Do you need an LLC to have a Google Business Profile?

Short answer: Google's guidelines ask for a real business that customers can visit or that travels to customers. They don't ask for an LLC. Plenty of one-person businesses have a profile.

I set these up for local businesses, so this is one of the questions I hear most from people who haven't started one yet.

What Google actually asks for

Google's guidelines say a business can have a profile if it has a physical location customers can visit, or if it travels to customers where they are. After that, the rules are about being honest and consistent:

• Represent your business the way it's known in the real world, on signage, paperwork and branding
• Make sure your address, or your service area, is accurate
• Use the fewest categories it takes to describe your core business
• Keep it to one profile per business

What if you work from home?

Then you're a service-area business. You can hide your home address and list the towns you serve instead. That's how most trades do it, and it's how I'd set up a mobile mechanic, a cleaner or a lawn crew.

What about licenses?

Google's help pages cover profile rules. Your state and town cover licensing. If you're in a licensed trade, make sure your license and your business name match what you put on the profile. Mismatches are an easy way to look unreal.

The real hurdle is verification

The part that stops most people isn't the form. It's verifying that you are who you say you are. Google may ask for a video, a phone call, a text or an email, depending on the business. Have your signage, your paperwork and your business name ready, and answer the questions plainly.

Don't stuff keywords into the name

Use the name you're known by. Adding city names or services to the business name can get a profile suspended. A clean name, the right category and a filled-out profile do more than a clever name.

Where to start

If you'd rather not do it yourself, I set up and fill out profiles as part of Google Business Profile setup in Rockford. You can also read how reviews and a full profile moved my own map ranking in how do I get more calls for my business.