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Compare a Business Profile with owner-confirmed facts, correct confirmed details for one location, and check whether Google accepted each change.
Last reviewed: · Editorial review
Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Compare a Business Profile with owner-confirmed facts, correct confirmed details for one location, and check whether Google accepted each change.
This SOP covers:
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Use the supplied one-location worksheet to keep owner-confirmed values separate from what Google currently shows.
Open the shared Business facts workbook and make your own copy. Name it with the business and location, then open the Business facts tab. Use a separate copy for each location; this guide covers one profile at a time.
For each relevant row in Business facts, enter the confirmed value in Approved value / exact copy and the evidence in Source / approver / last confirmed. The How to confirm / choose column contains the row's decision guidance. Do not treat a Google value as confirmed unless the owner verifies it.
Use the name the business consistently uses on its signs, stationery, and branding. Enter it in the Business name row; do not add search terms.
Choose the most specific Primary category that describes the overall business from Google’s available list. Use Additional categories only for other main business types, not each service. For Willow Lane Garden Care, lawn mowing and planting are services, not separate categories.
Decide where customers receive service. Use storefront when customers visit a staffed business location with permanent business signage. Use service-area when the business travels or delivers to customers and they do not visit its base; set Hide address? to Yes, leave Customer-facing address blank, and list only real service areas. Use hybrid only when customers visit a staffed, signposted location and the business also travels to customers; show that address and list actual service areas. Willow Lane Garden Care is service-area-only if its crew works at customers’ gardens and no customer visits the home office.
In Hours model, choose Regular customer-facing hours when the business can serve customers during a predictable weekly schedule. This can include a service-area business; customers do not need to walk into a storefront. Choose Appointment only only when every visit requires an appointment.
If the Hours model is Regular customer-facing hours, enter the owner-confirmed schedule in the Monday through Sunday regular hours rows. This can include a service-area business with a regular schedule. If the model is Appointment only, leave all seven weekday rows blank because Google hides main hours for this model; do not mark days Closed.
Enter holidays and short temporary schedule changes in Special/holiday hours, separately from the weekly schedule. A closure of seven or more days uses Google’s Temporarily closed option instead of Special hours.
Enter a public phone number the business controls and a full, working customer-facing website address, including https:// when the site uses it.
Put the owner’s exact wording in Business description; keep it under Google’s 750-character limit and remove links, HTML, prices, and promotions.
In Services offered, list only actual customer services. These are individual offerings, separate from categories that describe the business type.
Read the exact profile for this location, record what customers currently see, and order corrections by the harm an error could cause.
Sign in to Google Search with the Google Account from your prerequisites. Search for the business name and city, open its management controls, and select Edit profile. Confirm the displayed business name and location match the worksheet before you continue.
Open the profile sections for About, Contact, Location, Hours, and Services. For each matching row in Business facts, write the exact value Google currently shows in Current profile value; write Not set when blank. In Action / Google status, choose Unchanged only when it matches an owner-confirmed value, or Needs review when the approved fact is missing or differs.
If Google marks a field as updated or asks you to review a suggestion, compare it with the owner-confirmed source before responding. On the Services page, Google may say that services were updated from user feedback or another source and show current and previous lists. Record what is shown, keep Action / Google status at Needs review when no owner-confirmed service list exists, and do not accept or copy a Google suggestion as proof. For other fields, use Google’s update guidance; check any response deadline while you seek owner confirmation.
Handle Needs review mismatches in this order: first, a customer-facing address or hours error that could send someone to the wrong place or at the wrong time; second, a phone or website error that blocks contact; third, name or category errors that misidentify the business; then description and services. This order protects customers from the most immediate wrong instruction first. If the confirmed fact is missing, leave the row at Needs review and ask for it; do not invent a value.
Change only fields marked Needs review that have a confirmed value in the matching worksheet row.
Update a confirmed name or category in its matching control below. Save and read back each field separately.
In Edit profile > About, open Business name only when its row is marked Needs review and the owner-confirmed name is present. Enter that exact name and save it. If Google requests verification, use Google’s instructions for an existing profile.
In Edit profile > About, open Business category only when the corresponding confirmed row is marked Needs review. Choose the closest specific primary category Google offers and add only other genuine business types. Save the category change separately. If Google requests verification, use Google’s instructions for an existing profile.
In Edit profile > Location, apply the confirmed customer-location model. Show an address only when customers visit that staffed, signposted location. For a service-area-only business, hide the base address and enter only places it truly serves; for a hybrid business, keep the customer-facing address and add its real service area. Google accepts places such as cities or postcodes, not radius distances. Save the change. A move to a new address requires re-verification; if Google prompts you, follow Google's instructions for an existing profile, then return here.
Use the Hours model and matching worksheet rows to set regular hours and temporary exceptions separately.
In Edit profile > Hours, use the Hours model row. For Regular customer-facing hours, select Open with main hours and enter the confirmed Monday–Sunday schedule, including regular service-area availability. Do not require customers to visit a storefront. For Appointment only, select Open with no main hours (Google’s helper says “Don’t show any business hours”), leave all weekday rows blank, and do not mark days Closed.
Use Special hours for a holiday or short temporary change without replacing the regular schedule. For a closure of seven or more days, choose Google’s Temporarily closed option instead.
In Edit profile > Contact, update the phone number and website only when their worksheet rows are confirmed and marked Needs review. Use the public number controlled by the business and the full website URL. Open the website after saving to make sure it reaches the intended business site.
In Edit profile > About, open Description and enter the confirmed wording from the Business description row's exact-copy cell. Check that it is about the business and what it offers, has no URL or HTML, contains no price or promotion, and is no longer than 750 characters. Save the change.
If the profile has an Edit services control, compare the current and previous lists with the owner-confirmed Services offered row before changing anything. Add only services the owner confirms. Choose a Google-suggested item only when it matches that source; if the service list is missing or uncertain, keep Action / Google status at Needs review, ask the owner, and continue with other confirmed fields. Google offers this editor only to some categories.
A saved edit is not confirmed until you read Google's status and compare any accepted value with the owner's confirmed facts.
For each edited row, read Google's status after saving. If the profile does not show it, use Google's edit troubleshooting tool while signed in to the managing account. In Action / Google status, choose Accepted, Pending, or Not approved to match what Google shows. Leave unchanged rows at Unchanged and unresolved facts at Needs review.
Accepted means Google's updated information displays, so read it back and confirm it matches the worksheet wording. Pending means Google is still reviewing it; keep the row marked Pending and check again later. Reviews usually take about ten minutes but can take up to 30 days. Not approved means Google could not confirm the change; ask the source or owner to recheck the fact before correcting or resubmitting it. Do not call a pending or rejected edit complete.
Reopen About, Contact, Location, Hours, and Services and read each current field into Current profile value. For each row, record Google’s actual edit status or keep Needs review when owner confirmation, an editor, or a result is missing. Do not turn a Google-suggested service into an owner-confirmed fact.
