Google Maps aims to provide value for users and business owners alike. We've implemented a number of guidelines that are in keeping with this goal. To protect users, businesses and the integrity of our search results, we reserve the right to terminate Local Business Centre access or broader Google access to individuals or businesses violating these guidelines.
These points cover the general guidelines for creating business listings through the Local Business Centre, but are not an exhaustive list of policies. Some actions not specifically prohibited here may still be cause for removal from Maps. If you have any doubts about whether or not a tactic is deceptive, we recommend that you err on the side of caution. You may also request clarification by posting in our Maps Help Forum.
Quality Guidelines:
- Only enter listings for businesses that you own or are explicitly authorised to represent.
- Represent your business exactly as it appears in the offline world. The name on Google Maps should match the business name, as should the address, phone number and website.
- Do not attempt to manipulate search results by adding extraneous keywords into the title field, and do not include phone numbers or URLs in the title along with your proper business name.
- Create only one listing for each physical location of your business. Do not create more than one listing for each business location, either in a single account or multiple accounts. Service area businesses, for example, should not create a listing for every town that they service. Similarly, legal practices or doctors should not create multiple listings to cover all of their specialities.
- When entering categories, use only those that directly describe your business. Do not submit related categories that do not define your business. For example, a taxi company might properly categorise itself as "Airport Transportation", but it would be inaccurate to also use the category "Airport". Also, please use each category field to enter a single category. Do not list multiple categories or keywords in one field.
- Provide information that best identifies your individual locations and provides users with the most direct path to your business. For example, you should provide individual location phone numbers in place of central phone lines and the precise address for the business in place of broad city names or cross-streets.
- Provide the one URL that belongs to your business both in terms of the landing page and the displayed URL. Pages that redirect to another domain, or act as "click through" sites may lead to penalisation.
- Use the description and custom attribute fields to include additional information about your listing. This type of content should never appear in your business's title, address or category fields.
If you believe that another business is abusing Google's quality guidelines, we encourage you to report the listing. Your reports help us to improve the overall Google Maps experience for everyone.
If you find that your listings were removed from Google Maps or you're unable to access your Local Business Centre account, please file a reconsideration request. All requests are reviewed and the decision of Google in this regard shall be final and binding. Please note that we might not be able to respond to each individual request.
Your business information on Google Maps:
Should you have questions about how to add or how to edit your business information, please visit the Local Business Centre help pages.
