How to check your local business details across Google and your website

What a Business Profile and local business markup are

Why matching local details matters, and what it does not promise

What you need to check your local business details

• A Google account that can sign in to the Business Profile, or the person who manages it
• Access to your website's pages, or the person who looks after them
• A note of your details as they appear on your sign, stationery and invoices
• A web browser

Check your local business details across Google and your website, step by step

1. 1

   Write down your real-world details

   Google's guidelines for representing your business say to use the name that is consistently used in the real world, across signage, stationery and your website. Write down your name, address, phone number, opening hours and what kind of business you are, exactly as a customer would see them.

   You will know it worked when You have one short list of details that you will compare everything else against.

2. 2

   Find your profile on Google

   Search for your business name and town while signed in to the Google account that manages it. Google's page on verifying your business describes this as the first step. If no profile exists, the add or claim page says you can add or claim one at no charge.

   You will know it worked when You can see your profile, and you can tell whether it still offers a 'Get verified' option.

3. 3

   Compare the profile with your list

   Check each detail against your list. Google's guidelines say the name should not carry taglines, hours, phone numbers, web addresses, or service and location information. They ask for a precise address and for one profile per business.

   You will know it worked when Name, address, phone number, hours and category match your list, and you have found only one profile for the place.

4. 4

   If you travel to customers, check the address setting

   Google says a service-area business should have one profile with a designated service area, and should hide its address from customers. Its example is a plumber working from a home address. A business that also serves customers at a staffed location can show that address. Check what your profile shows.

   You will know it worked when Your profile shows an address only if customers can really visit you there.

5. 5

   Compare your website with the same list

   Open your contact page and the page that describes your business. Check the name, address, phone number and hours against your list. Then right-click, choose View page source, and search for LocalBusiness or a more specific type such as Restaurant. If you find a block, check that its name, address, telephone and hours are the same as the visible page. Google's LocalBusiness documentation requires only a name and an address, and recommends opening hours, telephone and a working URL.

   You will know it worked when The visible page and any markup agree with your list, or you have a note of every difference.

6. 6

   Test the markup if you have it

   Paste the page address into Google's Rich Results Test and fix critical errors. Then use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to see how Google sees the page, and check that it is not blocked by robots.txt, a noindex tag or a login. Google says it may take several days after publishing for a page to be found and crawled.

   You will know it worked when The test finishes with no critical errors and the page is accessible to Google.

7. 7

   Fix the differences in the right place

   Change the profile through your Business Profile account, and the website through whoever edits it. Do not add facts to the markup that the page does not show, so the markup and the page stay in step.

   You will know it worked when Your list, your profile and your website now give the same details.

Common mistakes when you check your local business details

• Adding taglines, opening hours, phone numbers or service and location information to the business name, which Google's guidelines do not allow.
• Using a post office box, a rented mailbox or a virtual office as the address.
• Showing a home address on a service-area profile when Google says to hide it.
• Changing hours on the website but not on the profile, or the other way round.
• Expecting the markup to guarantee a knowledge panel or a higher position. Google says it does not guarantee features.

Terms used when you check your local business details

Business Profile

The listing a business manages on Google, which can appear in Search and Maps.

LocalBusiness structured data

Code on a web page that states a local business's name, address, phone number and hours in a format Google reads.

Service-area business

A business that travels to its customers instead of, or as well as, receiving them at a shop or office.

Local ranking

The order in which Google shows nearby businesses, which Google says is mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence.

Prominence

How well known a business is, which Google says is partly based on links from websites and reviews.