question. Avoid generic marketing language that does not help the customer make a decision.

Google policy compliance

All profile content, including text, photos, videos, posts, review replies, Q&A answers, and product/service descriptions, must follow Google’s Business Profile policies and Maps user-generated content policies.

Brand consistency

Match the business’s real-world brand name, signage, website, stationery, tone, colors, service descriptions, and public positioning. The Business Profile should feel consistent with the website and in-person customer experience.

Local intent alignment

Assume the customer is looking for fast answers: location, hours, services, trust signals, photos, prices when applicable, booking/contact options, and proof that the business is active and legitimate.

3. Main Sections of a Google Business Profile

Business Name

Purpose

Identifies the business exactly as customers know it in the real world.

Agent guidance

Use the real-world business name only. Do not add taglines, city names, service keywords, phone numbers, URLs, legal terms, or promotional claims unless they are part of the business’s consistently used real-world name.

Good

“Bright Oak Dental”

Avoid

“Bright Oak Dental — Best Dentist in Orlando Open 24/7”

Primary Category and Additional Categories

Purpose

Helps Google and customers understand what the business is.

Agent guidance

Choose the most specific category that completes the sentence: “This business is a ___.” Do not use categories as keyword stuffing or to describe every service the business offers. Use the fewest accurate categories needed.

Example

A pizza business that only offers pickup and delivery should use categories like “Pizza Delivery” or “Pizza Takeout,” not broad or inaccurate categories that imply dine-in service.

Address, Pin Location, and Service Area

Purpose

Tells customers where the business is located or where it serves customers.

Agent guidance

Use the accurate physical address if customers visit the location. For service-area businesses, define the real service area and hide the address when the business does not serve customers at that address. Avoid P.O. boxes, virtual offices, and keyword-stuffed address lines.

Asset implications

For storefront businesses, create exterior photos from different customer approach directions. For service-area businesses, use team-at-work, vehicle, equipment, job-site, and service-process imagery instead of implying a public storefront.

Hours, Special Hours, and More Hours

Purpose

Helps customers know when they can visit, call, book, order, or receive service.

Agent guidance

Use customer-facing operating hours. Add special hours for holidays, temporary closures, events, seasonal changes, or unusual schedules. For businesses with different service types, use more hours where available.

Copy implications

Avoid saying “always available” unless the business truly offers 24/7 customer-facing service.

Phone Number

Purpose

Gives customers a direct contact path.

Agent guidance

Use a phone number controlled by the business. Prefer a local number when possible. Do not insert phone numbers into Google Business Profile post descriptions; use the “Call now” button when available.

Website and Action Links

Purpose

Routes customers to the most relevant next step, such as website, appointment booking, online ordering, reservations, menu, or service pages.

Agent guidance

Use clean, direct URLs that represent the business. Avoid redirect-heavy, irrelevant, misleading, or third-party-only URLs unless allowed and appropriate. Match the action link to the customer’s intent.

Examples

• Appointment link: booking page
• Menu link: official menu page
• Order link: official ordering page
• Services link: service overview or category page
• Website link: homepage or location-specific landing page

Social Media Links

Purpose

Gives customers additional brand signals and active social proof.

Agent guidance

Use official, active, brand-controlled profiles only. Supported platforms may include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X, and YouTube, depending on availability.

Attributes

Purpose

Highlights factual business features customers care about, such as outdoor seating, Wi-Fi, accessibility, service options, amenities, or identity-related attributes.

Agent guidance

Only select attributes that are true. Do not assume amenities. Ask for confirmation or mark unknown if the business has not provided the information.

Business Description

Purpose

Appears in the “From the business” section and explains what the business offers, what makes it distinctive, and useful background for customers.

Technical limit

Maximum: 750 characters.

Required content strategy

Include:

• What the business offers
• Who it serves
• Location or service-area relevance
• Differentiators
• Experience, mission, or helpful context
• A soft customer-facing next step if space allows

Avoid

• URLs
• HTML
• Keyword stuffing
• Promotions, prices, sales, discounts, or temporary offers
• Unsupported claims such as “best,” “#1,” or “guaranteed” unless independently verifiable
• Excessive capitalization or symbols

Description formula

[Business name] provides [primary service/product] for [customer type] in [area]. We specialize in [differentiators]. Customers choose us for [trust/service proof]. [Optional soft CTA].

Opening Date

Purpose

Shows how long the business has been operating.

Agent guidance

Use month and year when known. Do not invent founding dates. If unknown, leave blank or request confirmation.

Services

Purpose

Helps service businesses show what they offer and may include service names, descriptions, and prices where supported.

