This guide is for owners and managers setting or fixing the name on a Google Business Profile. Google's rule is short: the name must be your real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website and stationery, and as customers know it. Anything added to that name, such as a service, a city or a slogan, breaks the guidelines, and Google says it can lead to a suspension.
The one rule behind every example
Start from your signage, not from the searches you want to appear in. If a word is not part of the name on your storefront, your website header and your invoices, it does not belong in the profile name. Services, products and areas belong in your categories, services and description.
What breaks the rules, and what to use instead
Every name below is fictional. Each bad version adds something Google's guidelines leave out of the name.
| Breaks the rules | Use instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Breaks the rules: Green Leaf Cafe - Coffee, Breakfast & Cakes | Use instead: Green Leaf Cafe | Services and products are not part of the name. |
| Breaks the rules: Best Dentist in Pune | Brightsmile Dental | Use instead: Brightsmile Dental | Superlatives, keywords and cities added for search are not allowed. |
| Breaks the rules: Brightsmile Dental (opposite City Mall) | Use instead: Brightsmile Dental | Landmarks and directions belong in the address. |
| Breaks the rules: Northside Motors - Your Trusted Service Partner | Use instead: Northside Motors | Marketing taglines are not allowed. |
| Breaks the rules: QuickFix Locksmith 24/7 | Use instead: QuickFix Locksmith | Hours and open status go in the hours fields. |
| Breaks the rules: Swift Movers Call 1800-XXX-XXXX | Use instead: Swift Movers | Phone numbers and web addresses are not allowed. |
| Breaks the rules: GREEN LEAF CAFE | Use instead: Green Leaf Cafe | All capitals are not allowed unless the name is an acronym. |
| Breaks the rules: Kapoor Plumbing Services Pvt Ltd | Use instead: Kapoor Plumbing Services | Legal terms need real-world proof, such as signage and invoices that show them. |
| Breaks the rules: Freshmart - Store 214 | Use instead: Freshmart | Store codes are not allowed. |
Special characters such as @ or % follow the same test as legal terms: keep them only when your signage, business cards and invoices show them as part of the name. Google also does not allow the same name repeated in two languages or scripts.
Practitioners, departments and shared locations
Google has specific rules for people and for businesses inside other businesses:
- Practitioners: a doctor, lawyer or agent who meets customers directly can have their own profile. Its name is the practitioner's name only, with a title or qualification if you like, such as Dr. Meera Iyer, MD.
- A practice with several practitioners: the practice gets its own profile, separate from each practitioner's.
- A sole practitioner at a branded location: one profile, named brand, colon, practitioner, such as Brightsmile Dental: Dr. Meera Iyer.
- Departments: a department that serves the public on its own, such as a hospital's dermatology department or a dealer's service centre, can have a profile if its name differs from the main business and every other department. A counter or section inside a store cannot.
- Brands you sell: a shop that sells another company's products uses only its own name. Authorised franchisees may use the brand's name.
- Chains: every location in the same country uses the same name.
What happens when a name breaks the rules
A name with added words rarely stays that way:
- Anyone can suggest an edit to your name on Google Maps. Google may send you the change to accept or reject, and it may apply some edits without asking you first.
- Google says unnecessary information in the name could result in the suspension of your profile.
- Competitors can report the name, with photos of your signage as evidence.
Fix your name
- Check that your signage, website header and invoices show the same name.
- Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile.
- Go to Business information and edit Business name.
- Enter the real-world name only and save.
Google reviews the change before it goes live. Check its status in Edit profile, and complete verification if Google asks for it.
If the profile is already suspended, fix the name first, then appeal:
- Open the Business Profile appeals tool and sign in with the account that manages the profile.
- Select the suspended profile and review the reason Google gives.
- Select Submit appeal.
- Add evidence when prompted: a business registration, licence, tax certificate or utility bill whose name and address match the profile.
Report a competitor's keyword-stuffed name
A competitor whose name carries extra keywords is breaking the same rules. Suggest a correction from the Google Maps app:
- Open the listing in the Google Maps app.
- Select Suggest an edit, then Change name or other details.
- Replace the name with the one on their signage.
- Add a photo of their storefront sign if you have one, then submit.
Google reviews every suggested edit. For a name that impersonates another business or looks like fraud, use Google's Business Redressal Complaint form instead.
Common problems
- My registered name includes the word Dental. Can I keep it?
- Yes, if that is the name on your signage, website and invoices. The rule is against words added to the real name, not words already in it.
- Can I add my city to the name to rank there?
- No. Location words added to the name break the guidelines. Your address or service area tells Google where you are.
- Should I add Pvt Ltd or LLP to the name?
- Only if it appears as part of the name on your signage and customer documents. Otherwise leave legal terms out.
- A competitor stuffs keywords and ranks above me. Should I copy them?
- No. Suggest an edit to their name and keep yours clean. A stuffed name can be edited back or the profile suspended at any time.
Correct your name with Reach
Reach's profile page edits your name, categories and description, and publishes them when you press Save to Google. After each save it lists what reached Google, what stayed in Reach and why, and what Google refused.