Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?

A Google Business Profile costs nothing. Google's help page says that with a Business Profile you can manage how your business shows up on Maps and Search at no charge. Google sells advertising separately, and its service area page mentions Local Services ads, but no payment is needed to create, verify or edit the profile or to reply to reviews.

Can I add a slogan or my main service to my business name on Google?

Google does not allow it. Its guidelines say that including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile. Google's own examples remove a tagline from TD Bank and a service from Verizon Wireless 4G LTE. The service belongs in the category and the services list, which have their own fields.

How many categories should a Business Profile have?

A Business Profile should have the fewest categories it takes to describe the core business, in the words of Google's guidelines. The edit page allows up to 9 more after the primary category, but Google asks owners not to use categories as keywords. Choose the most specific primary category, then add others only for real parts of the business, such as a bakery inside a grocery store.

Is the Q&A section still on Google Business Profiles?

Google's help page Edit your Business Profile, read on 16 October 2026, still describes a Q&A section, and says it is available only for select business categories and regions and that its appearance and functionality might change. Owners and managers can answer questions there. Open your own profile to see whether it appears, and put the same answers on your website.

How long should my Business Profile description be?

Google's limit is 750 characters, and the edit page says not to exceed it. Use the space for what you offer, the area you serve, what makes the business different and how long it has existed. Google's guidelines do not allow links of any kind, and they do not allow a description that focuses on promotions, prices or sales.

What if my business works only online and has no shop?

An online-only business cannot have a Business Profile. Google's help page says that only businesses that make face-to-face contact with customers are eligible, and that profiles aren't for online-only businesses. A business that visits customers at their homes does qualify, as a service-area business, with its address hidden and its service areas listed.

How do you set up a Google Business Profile so Google can use it as the answer?

The fields of a Google Business Profile that answer local questions, the rules Google publishes for the name, the categories and the description, what Google's help page says about questions and answers in October 2026, and the report that shows what customers searched.

See if customers can find you

You set up a Google Business Profile for local answers by verifying it, writing the business name exactly as it appears on your sign, choosing the most specific primary category, and filling in the hours, the services, the attributes and a factual description, all matching your website. Google's help page on local ranking says that businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results, and the profile is the one source of that information that the owner controls directly.

Why is the Business Profile the centre of local answers?

A Google Business Profile is the box that Google shows for a business on Search and on Maps, with the name, the hours, the phone number, the address or the service area, the photos and the reviews. Google's guide to establishing business details, updated on 10 December 2025, says that claiming and verifying the profile enables your local business information to show up in Google Maps and Google knowledge panel. The same details feed the answers that Google's AI tools give: the help page for the Gemini app says Gemini takes addresses, descriptions, websites, ratings and opening hours from public information on Google Maps.

Who can have one? Google is precise here. Only businesses that make face-to-face contact with customers are eligible, and its help page adds that Business Profiles aren't for online-only businesses nor properties for rent or sale. A shop, a clinic or a restaurant that receives customers qualifies, and so does a plumber or a cleaner who travels to customers. The profile costs nothing: Google says you can manage how your business shows up on Maps and Search at no charge.

How do you verify a Business Profile?

Verification is the step in which Google confirms that you run the business, and it comes first: Google's edit page says that to show your business on Search, Maps, and other Google services, you must add or claim your business then verify it, and its report page says performance data is available only for verified Business Profiles. Google's verification page names phone or text message, email, a live video call and a postcard by mail, and it points to a video recording as a further option. In Google's words, verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can't be changed, and they depend on the business type, public information, the region and the business hours.

Two practical notes from the same page save time. If video verification is offered, Google recommends it. If the method is a postcard, most codes arrive within 14 days, and during that wait you should not edit your business name, address, or category, because if you do, the code we sent you won't work. Requesting a second code cancels the first one, which makes the process longer.

What should the business name field contain?

The name field holds only the real name of the business. Google asks for the name as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers, and it warns that including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile. Hours, the address, the service area and the category each have their own fields, and Google tells owners to put those details there.

Why does this matter for answers? The name appears on Search, on Maps and in the answers that Google's AI tools build from Google Maps, so any extra word in the field appears in all of those places too. The table copies examples from Google's own guidelines, which show the kinds of extra information that Google removes from names.

