{
  "dataset": "Google Business Profile rules, quoted from Google",
  "url": "https://husky-digital.com/research/google-business-profile-rules/",
  "published": "2026-09-09",
  "lastVerified": "2026-09-09",
  "licence": "CC BY 4.0 — reuse with attribution and a link",
  "publisher": "Husky Digital",
  "method": [
    "Every row was pulled directly from Google's own Business Profile Help Centre (support.google.com/business) by opening the page and reading the sentence the number or rule actually appears in — no SEO blog, forum post, or third-party API doc was used as the source of a quote or figure. Pages covered: business address and service-area management, local ranking factors, business-name guidelines, verification, prohibited and restricted content (reviews), reading and replying to reviews, posts, photos and videos, duplicate-profile resolution, and marking a business closed.",
    "Four widely repeated numeric \"rules\" — a category cap, character limits on posts and Q&A, and a radius-based service area — were checked against these same official pages and, finding no textual support for a specific number, moved to the dropped section with the exact pages checked. That section names where each belief likely comes from: third-party SEO guides and API documentation that state a number Google itself has never published.",
    "No two official Google pages were found stating conflicting figures on the same fact, so the disagreements section is empty for this dataset."
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "id": "sab-can-hide-address",
      "metric": "Can a service-area business hide its street address?",
      "value": "Allowed for service-area businesses",
      "unit": "policy",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Manage your business address\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/2853879?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "You should only choose to not show your address if your business is a service-area business. ... If you hide your business address, your Business Profile will only show your service area.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "This applies only to businesses that never see customers at that address. A storefront or office people walk into still has to show its real address."
    },
    {
      "id": "sab-max-20-service-areas",
      "metric": "Maximum number of service areas on one profile",
      "value": "20",
      "valueNumeric": 20,
      "unit": "service areas",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "You can have up to 20 service areas.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Areas are entered as cities, ZIP or postal codes, or named regions — not as a radius you draw on a map."
    },
    {
      "id": "sab-service-area-not-a-radius",
      "metric": "Does Google offer a mile/km radius setting for service areas?",
      "value": "No radius option; named areas only",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "The boundaries of your overall area shouldn't be more than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google's own interface only takes place names, cities, or postal codes — there is no field for a mile radius. The 2-hour driving-time figure is guidance on total sprawl, not a setting Google measures against."
    },
    {
      "id": "ranking-relevance",
      "metric": "Google's definition of \"relevance\" as a ranking factor",
      "value": "How well a profile matches the search",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Improve your local ranking on Google\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Relevance is how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google names complete, accurate business information — categories, attributes, description — as what feeds this factor."
    },
    {
      "id": "ranking-distance",
      "metric": "Google's definition of \"distance\" as a ranking factor",
      "value": "Distance from the searcher",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Improve your local ranking on Google\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who's searching.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "For a service-area business with no public address, Google still computes this from the searcher's location and the business's declared service areas."
    },
    {
      "id": "ranking-prominence",
      "metric": "Google's definition of \"prominence\" as a ranking factor",
      "value": "How well-known the business is",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Improve your local ranking on Google\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Prominence means how well-known a business is. Prominent places are more likely to show up in search results.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google names inbound links, press coverage, and directory listings, plus the number and quality of reviews, as inputs here."
    },
    {
      "id": "business-name-field-restrictions",
      "metric": "What's allowed in the business name field, and the stated penalty for abusing it",
      "value": "Real-world name only; violations can cause suspension",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Guidelines for representing your business on Google\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Include only your business's actual name... Don't add a marketing taglines, store codes, special characters, hours or closed/open status, phone numbers, or URLs. ... Including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google gives its own before/after example — \"TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank\" has to become just \"TD Bank\" — so the rule targets keyword- and tagline-stuffed names specifically."
    },
    {
      "id": "verification-methods-and-reverify-trigger",
      "metric": "Verification methods offered, and what breaks a pending code",
      "value": "Phone/text, email, video call, mail (~14 days), or instant; editing name/address/category can break an in-progress code",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Verify your business on Google\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Do not edit your business name, address, or category on your Business Profile. If you do, the code we sent you won't work.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google separately notes that a reappearing \"Get verified\" status, or a request for more information, is usually triggered by a recent edit to business details."
    },
    {
      "id": "reviews-no-incentives-no-gating",
      "metric": "Are paid reviews and \"review gating\" both prohibited?",
      "value": "Both prohibited",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Prohibited & restricted content\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/2622994?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers... Reviews or ratings that have been paid for, directly or in kind.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google does allow asking customers for reviews broadly. The policy targets incentives, and routing only happy customers to the public review link through a pre-filter survey."
