How to Write a Google Business Profile Description
Published: May 17th, 2022
Last Updated: November 23rd, 2023
The description feature within Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a super useful element to have on any local business listing. It informs the search user of the business and the products or services it offers.
Before its launch in 2018, local business owners could only input basic information such as company name, address, phone number, hours, and types of payments accepted.
Now, it’s an important part of a business’s Google Business Profile (GBP). It’s a place where the business can communicate to potential customers. They can tell them in their own words what they do and, if they desire, things like their history, values, and beliefs.
What is a Google Business Profile description?
It may sound obvious, but a Google Business Profile description is a short outline of your business. It’s limited to 750 characters and can be used to quickly spell out who you are and what you do.
It can be used to help inform potential customers of what to expect from you or your business, offering them valuable information about either the physical location or your brand.
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Google Business Profile Description Guidelines
Before you put pen to paper (or your fingers on the keyboard), make sure you read over the Google Business Profile Description Guidelines. These set out what you can and can’t include in this part of your listing. For instance, you shouldn’t add details of promotions, but can refer to the history of your business.
You must adhere to these rules because Google will review your Google Business Profile description and could suspend your account if you’re found to be in violation of its policies.
Google says the following about business descriptions:
Use the business description field to provide useful information on services and products offered, as well as the mission and history of your business.
You should be upfront and honest about the information provided, focusing on content that’s relevant and useful to your customers to understand your business. Content that’s irrelevant to your business or has no clear association with it isn’t allowed.
In addition to our overall guidelines on prohibited and restricted content, make sure that your business description does not:
- Display low-quality, irrelevant, or distracting content. For example, misspellings, gimmicky character use, gibberish, etc.
- Focus on special promotions, prices, and offer sales. Examples of content not allowed include, “Everything on sale, -50%” and “Best bagels in town for $5!”
- Display links. No links of any type are allowed.
How long should a Google Business Profile description be?
You will need to adhere to the Google Business Profile description character limit when crafting your description. This is currently 750 characters.
Google outlines this in the Google Business Profile Help Center:
Enter a brief description of your business.
Things to include:
- What you offer
- What sets you apart
- Your history
- Anything else that’s helpful for customers to know
Things to avoid:
- Do not include URLs or HTML code.
- Do not exceed 750 characters in the description field.
Focus primarily on details about your business instead of details about promotions, prices, or sales. Read more about guidelines for business representation.
Example: “We’re an independent ice cream shop located steps from the center of town. We’re proud to be the favorite for locals to meet friends for a cone or call for a fresh pizza, delivered straight to their home. We serve 35 flavors of homemade, hand-churned ice creams and sorbets year-round. The pizza oven turns out New York-style pies every day from midday until close. Come see us today!”
How do I write a Google Business Profile description?
Before you sit down to write your Google Business Profile description, keep in mind that you may need to draft several versions. This will provide you with a backup option should your description be rejected due to a guideline violation.
If you’re lacking inspiration, the ‘about’ page on your site can be a good starting point. A lot of time and effort likely went into creating this page and distilling your brand’s credibility, achievements, and product or service offering. Because of this, it’s often a helpful starting point when drafting a Google Business Profile description for the first time.
Tips for Writing Your Google Business Profile Description
- Tell the visitor what differentiates your business from your competitors.
- Include a brief history of your business if that’s appropriate (for example if you have recently reached a notable milestone such as X years in business).
- Don’t add URLs/Links.
- No keyword stuffing.
- Include a call to action such as ‘Visit us today’.
- Don’t refer to sales or special offers (use Posts to communicate that kind of information).
- DO NOT USE ALL CAPS.
- Include your business name, keyword, and location (naturally) in the first couple of lines. Google’s Vicinity update means keyword stuffing is no longer effective so don’t force multiple keywords into your description.
- Write for your audience. The business description gives you a chance to allow your business’ personality to shine. The information you convey, and how you convey it should resonate with your target audience.
- Add social proof where possible.
- Why not try out AI? Writing isn’t for everyone. If you have a loose idea, but you’re a little stuck or worried it’s boring, try entering the key details into a generative AI tool and getting it to help.
How to Add a Google Business Profile Description to Your Listing
Adding a Google Business Profile description is very easy to do.
In the NMX select ‘edit profile’ and you’ll find ‘Description’ in the ‘About’ section.
A truncated version of your description will be displayed in the Local Knowledge Panel on desktop or mobile. People will then have to click to see the full description, so be thoughtful with what you’re saying. Your most important information should be placed towards the start of the description. This truncation applies on both desktop and mobile, so remember… each character counts!
Just like you carefully craft your meta title and description tags for your website, you need to take the same amount of care when writing your GBP business description.
Once you have your Google Business Profile description inserted, click “Apply”. You’ll then need to wait for Google to review and approve your description.
If it isn’t approved, double-check to make sure you followed Google Business Profile guidelines.
Utilizing Google Business Profile Description
To get inspiration for your own description, try checking out how your competitors have approached the task. To do this, perform a Google search for a rival business and then review their descriptions, noting down what works well and what stands out.
Knowing how to write a strong Google Business Profile description can seriously elevate your local search presence. It’s the search equivalent of your elevator pitch, outlining your credentials and spelling out why a consumer should choose your business.
What are you waiting for? Go check your Google Business profile description!
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