How to write a Google Business Profile description, with examples

Your Google Business Profile description is often the first thing a local customer reads about you. It sits right under your name, reviews and photos. Make the first lines count.

The rules

Google sets a few limits. Check Google's own help pages for the latest, since they change from time to time.

• Up to 750 characters.
• No links or HTML.
• Describe the business, not promotions, prices or sales.
• Phone numbers and your website belong in their own fields.
• Nothing misleading, offensive or about other businesses.

Only roughly the first 250 characters show before a reader taps to see more. Treat those as your main message.

What to write

1. What you do and where. The first sentence. Use the words customers use.
2. Who you help. One line on your typical customer.
3. What makes you different. Something specific and true: same team every visit, open Sundays, family run since 1998.
4. What to expect. How a first visit or booking works.
5. A gentle next step. Visit, call or book, without a link.

Examples

Family-run plumbing in Northside and the city centre, open seven days. We fix leaks, boilers and blocked drains for homes and small shops, often the same day. You get a fixed price before we start and the same two plumbers every time, so they know your house. Call or book a visit through this profile.

Neighbourhood café on Park Street, serving slow-rise bread and coffee from 7am. Most of our bread is baked in the shop each morning with local flour, and we keep a loaf aside if you order the night before. Plenty of seats, quiet in the afternoon, and dogs are welcome.

Bookkeeping and tax returns for freelancers and small creative businesses in Leeds and online. Monthly books done for you, plain-English reports and one fixed fee, so tax time is just a signature. Book a free 20-minute call to see if we are a fit.

Notice what each one does. It says what and where in the first line, names a real customer and gives one specific reason to choose them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Keyword stuffing. Repeating your service and town reads badly and does not help you rank.
• Big claims. "The best" without proof is ignored. Reviews do that job.
• Old information. Update the description when hours, services or areas change.

The rest of the profile matters more

The description helps customers decide, but it is one part. Fill in your categories, hours, services, photos and service areas. Reply to reviews, good and bad. There is help for replying to negative reviews.

And keep reviews coming. Here is how to ask customers for a Google review, within Google's rules.