Why it matters.
Google’s guidelines for representing your business say a business that rents a mailing address but does not operate there is not eligible. Co-working offices count only if they are “staffed during business hours by your business staff”. Service-area businesses “should have one profile for the central office or location with a designated service area” and should hide the address.
When a buyer’s question includes a place (“IT support firms in Leeds”), Google’s AI features can draw on local results. For a firm that sells nationally or overseas, the profile matters far less than directories and lists.
The 10-minute self-check.
Answer these four questions:
- Do customers visit you at an address with your signage, during stated hours?
- Or do you travel to customers within a defined area?
- Do your buyers include a town or region in their questions?
- Do you already have a profile, and does it match your facts page?
Two “no” answers to the first two questions mean you should not create one.
Steps.
- Read Google’s guidelines for representing your business and confirm eligibility in writing.
- If eligible, claim or create one profile per staffed location, with the same name as your facts page.
- Choose the primary category that names what you sell, not a generic one.
- Write the description in plain words, and link to your site.
- If not eligible, spend the time on the directories in play 16 instead.
Where location matters, we cover profiles inside our SEO services.
What we saw on prolinkage.com.
How to measure it.
- Eligibility record: dated note of which guideline you meet.
- Profile accuracy: name, category, address mode and website against your facts page. Quarterly.
- Local questions: named rate on panel questions that include a place. Monthly.
Sources.
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google, read 8 November 2026.