Seven worth checking today: a name padded with keywords, vague or stretched categories, wrong holiday hours, blank services, stale photos, unanswered reviews and duplicate listings. Each breaks a Google guideline or wastes a signal Google says it uses for local ranking, and most take minutes to fix.
Seven Business Profile mistakes are worth checking for today: a name padded with keywords, categories that are vague or stretched, hours that are wrong on holidays, services left blank, photos nobody has updated in months, reviews with no replies, and duplicate listings. Each one either breaks a written Google guideline, which can get a profile suspended, or wastes something Google says it uses to rank local results.
The profile matters more each year because machines read it as well as people. Since November 2025, Gemini in Google Maps has been answering questions about places in India using their reviews, photos and place details, plus information from the web. A thin or outdated profile produces thin or outdated answers about your business.
- more likely to consider a business reputable when its profile is complete, Google says
- 2.7x
- more likely to consider a business reputable when its profile is complete, Google says
- more likely to visit a business with a complete profile, Google says
- 70%
- more likely to visit a business with a complete profile, Google says
- policy-violating reviews Google blocked or removed in 2024
- 240M+
- policy-violating reviews Google blocked or removed in 2024
- places in India in the Maps data behind Gemini's answers
- 35M
- places in India in the Maps data behind Gemini's answers
The seven mistakes at a glance
| Mistake | What Google's rules say | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords in the business name | Use your real-world name; unnecessary information can lead to suspension | Match your signboard, website and invoices exactly |
| Vague, extra or shifting categories | Use the fewest, most specific categories; never use them as keywords | Pick the one that completes "This business is a..." |
| Wrong hours on holidays | Set special hours, and confirm official holidays even when hours do not change | Add festival and holiday hours well ahead |
| Services left blank | Service businesses can list services with descriptions and prices | List every service customers ask about |
| Photos months out of date | Add photos or videos regularly, and keep them true to life | Upload one real photo a week |
| Unanswered or incentivised reviews | Reply to reviews; never offer anything in exchange for one | Reply to every review, in your own words |
| Duplicate listings | One profile per business, one page per location | Search Maps for your name and every number you have used |
01
Padding the name and stretching the categories
Google's guidelines say your business name should match the real-world name on your storefront, website and stationery. Taglines, phone numbers, hours, web addresses, service descriptions and location phrases such as "near" do not belong in it, and Google warns that unnecessary information in the name could get your profile suspended. A hypothetical Kochi practice called Sunrise Dental should appear as exactly that, not as "Sunrise Dental Best Root Canal Clinic Kochi". Any Maps user can also suggest an edit to a business's name.
Categories are the other field people stretch. Google asks for the fewest categories that describe your core business, as specific as possible, completing the phrase "This business is a..." rather than listing everything you sell. Do not use them as keywords, and do not change them on a whim: in April 2025 Google said a model trained with the help of Gemini flags suspicious profile edits, giving a sudden switch from a cafe category to a plumber category as its example.
Nor can anyone sell you a shortcut. Google is blunt:
There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.
02
Hours that are wrong when it matters
Set your regular hours, then use special hours for holidays and one-off changes. Google recommends confirming your hours for official holidays even when they match your usual ones, so customers can see the times are current. Closures of seven days or more, or of unknown length, should use Temporarily closed instead. Two details catch people out: special hours only appear when the profile is set to Open with main hours, and one set cannot exceed 24 hours, so hours that run from before midnight to past noon the next day must be split into two sets.
In Kerala that means a short list to work through every year: Onam, Vishu, Eid, Christmas and any local festival that changes your day.
Check the profile even when you have not touched it. Google gathers information from sources such as user reports and licensed content, and may update your profile when they report your details as incorrect or outdated. You can review those updates on your profile, though Google says not every one can be managed there. If your website still shows last year's hours, fix that too, so it never contradicts the profile.
03
Blank services and stale photos
Businesses in service categories can list what they offer, choosing from suggestions for their type of business or adding custom services, each with an optional description and price. Google says complete, detailed information helps it match your profile to relevant searches, and a service you never listed is a search you are unlikely to match. Keep prices and phone numbers out of service names: custom services that break policy are rejected automatically.
Photos are easy to leave untouched for years. Google's help says regularly adding photos or videos promotes engagement and boosts your ranking in search results. Use sharp JPG or PNG files, ideally 720 by 720 pixels, without heavy filters: Google's photo guidelines want images to represent reality. Videos can run up to 30 seconds. Start with an exterior shot, which Google says helps customers recognise your business when they visit, then the inside, your team and finished work.
04
Unanswered reviews, and reviews gathered the wrong way
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and that replying shows customers you value their feedback. Its reply advice is practical: keep it short and simple, reply when you have something relevant to say rather than thanking every reviewer by rote, never share private information or attack the reviewer, and admit real mistakes. Replies are public, and Google checks them against its content policies.
How you collect reviews matters as much. Google's policies prohibit offering payment, discounts or free goods or services for reviews, asking only happy customers, discouraging negative reviews, collecting reviews through review stations at your premises, reviews from employees or anyone else with a conflict of interest, and reviews posted to damage a competitor. Asking every customer for an honest review, with a link or QR code, is allowed.
Enforcement is real. Google says it blocked or removed more than 240 million policy-violating reviews in 2024, most before anyone saw them. In India, as in the US and UK, it can also alert users when it has recently removed suspicious five-star reviews from a place.
05
Duplicate listings
Google allows one profile per business and one page per location, whether in a single account or across several, and says duplicates can cause display problems on Maps and Search. A move or a new phone number can leave one behind. To find them, search Maps for your business name and every phone number you have used.
Never create a fresh profile to get around a problem: it breaks the one-profile rule, and Google's appeal guidance specifically warns against it while an appeal is under review. If a profile is suspended, appeal with documents whose name and address match it, such as a registration certificate, licence, tax certificate or utility bill, and have them ready before you start.
06
A 15-minute weekly routine
A profile stays accurate when one person owns it. Give them this list:
- Reply to every new review, good or bad, in a sentence or two that shows you read it.
- Add one real photo of the premises, the team or finished work.
- Review Google's updates to your profile and correct anything that is wrong, on the profile and on your website.
- Look two weeks ahead and set special hours for any holiday or festival.
- Glance at performance: calls, direction requests, website clicks and messages, so you notice a drop early.
- Once a quarter, search Maps for duplicates and check your name, categories and services against the table above, as part of a quarterly website audit.
If you would rather someone checked it for you, our free audit covers your Business Profile alongside your website.
Sources
Rules as published in Google's help centres at the time of writing.