Decide what your correct name, address and phone number are, using your signage and your website as the source of truth. Update your Google Business Profile first, then your website, then social pages and directories. Customers and Google should find the same details wherever they look.
Pick one source of truth
Google says your business name should reflect your real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website and stationery, and as customers know it. Start there. Write down the exact name, full address with any suite or floor number, main phone number and website address, then use that record everywhere.
Find where your details disagree
Search for your business name and phone number, and check each place your business appears:
- Your Google Business Profile on Search and Maps.
- Your website, including the footer, the contact page and any booking page.
- Facebook, Instagram and other social profiles.
- Directories such as Justdial and Sulekha, and any industry or delivery platforms you use.
Note every old phone number, old address and different spelling of your name.
Fix them in this order
- Google first. Go to your Business Profile, select Edit profile, change the details and select Save. Google says it reviews changes before they go live.
- Your website next, so it matches Google exactly.
- Social profiles, then directories. Log in to each one and update the listing, or use its own correction process.
- Search again a few weeks later and fix anything that still shows old details.
When Google keeps rejecting your phone number
Google's guidelines set these rules for phone numbers:
- Use a local number instead of a central call centre helpline where possible.
- The number must be under the direct control of the business.
- Do not use numbers that redirect callers to someone other than the actual business.
- Premium rate numbers are not accepted.
Google says that in India and some other places it double-checks your phone number to make sure it is correct. Google also lets you add up to 2 phone numbers beyond your main one.
Businesses with several locations
Google says all locations within the same country must use the same name, with limited exceptions. Give each location its own precise address and a phone number that reaches that location, and keep the format identical across Google, your website and directories.
Fix your details in Reach
In Reach, the Profile page lets you edit your business name, main phone number, extra phone numbers and website, then save them to Google. After saving, Reach shows which changes reached Google and which Google refused. Your address is shown there but changed in Google's own settings, because a new address needs verification.
Your Reach website shows the address and phone number from your Google profile, so fixing Google updates them there too. Its display name falls back to your Google name when you leave it empty, so check it matches.
Common problems
- Google changed my details back. Why?
- Anyone can suggest edits to a place on Maps, and Google reviews them. Make your website and directories match Google, then correct the profile again.
- Should I use a different phone number on each directory?
- No. Use the same main number everywhere.
- My old address still appears on some directories. What can I do?
- Claim or log in to each listing and update it. Where you cannot, use the directory's own correction or support process.
- Do I have to change my name on every directory at once?
- No. Start with Google and your website, then work through the rest.