Business Information
Session 4.2 · ~5 min read
The business information section of your Google Business Profile is the foundation of your entity declaration. Every field in this section maps to a specific attribute in Google's entity model. A missing field is not just an incomplete profile. It is a missing entity attribute, one that Google must then infer from less reliable sources or leave blank entirely.
This session covers every field in the business information section, what it does for entity recognition, and how to fill it correctly.
The Field Completion Flowchart
Use this as a checklist. Work through each decision point before moving to the next field.
Business Information"] --> B{"Business Name
matches legal name?"} B -->|Yes| C{"Address
verified?"} B -->|No| B1["Fix name to match
legal/brand name"] B1 --> C C -->|Yes| D{"Phone number
= primary business line?"} C -->|No| C1["Update address,
re-verify if needed"] C1 --> D D -->|Yes| E{"Website URL
= primary domain?"} D -->|No| D1["Set primary
business phone"] D1 --> E E -->|Yes| F{"Description
written? (750 chars)"} E -->|No| E1["Set canonical
website URL"] E1 --> F F -->|Yes| G{"Hours of
operation set?"} F -->|No| F1["Write entity-focused
description"] F1 --> G G -->|Yes| H{"Service area
defined?"} G -->|No| G1["Set accurate
business hours"] G1 --> H H -->|Yes| I["All core fields
complete ✓"] H -->|No| H1["Define service
area radius/regions"] H1 --> I style A fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style I fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style B fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style C fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style D fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style E fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style F fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style G fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style H fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3
Field-by-Field Breakdown
| Field | Priority | Guidelines | Common Mistakes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Name | Critical | Use your real-world business name. No keywords, no taglines, no location modifiers unless they are part of the legal name. | Stuffing keywords: "Acme Plumbing | Best Plumber in Jakarta" |
| Address | Critical | Must match the address on your website, citations, and legal filings exactly. Include suite/unit numbers. Use the format Google standardizes to. | Abbreviation inconsistency: "Jl." vs "Jalan" vs "Jln." |
| Phone | Critical | Use a local phone number, not a toll-free or tracking number. This number must match your website and citations. | Using a call tracking number that differs from website |
| Website | Critical | Link to your primary domain homepage. Use HTTPS. Do not link to a social profile or landing page. | Linking to a Facebook page instead of owned domain |
| Description | High | 750 characters max. Describe what the business does, who it serves, and where. No promotional language, no offers, no URLs. | Writing a sales pitch instead of an entity description |
| Hours | High | Set regular hours. Use special hours for holidays. "Open 24 hours" or closed days must be explicit. | Leaving hours blank, causing Google to guess from other sources |
| Service Area | Medium | For businesses that travel to customers. Set specific cities or regions, not a radius. Do not set both address and service area unless you also serve at your location. | Setting an unrealistically large service area |
| Opening Date | Medium | Set the actual date the business began operating. Google uses this for entity age signals. | Leaving it blank or setting the GBP creation date |
| Short Name | Low | A custom URL slug for your profile (g.page/yourname). Use your brand name. | Using a generic or keyword-stuffed short name |
The Business Name Rule
Google is strict about business names. Your GBP name must reflect the name used consistently across your signage, stationery, and legal documents. Adding keywords, service descriptions, or location modifiers violates Google's guidelines and can result in suspension.
There is a practical reason behind this rule. Google uses your business name as the primary identifier for entity matching. If your GBP says "PT Arsindo Cipta Karya" but your website says "Arsindo" and your citations say "Arsindo Engineering," Google must reconcile three different name strings. The cleaner your name consistency, the faster and more accurately Google builds your entity node.
Your GBP business name is not a marketing headline. It is an entity identifier. It must match your website, your citations, your schema markup, and your legal name. Exact consistency across all platforms is the goal.
Writing the 750-Character Description
The description field is your opportunity to provide Google with a concise entity summary. Google does not display this description in all contexts, but it uses the text for entity understanding. Write it as if you are filing a brief for a database, not pitching a customer.
Structure your description in this order:
- What the business is (entity type and classification).
- What it does (primary services or products).
- Who it serves (target market or customer type).
- Where it operates (geographic scope).
- Differentiator (one factual distinguishing attribute).
Example: "PT Arsindo Cipta Karya is an engineering and manufacturing company based in Tangerang, Indonesia. The company designs and builds industrial pump systems, water treatment equipment, and process engineering solutions for municipal and industrial clients across Southeast Asia. Founded in 1993, Arsindo operates ISO-certified manufacturing facilities and holds national distributor agreements with international equipment manufacturers."
Notice: no superlatives, no calls to action, no pricing, no URLs. Just facts that define the entity.
Address and Phone: The NAP Connection
Your GBP address and phone number are the same NAP signals we covered in Module 1. The difference is that GBP carries verified status. If your GBP address says one thing and your website says another, Google will flag the inconsistency, and the resulting confusion weakens your entity confidence score.
After setting your GBP address and phone, audit your website contact page, schema markup, and top citation sources. Everything must match character for character. This includes formatting. If your GBP shows "+62 21 5555 1234" then your website must show the same format.
Hours and Attributes
Business hours are a Knowledge Panel element. When someone searches your brand name, Google displays your hours prominently. Incorrect hours create a trust problem: if a customer arrives at a closed business during listed open hours, Google may flag your profile as unreliable.
Attributes are Google's way of tagging your entity with specific characteristics. Depending on your category, you may see attributes like "wheelchair accessible," "free Wi-Fi," "women-owned," or "LGBTQ+ friendly." These attributes function as entity characteristic tags and are filterable in Maps search. Fill in every applicable attribute.
Further Reading
- Google. "How to improve your local ranking on Google." Google Business Profile Help.
- Google. "Guidelines for representing your business on Google." Google Business Profile Help.
- Hawkins, Joy. "Google Business Profile Name Guidelines: What You Need to Know." Sterling Sky, 2024.
- Moz. "Google Business Profile: The Complete Guide." Moz Learning Center.
Assignment
- Open your GBP and verify that your business name matches your website, legal filings, and top three citation sources exactly.
- Write a 750-character (or less) business description following the five-part structure: what, does, serves, where, differentiator. No promotional language.
- Confirm your address, phone, and website URL are identical to the versions in your schema markup and citation profiles.
- Set your opening date to the actual date your business began operations.
- Review all available attributes for your category and enable every one that accurately applies.