Extra information that Google does not allow in a business name, with Google's own examples. Source: Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google, accessed 16 October 2026.
Type of extra information	Example Google does not accept	Example Google accepts
Marketing tagline	TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank	TD Bank
Store code	The UPS Store - 2872	The UPS Store
Business hours	Regal Pizzeria Open 24 hours	Regal Pizzeria
Phone number or website address	Airport Direct 1-888-557-8953	Airport Direct
Service or product information	Verizon Wireless 4G LTE	Verizon Wireless
Location information	Equinox near SOHO	Equinox SOHO

How do you choose the right categories?

The primary category tells Google what the business is, and Google says plainly that the categories you select affect your local ranking on Google. Its help page gives an example: a business whose primary category is Pizza restaurant may appear when someone searches for restaurants, Italian restaurants or pizza. Google also asks for the most specific choice, for example Nail salon in place of Salon, and an owner cannot create a new category.

The guidelines offer a simple test. Choose categories that complete the sentence "This business IS a" and avoid those that complete "this business HAS a". A motel with a pool is a motel; the pool is a feature. Google asks owners to choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe the core business, and not to use categories as keywords. The edit page allows up to 9 more categories after the primary one, but a short, exact list follows the guidelines better than a long one.

One warning before you change anything: Google's category page says that if you add or edit a category, you might be asked to verify your business again. Change categories when the business itself changes, and plan the change for a week when you can answer a verification call.

What should the description and the attributes say?

The description is the paragraph that Google shows under the heading From the business. Google's edit page lists what to include, namely what you offer, what makes you special, how long you've been in business, and other useful facts, and it sets a limit: do not exceed 750 characters. The guidelines forbid links of any type and content that focuses on special promotions, prices, and offer sales. A plain description that names the services and the area served is, of course, also easy for an assistant to repeat.

Attributes are the yes or no facts on the profile, such as Wi-Fi, outdoor seating, payment methods and accessibility. Google's page on attributes says that if you add certain attributes, your business might show up in searches for places with those attributes. Some attributes rely on what visitors report, and some you can set yourself. The page defines each accessibility attribute with care; for example, an entrance counts as wheelchair-accessible when it is one meter wide and has no steps or stairs, or has a ramp. Our guide to service questions explains how attributes and the services list answer the practical questions customers ask before they visit.

Does Google Business Profile still have questions and answers?

Google's help page Edit your Business Profile, read on 16 October 2026, still has a section called Q&A, and it says three things. The feature is available only for select business categories and regions. As we continue to enhance this feature, its appearance and functionality might change. And business owners and others that manage the Business Profile can answer questions about their business in the Q&A section of their Google Business Profile.

Google Maps Help has a matching page for users, called Answer questions about a place on Google Maps. It says that users can answer questions about places, that the feature is only available in certain countries and regions, and that Google may send a notification with questions about a place. Some articles from other companies report that the section was switched off; we did not find a Google page that says so, and we write here only what Google's pages say.

What should an owner do with this? Open your own profile. If a Q&A section appears, answer each question in a short, factual sentence, because a question left open invites someone else to answer it. Whether or not the section appears, put the same answers on your website, where you control them fully. Shops that sell physical goods may see a different type of question: Google may ask you quick yes or no questions about your in-store products, which then show in the Products section of the profile.

What happens when Google or a customer changes your profile?

A profile can change without the owner touching it. Google's help page on updates says that Google gathers information from different sources, like user reports and licensed content, and may update a profile when those sources say a detail is wrong or old. In the profile editor, information changed by Google appears in blue text, and a notification appears at the top of the page.

Customers can also suggest edits. When a suggestion needs the owner's review, Google sends an email or a notice, and then, in Google's words, you have 4 days to accept or reject the suggestion. If you don't respond within 4 days, Google may automatically publish the update if it is supported by other publicly available information, such as your business website. Google adds that it may apply suggested edits without prior review in cases where they are needed to meet its policies.

Two habits follow from this. Open the profile once a week and read every notice. Keep the website's hours, phone number and address the same as the profile's, because the website is the public source that Google names when it decides whether a suggested edit is supported. In select regions, Google may also call or send a text or a WhatsApp message to the verified phone number to confirm details, and it uses the answers to update the profile.

What does the Performance report tell you about local questions?

The Performance report is the page inside the profile that shows how customers find the business and what they do next. Google's help page lists the metrics, and four of them matter most for local answers. Searches shows the search terms people used to find your business; Google updates it at the start of each month, and it might take up to 5 days to show up. Views counts how many people viewed the profile on Search and Maps, with each person counted once a day. Directions counts how many people asked for directions. Calls counts the times a customer tapped the call button.