    },
    {
      "id": "reviews-cannot-be-deleted-by-owner",
      "metric": "Can an owner delete a published review, or only flag it?",
      "value": "Cannot delete directly; can only flag for policy review",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Read and reply to reviews\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "You can report any review, but only those that violate Google policies are eligible for removal. ... Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "There is no owner-facing delete button. Removal only happens if Google's review of a flagged item finds an actual policy violation — fake, spam, off-topic, hate speech — and a denied flag can be appealed once."
    },
    {
      "id": "posts-archived-after-6-months",
      "metric": "How long a standard Post stays visible without a set date range",
      "value": "6 months",
      "valueNumeric": 6,
      "unit": "months",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Create and manage posts on your Business Profile\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/7342169?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "This is separate from Offer or Event posts, which Google unpublishes at their own set end date rather than the 6-month default."
    },
    {
      "id": "photo-video-specs",
      "metric": "Google's technical specs for photos and videos",
      "value": "Photos: JPG/PNG, 10 KB–5 MB, min 250×250 px; Videos: up to 30 sec, up to 75 MB, 720p+",
      "unit": "mixed (KB/MB, px, seconds)",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Manage your Business Profile photos & videos\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/6103862?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Format: JPG or PNG. Size: Between 10 KB and 5 MB. Minimum resolution: 250 px tall, 250 px wide. ... Duration: Up to 30 seconds long. File size: Up to 75 MB. Resolution: 720p or higher.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "The recommended (not minimum) photo resolution is 720x720 px. Uploaded media can take 24-48 hours to appear on the live profile."
    },
    {
      "id": "duplicate-profiles-one-per-business",
      "metric": "How many profiles one business location may have, and what happens to a duplicate",
      "value": "One profile per business; duplicates are suppressed from Search and Maps",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Resolve duplicate profiles & ownership issues\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/12756178?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "You can have only one Business Profile for each business. ... Multiple profiles for the same business may mislead your customers and are against our policies. If a profile is considered a duplicate, it won't show on Google Search or Maps.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "Google names the same address and overlapping services, not just an identical name, as duplicate signals — so a second profile at the same address for a related but distinct business can still get flagged."
    },
    {
      "id": "permanently-closed-marking-and-fix",
      "metric": "What \"Permanently closed\" does, and how to reverse it",
      "value": "Displays as closed on Maps/Search; owner can edit Hours to reopen it",
      "period": "current policy, accessed 2026-09-09",
      "source": {
        "name": "Google Business Profile Help, \"Mark your business as closed\"",
        "url": "https://support.google.com/business/answer/15300196?hl=en",
        "type": "platform-docs"
      },
      "quote": "Your Business Profile displays as 'Temporarily closed' or 'Permanently closed' on Google Maps and Search. ... If you reopen a closed business or if any of your businesses are mistakenly marked permanently closed, you can reopen the location.",
      "accessed": "2026-09-09",
      "verification": "script",
      "note": "The closed label can be set by the owner or applied by Google itself from third-party signals, which is exactly the scenario that needs the owner-initiated reopen flow."
    }
  ],
  "disagreements": [],
  "dropped": [
    {
      "claim": "Google Business Profile allows a maximum of 10 categories total (1 primary + 9 additional).",
      "why": "Both of Google's own consumer Help Centre pages on categories were checked directly (answer/7249669 and answer/3038177). Neither states a numeric cap — the only guidance is qualitative: pick a primary category and \"use as few categories as possible.\" The \"10 categories\" figure is repeated across SEO blogs and third-party API docs, but it was not found on a page Google itself publishes, so it is not presented here as an official rule."
    },
    {
      "claim": "Business Profile Posts have a fixed character limit — commonly cited as roughly 1,500 characters for updates and roughly 4,000 for offers.",
      "why": "Both official Posts pages were checked (answer/7662907 \"About posts\" and answer/7342169 \"Create and manage posts\"). Both describe post types, rejection reasons (phone numbers, offensive content, malware links), and the 6-month archive rule — neither publishes a character count anywhere on the page. The specific numbers only appear in third-party guides, so this row was dropped rather than presented as Google's own limit."
    },
    {
      "claim": "Q&A questions and answers are capped at 10,000 characters each.",
      "why": "Google's own help pages and community threads on Q&A were searched for an official character limit; none was found. The 10,000-character figure only appears in third-party \"character limit\" round-up articles, never on a page Google itself published, so it was dropped."
    },
    {
      "claim": "Service areas can be set as a mile or km radius around the business's base location.",
      "why": "Google's own service-area help page (answer/9157481) gives a roughly 2-hour driving-time guideline for total sprawl, but the actual feature only accepts cities, postal codes, or named regions — there is no radius input in the product and no radius unit anywhere in the documentation. The true rule (named areas, ~2-hour guidance) is published above as its own row; this claim is listed here because the \"set my radius to X miles\" framing many owners and even some agencies use does not match how the feature works."
    }
  ]
}