When a seller hears your name from a neighbor, the next thing they usually do is search for it. A verified Google Business Profile is what lets you control what they find there, including your name, phone number, website, service area and, most of all, your Google reviews.
Setting one up is not hard, but real estate has a wrinkle most businesses do not. You may be an individual agent, part of a team and working under a brokerage all at once, and Google's guidelines treat each of those differently. Getting the structure wrong can lead to duplicate profiles, a suspended profile or reviews stuck on a profile you do not control. This checklist walks through the decisions in order.
Can a real estate agent have a Google Business Profile?
Yes. Google's guidelines for representing your business name real estate agents among the individual practitioners who may have their own profile, alongside doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners and insurance agents. A practitioner is a public-facing professional who usually has their own clients.
The same guidelines set some limits:
- One profile per practitioner. Google says a practitioner should not have several profiles to cover different specialties, so you do not need one for buying and one for selling.
- Sales associates or lead generation agents for corporations are not considered individual practitioners and are not eligible.
- Each profile should reflect how you actually present yourself to clients.
Agent, team or brokerage profile
Google's rules depend on how many practitioners work at a location and how they present themselves. The table below maps the most common real estate situations to what the guidelines say.
| Your situation | What Google's guidelines point to |
|---|---|
| You are the only public-facing agent at your brokerage location | Google recommends one shared profile for you and the business, named with the brokerage name, then a colon, then your name |
| You work out of a brokerage office with other agents | The brokerage should have its own profile for the office, and you may have a separate practitioner profile that uses only your name |
| You work from home and meet clients at properties or their homes | A profile with a service area and no public address |
| You lead a team inside a brokerage | Google's guidelines do not address real estate teams directly, so check with your broker before creating a team profile |
The team case is where agents most often get it wrong. Google's rules allow a profile for a business and profiles for individual practitioners, and they allow separate profiles for departments that operate as distinct entities. A team that is simply a group of agents inside one brokerage office does not clearly fit either category. If your team has its own office, signage and brand, it may look more like a business in Google's eyes. If it does not, the safer structure is the brokerage's location profile plus one practitioner profile for each public-facing agent. We are not aware of a Google rule written specifically for real estate teams, so treat this as a judgment call and get your broker's agreement first.
Before you create anything
Do these three things first. They prevent most of the problems agents run into later.
- Search for yourself. Search your name and city on Google and Google Maps. If a profile for you already exists, request access to it rather than creating a second one. Google's guidelines say a business should have only one profile.
- Ask your broker. Your brokerage may have a policy on agent profiles, or may already have created one for you. Find out who will own the profile if you leave the brokerage, because a profile and its reviews stay with whoever controls it.
- Decide on your address. If you meet clients at an office during stated hours, you can show that address. If you do not serve clients at your address, Google's help page on service areas says to remove the address from your profile and list service areas instead. Post office boxes, remote mailboxes and virtual offices where you do not actually work are not eligible addresses.
The setup checklist
Work through these in order when you create or clean up your profile.
- Name. Use your real-world name as clients know it. Google does not allow marketing taglines, phone numbers, website addresses, service or location keywords or all-caps words in the name, and adding them can lead to suspension. "Jane Doe" is right. "Jane Doe Best Austin Homes Expert" is not.
- Category. Choose the primary category that describes you as an individual agent, such as real estate agent. The brokerage's own profile would normally use an agency category. Add secondary categories only if they reflect services you actually provide.
- Address or service area. Show an address only if clients can meet you there. Otherwise hide it and list your service areas. Google allows up to 20 service areas and says the whole area should not extend more than about two hours of driving from where you are based. You cannot define it as a radius around your location.
- Phone number. Use a number you or your team actually answer, ideally the same one on your website and other profiles.
- Website. Link to your own agent page or website. If you do not have one, your page on your brokerage's site is better than nothing.
- Hours. List the hours when clients can reach you, not every hour you might answer a text.
- Description. Say who you help, which areas you serve, which brokerage you are with and how long you have been licensed. Keep it factual. Avoid describing areas in terms of who lives there or who they suit, which raises fair housing concerns.
- Photos. Add a current headshot and photos of you at work. Use only property photos you have the rights to, and ask sellers before posting their homes.
- Verification. Google decides which verification methods are available to you, and you cannot choose them. According to its verification help page, the options can include a phone call or text, email, a live video call, a recorded video or a postcard. Postcards usually arrive within about two weeks and their codes expire after 30 days. After you complete the steps, Google can take up to five business days to review the profile.
State advertising rules still apply
A Google profile is public marketing, and your state's license law and your brokerage's policies apply to it like they apply to a yard sign or a website. State rules commonly require an agent's advertising to identify the sponsoring brokerage, and some states also require a license number. Because Google's name field should hold only your name, put any required brokerage name or license details in the description and on your website. Check your state regulator's advertising rules, since the requirements differ from state to state.
Getting reviews on your profile
Google gives every verified profile a review link and QR code. According to Google's help page on requesting reviews, you open your Business Profile, select "Read reviews," then "Get more reviews," and copy the link or save the QR code. At the time of writing, Google says review QR codes can only be generated in a computer browser, not on a phone.
A few rules matter here:
- Reviewers need a Google account, which can use any email address, not only Gmail.
- Google prohibits incentives for reviews, including discounts and free services, and it prohibits selectively asking for positive reviews. Its content policy also excludes reviews based on a conflict of interest, such as reviews from employees or family.
- The FTC's rule on consumer reviews applies on top of Google's policy. Our guide on getting more Zillow reviews covers timing and wording that work on Google as well.
Reply to your reviews once they come in. Your reply appears publicly under the review, labeled as coming from the business. Our guide on responding to client reviews has examples.
Keep it accurate after launch
A profile that was right on day one drifts out of date. Put a monthly reminder on your calendar to check it.
- Make sure your hours, phone number and website still work.
- Look for any details you did not enter yourself and correct them if they are wrong.
- Update the description and brokerage details as soon as you change brokerages, and settle profile ownership before you leave.
- Add a few new photos each quarter so the profile does not look abandoned.
- Reply to every new review within a few days.
Agent Recognition USA's Agent Score counts a confirmed Google profile or reviews on two or more sites as one of its five profile items, each worth 2 of the score's 100 points, as explained on the methodology page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a real estate agent have a Google Business Profile without an office?
Yes. If you do not serve clients at your address, Google's guidance is to hide the address and list service areas instead. Post office boxes, remote mailboxes and virtual offices where you do not work are not eligible addresses.
Can a real estate team have its own Google Business Profile?
Google's guidelines do not address real estate teams directly. A team with its own office, signage and brand may qualify as a business, while a team working inside a brokerage office fits more naturally as the brokerage's profile plus individual agent profiles. Agree on the structure with your broker before creating anything.
Should my brokerage name be part of my profile name?
Only if you are the sole public-facing agent at that location and share one profile with the brokerage. In that case, Google recommends the brokerage name, a colon, then your name. If several agents work at the location, your practitioner profile should use only your name.
How many service areas can I list on my Google profile?
Up to 20. Google says the overall service area should not extend more than about two hours of driving time from where your business is based.
Can I create separate profiles for different cities?
Generally no. Google says a practitioner should not have several profiles to cover different specialties, and a business that serves customers from one base should have one profile with a service area. Use your service areas to cover the cities you work in.
This article is general information and is not legal advice.
