Frequently Asked Questions

According to Google Business Profile guideline, including keywords in the company name is prohibited. It’s considered spam and can lead to suspension or disabling of the Google business listing.

No, update the existing Google Business Profile with the new address – it already has its own history, which is important for Google’s algorithms, and as a result it influences rankings. However, before you do this, be sure to update the address on your site, social media (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook), in other business directories (e.g. Panorama Firm), or mapping platforms (e.g. Targeo) – in other words, everywhere your address is featured. Throughout the existence of a Google Business Profile, Google gathers information about the company from the mentioned sources. When the address is modified without prior update in other places on the web, your Profile might get suspended because algorithms will receive contradictory information.

If after you make the change, company statistics drop or the Profile ranks lower in organic results in comparison to the previous position, don’t panic! Google needs time to “mull over” the new information. 

Photos added by third parties can be reported for removal. However, you should know that Google will consider their removal only if they violate the guidelines. Consequently, you can report photos that:

• do not show your business (either from the outside or inside),
• violate privacy (for example images showing faces), 
• are of low quality,
• incite hate, are offensive, vulgar, or contain explicit sexual content,
• are duplicated (considered spam),
• are illegal,
• violate child safety,
• are advertisements (also of other companies).

To remove a photo that does not comply with Google’s guidelines, open the profile in a search engine or on Google Maps, then go to photos. Find the photo you’d like to remove, and click the flag icon in the top right-hand corner (if you are using a search engine) or the three vertical dots menu in the top left-hand corner of the page and click “Report a problem” (if you are using Maps). Select an issue from the list, or write your own description, and then submit your report.

You will have to wait up to 3 days for the photo to be removed. If after this time the photo is still featured in your Google Business Profile and you still believe that it violates the guidelines, you can contact Google Help. Remember to add links to the problematic photos (downloaded from Maps) in your report.

Google needs time to update various data, including the average rating that appears on your Google Business Profile. It may take several days.

After entering the exact address of a business, Google automatically locates it and places a pin on Google Maps. However, the pin placed by the system is not always located correctly. You might also want to change its location for greater precision.

In order to change the position of the pin indicating your business’s address, you can do it through the search engine („Edit profile” -> „Business location”), and on Maps („Suggest an edit” -> „Change name or other details”). In both cases, click the map, position a pin exactly where it should be located (you can also zoom in), and confirm the changes.

If you want to communicate with your clients in real-time but didn’t enable this function when setting up your Google Business Profile, you can enable chat at any time. Google recommends that the response time should not exceed 24 hours. If this limit is not adhered to, Google may disable the chat.

To enable chat, you can do so on both your computer and phone.

1. Desktop: open your Google Business Profile in the browser. Select “Messages” from the tiles to the left of the navigation bar with your Profile, and then click “Turn on” the chat.
2. Mobile: on an Android device, open Google Maps app. At the very bottom, select “Business” from the navigation bar, then click the “Messages” icon and “Turn on” chat.

Conversely, if you no longer want to receive messages from your clients, follow these instructions:

1. Desktop: open your Profile in the browser and select the “Messages” tile. In the top right-hand corner of the window, click the three vertical dots menu, then “Chat settings” and slide the toggle turning off the chat.
2. Mobile: on an Android phone or tablet, open the Google Maps app. Click “Business” on the bottom navigation bar, then “Messages”. Next, click the gear icon (top right-hand corner) and slide the chat toggle to disable the function.

Google Business Profiles are primarily designed for brick-and-mortar businesses. However, it doesn’t mean that it’s categorically forbidden to create Profiles for businesses which don’t have a physical location (for example, a plumber traveling to clients and not assisting them at a physical store). The same applies to businesses that operate exclusively online (such as freelancers and online shops). It’s important to highlight, though, that Profiles without an address achieve a smaller reach.

When creating such a Profile, in the second step of the process, click “no” when asked if you want to add a location. You will then have the possibility to select the area, where you work (i.e., how far you travel to clients with services or products). You can enter voivodeships, counties, municipalities, cities/villages (or postal codes), and even – in the case of larger cities – districts. You can add up to 20 service areas. The next steps of creating a Profile are typical.

