Google rewrote what businesses can put in their listing and their posts

Your listing is for facts about the business. Offers belong in posts, and contact details belong in the buttons Google gives you.

Google help page update

What changed

Google updated the advertising and solicitation section of its Maps and Business Profile content policy, with a new part written for merchants. The listing itself, meaning fields like your business name and description, should not contain time-bound promotions, pricing or direct calls to action.

Posts get their own rules. Offers and updates are still allowed in posts, but email addresses, phone numbers, social media links and links to unrelated websites are not.

What it means for your business

Look at your business description. Lines like "Call today for 20% off" or "Fall special, $99 inspections" now break the policy. A description should say what you do, where you work and why customers pick you, in plain words.

Your name field should already be just your real business name. Adding a city, a service or a slogan to the name has been against the rules for years, and it is still one of the most common reasons we see profiles get suspended.

Put offers in a post with an offer type, and let customers reach you through the call, website and booking buttons rather than typing contact details into the text.

What we do for clients

We check every client's name and description against this policy and rewrite anything promotional, with the owner's approval before it goes live. Seasonal offers go into posts, where Google allows them.

Source: Google Maps prohibited and restricted content policy

Next step

See where your own lead flow is leaking

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