Short answer · Google’s rule
Face-to-face customer contact comes before profile optimisation.
A business may be eligible if it receives customers at a staffed location or visits customers to perform or deliver the service there during the stated hours. A business operating only online is not eligible.
A shop or studio that receives customers, or a service business that actually performs its own service at the customer’s location.
Digital delivery only, a virtual address, postbox or pure lead generation without your own face-to-face service delivery.
A single customer meeting or a verified profile does not automatically establish that the business model meets the policy. Describe how the business really works on a recurring basis, and never stage evidence for verification.
Service businesses · address and area
Show where you work without displaying an address that does not receive customers.
A service business can hide its base address and instead specify areas where it actually visits customers. A hidden address is still a real base that Google may need to verify.
- Public addressShow it only if customers are actually received there during the stated hours.
- Hidden base addressService businesses can hide their base address when customers are not received there.
- AreasEnter specific cities, postcodes or areas. Google allows up to 20.
- Reasonable reachGoogle normally recommends a combined area within roughly two hours’ drive.
- VerificationYou may need to prove the real base and your authority to represent the business to Google.
Start with areas where you can regularly perform the service. Do not add large parts of the country just to look bigger. If your way of working changes, update the profile’s address and service-area model accordingly.
Tool · about 30 minutes
Check the facts before visibility.
Work through the list in order. Write correct, needs correction or evidence missing for each row. Do not change anything you cannot substantiate.
- 015 min□ Correct □ Check
Business model
Describe where and how face-to-face customer contact actually happens. A profile requires more than digital delivery or a meeting arranged for verification.
- 023 min□ Correct □ Check
The actual business name
Compare the profile name with the name used on your website, contracts and other real business materials. Remove locations, service lists and slogans from the name field.
- 034 min□ Correct □ Check
Primary category
Choose the most specific category describing what the business is. Add only a few categories reflecting real, current parts of the core business.
- 045 min□ Correct □ Check
Address and service area
Hide the base address if customers are not received there. Enter cities, postcodes or areas you can actually serve, rather than an invented radius.
- 054 min□ Correct □ Check
Hours and contact details
Check opening hours, phone and website link on mobile. Each detail should work today and lead to the right business or page.
- 064 min□ Correct □ Check
Services and description
Describe only what is actually offered. The business description should explain the business, rather than list keywords, links, prices or campaigns.
- 075 min□ Correct □ Check
Reviews, photos and posts
Use real work photos, ask customers neutrally for honest reviews and make future posts link to a page where the promised action can be completed.
A category describes your identity, not a service list
Always check which exact Swedish categories are available before changing them. A category change may cause Google to request verification again.
Reviews · real experiences
Ask for honesty, never a particular rating.
Google allows businesses to ask real customers for reviews. Incentives, discounts, gifts, selecting only satisfied customers or instructions about the rating and content they should provide are not permitted.
Ask neutrally after a real completed delivery and let the customer describe their own experience freely.
Discounts for reviews, ‘five stars’, reviews from colleagues or family, and asking only customers expected to respond positively.
‘Thank you for working with us. If you would like to, please share your honest experience on Google. It helps others understand what working with us is like. Here is the link.’
Before the next profile update
- Are the copy, date and action current when the post appears?
- Do the images show the real work without excessive manipulation?
- Can the button’s promise be completed on the page it links to?
- Is the post useful information for the customer, rather than a supposed ranking trick?