Yes, you can both create your own responses to clients’ questions and select them from a list generated by Google based on information included in your Google Business Profile (if set up). Google can respond to questions about, for example, opening hours, your website’s address, physical address, or accepted forms of payment. 

To add custom (your own) responses on a computer, find your Business Profile in a search engine and select the “Messages” tile. Click the three vertical dots menu, then ”Chat settings”, and then “Add FAQs” and “Custom FAQs”. In the same place, you can also turn on or off automatic responses generated by Google.

Responses (your own or automatically generated by Google) can also be added using an Android mobile device. To do this, open Google Maps, select “Business” on the navigation bar at the very bottom of the screen, and then “Messages” and click the gear icon next to the name and address of your business. Three options will appear, select “Add FAQs”. The next steps are the same as those previously described for desktop computers.

A Google Business Profile may have one main (primary) category and up to nine additional ones. The main category should define the company’s activities as accurately and specifically as possible.

For example: a restaurant mainly offers pizza, but the menu also includes pasta and Italian desserts. Therefore, the most appropriate primary category would be a pizzeria. The additional categories could include – pizza takeaway, Italian cuisine, Italian restaurant, pasta.

The newly created Google Business Profile receives a unique ID, which is a series of numbers and it automatically becomes the store code (invisible to users). However, the owner can assign their own store code to the Business Profile, in order to make it easier to manage their listings. The change is very simple.

Go to your Business Profile in a search engine and click the three vertical dots menu, then select “Business Profile settings”.

Next, select “Advanced settings” and scroll near the end – find the “Store code” option, which can be changed by clicking the pencil icon.

f you want your company logo to appear on Google Maps as shown in the screenshot below, you can do this by setting up a Local Campaign in Google Ads. Note that this is a paid service, so this option is not free.

To set up a local ad on Google Maps, you need to configure the location components and link the Google Business Profile account with the mentioned components.

This issue may occur on desktops and mobile devices, but only when opening a Google Business Profile in search results on the map:

It’s not an issue you should be concerned about. It’s a global error caused by the latest update of Google Business Profile listing interface. Google should fix it over time.

1. The photo does not comply with Google’s guidelines.
2. Short lifespan of the Google Business Profile - if it’s new (created less than 14 days ago), Google may block the display of photos.
3. The photo’s resolution is too low – for standard photos, the shorter side should be at least 720 px.
4. Inappropriate format - Google accepts photos in JPG or PNG formats.
5. The photo is too large – Google accepts photos sized no less than 10 KB and not more than 5 MB.
6. You are uploading too many photos at a time.
7. The photo is a duplicate of another one already uploaded to the Profile (by the owner or a user).
8. The photo is copyrighted.
9. The photo contains a watermark.
10. The lack of approval may also result from Google’s error.

If your photo has not been approved, remove it and wait a few days (preferably a week), then upload it again. You can also crop the photo differently and change its resolution (just remember that the shortest side should not be less than 720 px). As a last resort, contact Google Help, as the main issue may lie on their side.

A suspended or disabled Business Profile is invisible to users. This is a significant problem for small, local businesses – especially those, that do not have their own website and the Business Profile is their only way to reach clients online. 

The most common reason for this problem is not following Google’s guidelines. To get the Business Profile reinstated, first thoroughly analyze it. If you find elements that violate oogle’s guidelines, e sure to correct them. A very common reason for disabling is improper naming of the Business Profile. It’s also possible you might not find any violations (Google Business Profile is not infallible).

Regardless of whether any guidelines have been violated or not, the second step is to fill out an appeal form requesting reinstatement of the account linked to the problematic Business Profile. If you are having trouble finding your Business Profile ID, necessary for submitting the claim, open your Business Profile in a search engine, then click the three-dot menu, select “Business Profile settings”, then “Advanced settings” – the ID will be visible at the very top of the window