Agent guidance

Use clear, customer-searchable service names without exaggeration. Keep descriptions short, specific, and factual. Mention who the service is for, what is included, and any important eligibility or preparation details.

Service copy template

Service name:
Clear noun phrase, such as “Mobile Notary Services”

Short description:
“Convenient notary services for individuals and businesses, including acknowledgments, jurats, and common document signing needs. Availability varies by location and appointment time.”

Menu

Purpose

Shows food, drink, or service menu items, depending on business type.

Agent guidance

Use a complete and representative menu when possible. Do not submit only popular-item excerpts if Google requires a full menu for that profile type. Keep prices accurate if included.

Products

Purpose

Allows eligible retail businesses to showcase products that can turn online searchers into in-store shoppers.

Agent guidance

Use real products only. Include accurate product names, categories, images, prices if available, and short customer-facing descriptions. Do not upload regulated or prohibited product content. Avoid medical, financial, gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, pharmaceutical, cannabis, or other restricted products unless a policy review confirms eligibility.

Product copy template

Product name:
Specific, customer-recognizable name.

Category:
Plain category label.

Description:
One or two sentences explaining what the product is, who it is for, and why it is useful.

Photos and Videos

Purpose

Shows customers what the business, products, services, team, and experience look like.

Agent guidance

Use real, current, well-lit images. Do not over-edit, heavily filter, misrepresent the space, or use images that imply services or amenities the business does not provide.

Key media types

Logo
Helps customers recognize the brand.

Cover photo
Represents the business at the top of the profile, although Google may choose another image in some cases.

Exterior photos
Help customers recognize the location when approaching.

Interior photos
Show ambience, layout, décor, cleanliness, and customer experience.

Product photos
Show representative or popular products.

Photos at work
Show the team providing services.

Food and drink photos
Help customers evaluate menu items.

Common areas
Useful for hotels, hospitality, coworking, fitness, medical, spa, or venue profiles.

Rooms
Important for lodging and hospitality businesses.

Team photos
Humanize the business and build trust.

Posts / Updates

Purpose

Posts let the business share timely updates, offers, events, announcements, news, and customer-facing calls to action on Search and Maps.

Post types

Update
General announcement, business news, service highlight, seasonal notice, or educational customer update.

Offer
Promotion with title, date range, optional coupon code, terms, image/video, and link.

Event
Event title, date, time, description, image/video, and action button.

Agent guidance

Posts should be timely, specific, professional, and useful. Include a clear action button when appropriate. Avoid phone numbers in post descriptions. Avoid regulated product content, offensive content, misleading claims, low-quality text, excessive symbols, and links to unsafe or irrelevant sites.

Post copy formula

[Timely hook]. [What customers need to know]. [Why it matters]. [Action button direction].

Example:

“Now booking spring maintenance appointments. Our team is helping local homeowners prepare systems before peak summer demand. Schedule online to choose an available appointment time.”

Reviews and Review Replies

Purpose

Reviews help customers evaluate trust, quality, responsiveness, and fit. Review replies show that the business listens and engages professionally.

Agent guidance

The agent may create review reply drafts, but must never create fake reviews, incentivize reviews, pressure customers to leave specific ratings, ask only happy customers for reviews, or request that customers mention specific staff or keywords.

Positive review reply formula

“Thank you, [name]. We’re glad to hear [specific detail from review]. We appreciate you choosing business name and look forward to helping again.”

Negative review reply formula

“Thank you for sharing this feedback, [name]. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d like to understand what happened and help resolve this directly. Please contact us at [approved business contact method].”

Review reply rules

• Keep replies short.
• Be professional and polite.
• Do not reveal private customer information.
• Do not argue.
• Do not offer promotions in the reply.
• Personalize when possible.
• Move sensitive issues to a private support channel.

Q&A

Purpose

Lets business owners and customers answer common questions about the business.

Agent guidance

Create concise, factual answers to likely customer questions. Prioritize questions about hours, parking, service area, booking, pricing structure, accessibility, documents needed, appointment requirements, wait times, and service eligibility.

Q&A answer formula

“Yes. [Direct answer]. [Important condition or limitation]. [Next step].”

Example:

“Yes. Appointments are recommended so we can confirm availability and prepare for your service needs.”

Chat / Messaging

Purpose

Lets customers contact the business through supported messaging options such as text message or WhatsApp, depending on availability.

Agent guidance

Only enable messaging if the business can respond promptly. Create short, helpful saved replies for common questions. Do not collect sensitive information unless the business has a compliant intake process.

Performance and Ongoing Optimization

Purpose

Profile performance data helps the business understand how customers interact with the profile.

