Claim and verify your eligible profile
Check whether the business has an existing listing and who controls it. Follow Google’s verification process and current eligibility rules for the type of business you operate.
Keep access with an authorised business owner and document any agency permissions.
Keep the details accurate
Review the business name, relevant categories, contact number, website link and location or service area settings. Explain only services you really provide.
A care home with a visitable location and a home care agency serving clients at home may need different configuration. Follow Google’s rules rather than displaying an address that isn’t suitable for visits.
Help people understand the business
A useful description and suitable photos make it easier to recognise the provider and understand its environment or services.
Use authentic, approved imagery. Keep updates factual and consistent with the website.
Handle reviews with care
Respond respectfully where appropriate. Do not include confidential details about residents, clients, employees or individual care circumstances.
Google says complete information and engaging with reviews can help businesses stand out. That is not a promise that a particular response will improve rank.
Understand local ranking factors
Google explains that local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. Business information and wider web signals can contribute.
There is no way to request or pay Google for a better position in its organic local ranking. Be cautious of agencies promising otherwise.
Connect the profile to your website
Use the correct website destination and maintain consistent business details. A profile should lead people to clear pages explaining the care types and locations relevant to them.
For help with a joined-up approach, explore care search visibility or ongoing directory management.
How should a provider choose the right website destination?
For a real, eligible care home location, link to the page explaining that home rather than forcing a family to navigate a whole group website again. For a home care office, link to information that accurately represents its services and coverage. Check the page on a phone, including its contact route.
If the destination makes it difficult to understand the service or enquire, a clearer care-provider website can address the visitor journey while profile eligibility and local search work remain separate considerations.
Our local SEO guide explains area-page planning; the multi-location guide covers shared services and branch responsibility.
Which official Google rules should we consult?
Read Google’s business representation guidelines before creating or changing locations, addresses or service-area settings. Read its local ranking explanation when assessing promises made about visibility.
If you need implementation help, search visibility services and directory management can be scoped separately. Verification belongs with the authorised provider; do not create a new listing simply because access to an existing profile is inconvenient.