The Searches list is the most useful one for this work. It shows the words customers type, and when a service appears there that the profile does not list, that service belongs in the services editor and on a page of the website. Google says you can't directly manage these queries, so the owner answers them with better details on the profile and the website. Our guide to measuring answer engine optimization covers the Search Console reports for the website side.

Searches: the terms customers used, updated monthly.
Views: people who viewed the profile on Search and Maps, counted once per day.
Directions: requests for directions to the business.
Calls: taps on the call button, recorded only when a phone number is on the profile.
Website clicks: taps on the link to the website.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of Local answer engine optimization. The other parts:

Questions people ask

Does a Google Business Profile cost anything?: A Google Business Profile costs nothing. Google's help page says that with a Business Profile you can manage how your business shows up on Maps and Search at no charge. Google sells advertising separately, and its service area page mentions Local Services ads, but no payment is needed to create, verify or edit the profile or to reply to reviews.
Why can't I choose how to verify my Business Profile?: Google decides the methods. Its verification page says that verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can't be changed, and that they depend on the business type, public information, the region and the business hours. The methods it lists are phone or text, email, a live video call, a video recording and a postcard. If video verification is offered, Google recommends it.
Can I add a slogan or my main service to my business name on Google?: Google does not allow it. Its guidelines say that including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile. Google's own examples remove a tagline from TD Bank and a service from Verizon Wireless 4G LTE. The service belongs in the category and the services list, which have their own fields.
How many categories should a Business Profile have?: A Business Profile should have the fewest categories it takes to describe the core business, in the words of Google's guidelines. The edit page allows up to 9 more after the primary category, but Google asks owners not to use categories as keywords. Choose the most specific primary category, then add others only for real parts of the business, such as a bakery inside a grocery store.
Is the Q&A section still on Google Business Profiles?: Google's help page Edit your Business Profile, read on 16 October 2026, still describes a Q&A section, and says it is available only for select business categories and regions and that its appearance and functionality might change. Owners and managers can answer questions there. Open your own profile to see whether it appears, and put the same answers on your website.
Why does some information on my profile appear in blue?: Blue text in the profile editor shows information that Google changed. Google's help page on updates says it gathers information from sources such as user reports and licensed content, and may update a profile when those sources say a detail is out of date. Check each blue field. If the change is wrong, edit the field yourself and make sure your website shows the correct value.
What happens if I ignore a suggested edit from a customer?: Google gives you 4 days. Its help page says that once notified, you have 4 days to accept or reject the suggestion, and that if you don't respond within 4 days, Google may automatically publish the update if it is supported by other publicly available information, such as your business website. So read every notice, and keep the website's details correct.
How long should my Business Profile description be?: Google's limit is 750 characters, and the edit page says not to exceed it. Use the space for what you offer, the area you serve, what makes the business different and how long it has existed. Google's guidelines do not allow links of any kind, and they do not allow a description that focuses on promotions, prices or sales.
Where can I see the words customers used to find my profile?: The Performance report of a verified profile has a metric called Searches, which Google describes as the search terms people used to find your business. Google updates it at the start of each month, and it might take up to 5 days to appear. When a service that you offer appears there, add it to the services list and to your website.
What if my business works only online and has no shop?: An online-only business cannot have a Business Profile. Google's help page says that only businesses that make face-to-face contact with customers are eligible, and that profiles aren't for online-only businesses. A business that visits customers at their homes does qualify, as a service-area business, with its address hidden and its service areas listed.

Sources

Get started with Google Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Edit your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Manage your business category, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Manage your business attributes, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Understand Google updates on your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Understand your Business Profile performance & insights, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Answer questions about a place on Google Maps, Google Maps Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Answer questions about your inventory, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help. Accessed 16 October 2026.
Establish your business details with Google, Google Search Central. Updated 2025-12-10, accessed 16 October 2026.
Find places & get directions in Gemini Apps, Gemini Apps Help, Google. Accessed 16 October 2026.

Check that your website matches your profile

The free Get Found Check reads your homepage and returns a letter grade from A to F, findings in six areas and three to five quick fixes in under 60 seconds. If you want your Business Profile set up and watched for you each week, contact us for pricing.

See if customers can find you Talk to us about your site