Agent guidance

Use performance trends to inform future asset creation. Look for patterns in calls, direction requests, website clicks, bookings, popular photos, search terms, and customer questions. Do not make ranking guarantees.

4. Technical Media Requirements

Photos

Accepted formats:

• JPG
• PNG

File size:

• Minimum: 10 KB
• Maximum: 5 MB

Resolution:

• Recommended: 720 px tall by 720 px wide
• Minimum: 250 px tall by 250 px wide

Quality:

• In focus
• Well lit
• Realistic
• No significant alterations
• No excessive filters
• No misleading AI-generated or heavily manipulated visuals

Recommended production export:

• Create master files at 1080 x 1080 px or larger square format when possible.
• Export final upload versions under 5 MB.
• Keep the subject centered with safe margins.
• Avoid tiny text overlays because images may crop differently across devices.

Videos

Duration:

• Up to 30 seconds

File size:

• Up to 75 MB

Resolution:

• 720p or higher

Recommended production export:

• 16:9 or square depending on asset use.
• Clear first frame.
• No long intro animation.
• Show the business, service, product, team, or customer experience quickly.
• Use captions or on-screen labels only when they are readable and not misleading.
• Avoid phone numbers in post videos if the video is intended for a Google post.

5. Recommended Asset Library

For a complete profile asset set, prepare:

Brand Assets

• Logo, square crop
• Cover image
• Brand color reference
• Short brand summary
• Approved tone of voice
• Approved CTA language

Location Assets

• Exterior front view
• Exterior from left approach
• Exterior from right approach
• Parking or entrance photo, if useful
• Reception or waiting area
• Customer-facing interior
• Accessibility-relevant features, if applicable

Product or Service Assets

• Product hero photos
• Service process photos
• Team at work
• Before/after images only if truthful, permitted, and not misleading
• Equipment or workspace images
• Menu or product category images

Trust Assets

• Team photo
• Owner or leadership photo
• Certifications or awards, if allowed and current
• Community involvement photo
• Branded vehicle photo, if applicable
• Real work environment photos

Post Assets

• Update post image
• Offer post image
• Event post image
• Seasonal announcement image
• Service spotlight image
• FAQ or educational image

6. Consumer-Facing Alignment Rules

The agent should align every asset and copy block with the customer’s decision path.

Customer question: “Is this the right business?”

Use:

• Accurate category
• Clear description
• Services/products
• Relevant photos
• Attributes
• Reviews and review replies

Customer question: “Can I trust them?”

Use:

• Real photos
• Professional review replies
• Team imagery
• Accurate hours
• Clear service descriptions
• Consistent brand information

Customer question: “Can they help me now?”

Use:

• Current hours
• Booking/order/contact links
• Service area
• Posts for timely updates
• Q&A for common blockers

Customer question: “What should I do next?”

Use:

• Call now
• Book online
• Order online
• Visit website
• Get directions
• Message business
• Learn more

Every copy block should make the next step obvious without sounding pushy.

7. Copywriting Standards

Voice

Use clear, professional, customer-first language. The tone should be helpful, specific, and grounded. Avoid inflated marketing claims.

Style

Prefer:

• Specific nouns
• Local relevance
• Clear service language
• Short sentences
• Plain-English explanations
• Verifiable trust signals

Avoid:

• “Best”
• “#1”
• “Guaranteed”
• “Cheap”
• “World-class”
• Keyword lists
• All caps
• Excessive exclamation points
• Emojis unless the brand explicitly uses them
• Claims the business cannot prove

Local relevance

Use local place names only when they are accurate and useful. Do not add city names repeatedly for SEO manipulation.

Calls to action

Match the CTA to the profile feature:

• “Call now” for phone-based actions
• “Book online” for appointments
• “Order online” for food or retail ordering
• “Get directions” for storefront visits
• “Learn more” for informational pages
• “Message us” only when messaging is enabled and monitored

8. Policy Guardrails

The agent must not create or upload:

• Fake or misleading business information
• Fake reviews
• Incentivized review requests
• Selective review requests that only target happy customers
• Review prompts that tell customers what rating or wording to use
• Misleading before/after images
• Stock images that imply real premises, staff, customers, or products
• Personal customer information
• Government IDs, financial information, medical records, or sensitive records
• Hateful, harassing, sexually explicit, violent, or offensive content
• Regulated product promotions unless confirmed compliant
• Phone numbers inside Google post descriptions
• Unsafe or deceptive links
• Promotional pricing in the business description
• URLs or HTML in the business description

When uncertain, escalate for human review before publishing.

9. Agent Workflow

Step 1: Intake

Collect:

• Business name
• Address or service area
• Primary category
• Additional categories
• Phone number
• Website
• Hours and special hours
• Services/products/menu
• Description source material
• Brand tone
• Logo and brand assets
• Existing photos/videos
• Target customer segments
• Compliance-sensitive categories
• Booking/order/contact links
• Review response preferences

Step 2: Profile Gap Audit

Check whether the profile has:

• Accurate name
• Correct category
• Accurate address/service area
• Correct hours
• Website and action links
• Business description
• Attributes
• Services/menu/products
• Logo
• Cover photo
• Exterior/interior photos
• Product/service photos
• Team photos
• Recent posts
• Review reply coverage
• Q&A coverage

Step 3: Asset Plan

Create a shot list and copy list based on business type.

Minimum recommended photo set:

• 1 logo
• 1 cover image
• 3 exterior photos, if storefront
• 3 interior photos, if customers visit
• 3 product or service photos
• 3 team or at-work photos
• 1–3 trust or specialty photos

Step 4: Copy Creation

Draft:

• Business description
• Services
• Products
• Menu descriptions, if applicable
• Post copy
• Q&A answers
• Review reply templates
• CTA language

Step 5: Compliance Review

Check every asset and copy block against:

• Real-world accuracy
• Google content restrictions
• No phone stuffing
• No private information
• No unsupported claims
• No misleading visuals
• No restricted product promotion
• Correct character limits
• Correct media specs

Step 6: Publishing Prep

Prepare files with clear names and metadata for internal organization.

Suggested naming format:

gbp_[business-name]_[asset-type]_[description]_[yyyy-mm-dd]

Examples:

• gbp_bright-oak-dental_logo_square_2026-06-02.png
• gbp_bright-oak-dental_exterior-front-daytime_2026-06-02.jpg
• gbp_bright-oak-dental_team-reception_2026-06-02.jpg

Step 7: Post-Publish QA

After upload, check:

• Profile verification status
• Media upload status
• Whether media is live, pending, or not approved
• Whether cover/logo display as expected
• Whether posts are live, pending, or not approved
• Whether links route correctly
• Whether hours and contact info display correctly
• Whether customer-facing profile looks consistent on Search and Maps

10. Output Templates for the Agent

Business Description Template

[Business name] provides [primary services/products] for [target customers] in [location/service area]. We specialize in [specific differentiators] and help customers with [common needs]. Our team focuses on [trust/service qualities]. [Soft CTA or customer-useful closing line].

Service Description Template

[Service name] helps [customer type] with [specific need]. This service includes [main inclusions] and is best for [use case]. [Optional note about appointment, preparation, or limitations].

Product Description Template

[Product name] is a [product type] for [customer/use case]. It features [key details] and is available through [store/location/ordering method if applicable].

Update Post Template

[Timely update]. [Customer benefit or operational detail]. [What to do next using the appropriate CTA button].

Offer Post Template

[Offer name]. Available from [start date] to [end date]. [Brief terms or eligibility]. Use the offer details or action button to learn more.

Event Post Template

Join us for [event name] on [date/time]. [Who it is for and what customers can expect]. [Registration or attendance instruction].

Q&A Template

Question: [Customer question]
Answer: [Direct answer]. [Relevant condition]. [Next step].

Positive Review Reply Template

Thank you, [name]. We’re glad to hear [specific detail]. We appreciate you choosing [business name] and look forward to helping again.

Negative Review Reply Template

Thank you for sharing this feedback, [name]. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. Please contact us at [approved contact method] so we can better understand what happened and work toward a resolution.

11. Final Quality Checklist

Before delivering assets or copy, confirm:

• Business name matches real-world branding.
• Category choices describe what the business is, not keyword targets.
• Address or service area is accurate.
• Hours and special hours are current.
• Phone and website are controlled by the business.
• Business description is 750 characters or fewer.
• Business description has no URLs, HTML, prices, discounts, or temporary promotions.
• Photos are JPG or PNG.
• Photos are between 10 KB and 5 MB.
• Photos are at least 250 x 250 px, ideally 720 x 720 px or larger.
• Videos are 30 seconds or shorter.
• Videos are 75 MB or smaller.
• Videos are 720p or higher.
• Media is realistic, well lit, in focus, and not excessively edited.
• Posts do not include phone numbers in the description.
• Review request copy does not offer incentives or pressure customers.
• Review replies do not reveal private information.
• Product/service/menu details are accurate and current.
• Restricted categories have been reviewed before publishing.
• Every asset supports a real customer decision.