Local SEO and Google Business Profile for therapists, including telehealth-only practices

We build therapist websites and sell visibility plans that include Google Business Profile work, so we have an interest in this topic. To keep the guide fair, every rule comes from Google’s, Bing’s or Apple’s own pages (retrieved October 22, 2026), nothing is ranked, and where their text does not settle a case we say so. Google changes these pages, so check the current versions before you act, and read the limits at the end. This guide goes deeper on one step of our SEO for therapists guide.

Which Google Business Profile setup fits my practice?

Find your situation in the table, then read the section that explains the rule. Each cell uses Google’s own words, and where Google’s text does not settle a case, the cell says so.

Your practice	Can you have a Google profile?	Show an address or a service area?	What to do
Office, regular hours, clients come in	Yes. “a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours.”1	Show the address. Google asks for “permanent fixed signage of their business name at the address.”2	Claim and verify the profile. List your real hours.
Office, by appointment only	Google’s guidelines don’t say whether an appointment-only office qualifies. They say businesses that “operate only by appointment” shouldn’t provide hours.2	If clients visit, show the address and meet the signage rule above.	Don’t invent open hours. If verification stalls, ask Google Business Profile support.
Home office where clients come	Google’s guidelines don’t say.	Google’s guidelines don’t say. The address on a profile “is public.”3	Decide whether you will publish the address before you verify. Ask Google support before relying on a profile.
Home office, telehealth only	No, as written. Google lists “online-only businesses” as ineligible.1	Neither. A service area is for a business that “visits or delivers to customers directly.”4	Skip the profile. Use your website, directories and consistent facts.
Shared or sublet office	Google’s guidelines don’t say for a rented room. An ongoing service “at a location that you don't own or have the authority to represent” is ineligible.1	Show the address only if you meet the in-person and signage rules.	Confirm you have the authority to represent the location.
Coworking or virtual office	Coworking: only with “clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during business hours by your business staff.” A virtual office “isn't eligible.”2	Show the address only if the coworking test is met.	Don’t use a rented mailing address or a virtual office.
Group practice	Yes, for the location, if it meets the in-person rule. A clinician may have a profile if they “can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours.”2	Show the shared address.	One practice profile for the location. Each clinician’s profile carries only the clinician’s name.
Telehealth across several states	No profile for the telehealth side. A service area “shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time.”2	Don’t list states as a service area.	State your licensed states on your website.

Google’s guidelines page does not mention therapists or telehealth by name, so the rows for those cases rest on the closest rules Google does publish.

Can a therapist have a Google Business Profile?

Yes, if you meet clients in person at a real location during stated hours. Google’s eligibility page says: “To qualify for a Business Profile, a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours.”¹ The guidelines page says the same thing from the other side: “If your business either has a physical location that customers can visit, or travels to customers where they are, you can create a Business Profile on Google.”²

Three more rules shape the answer for a therapist:

• The profile is for a real place. Google says to “Create your Business Profile for your actual, real-world location,” and that P.O. boxes or mailboxes at remote locations “aren't acceptable.”²
• One profile per business. “There should only be one profile per business, as this can cause problems with how your information displays on Google Maps and Search.”²
• It costs nothing. “You can add or claim your business at no charge.”⁵

Google’s eligibility page does not say how the in-person rule applies to a clinician whose clients come by appointment. The next sections work through the cases Google’s text does speak to.

Can a telehealth-only practice have a Google Business Profile?

No, not as Google’s guidelines are written. They never name telehealth, but two rules decide it. The first is the eligibility test: a business “must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours.”¹ The second is the list of ineligible businesses, which includes “Brands, organizations, artists, and other online-only businesses.”¹ A practice that sees every client by video meets neither.

A service area does not fix it. Google describes a service-area business as one “that visits or delivers to customers directly but doesn’t serve customers at their business address.”⁴ Video sessions are neither a visit nor a delivery. Google also says a service area “shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based.”²

Don’t work around the rule. Google says “If your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn't operate out of that location, also known as a virtual office, that location isn't eligible for a Business Profile,” and it “reserves the right to suspend access to Business Profiles” for businesses that violate its guidelines.² A profile built on an address where you never meet clients puts your listing at risk and tells searchers something untrue.

What can a telehealth-only practice do instead?

• Say where you are licensed, in plain words, on your site. This is the telehealth version of an address. Copy this and fill in the brackets: “I provide therapy by secure video to adults who are located in [State] or [State] at the time of the session. I am a [license type] licensed in both states.” Your licensing board’s telehealth rules can affect who you may see and what your advertising must show, so check them before you publish.
• Add a page per state only where something differs. A separate state page earns its place when licensing details, rules or services really differ. In our reading, pages that swap only the place name can fall under what Google calls scaled content abuse: “many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users.”⁶ Our guide to practice names and domains covers the city-page version of the same mistake.
• Keep your facts identical everywhere. Use the same practice name, phone, email, licensed states and services on your site and in every directory. Our guide to what good SEO and AI visibility work looks like explains why, and our guide on whether people use ChatGPT to find a therapist explains how assistants use public facts.
• Use Bing and Apple only where their rules allow. Bing says: “Listings on Bing Places for Business must have a physical address open to customers OR provide an area of service where employees travel to visit the customer.”⁷ A practice with no office and no travel to clients does not fit as written. Apple differs: its guide says that “a business without a physical location that provides a service or operates fully online” can use Apple Business, but the Maps place card is for businesses with “physical business locations.”⁸ Apple says such businesses can “begin to customize their brand for free,”⁹ and it has renamed the product: “Apple Business Connect is now Apple Business.”¹⁰ The brand tools Apple describes are for things like Branded Mail and Tap to Pay on iPhone. We could not confirm that a brand profile helps people find a therapist.

What about a home office, a shared office, a sublet room or a coworking space?

It depends on who meets clients there and what the building shows. Google’s text settles virtual offices and coworking spaces and leaves home offices and sublet rooms open.

Virtual office or rented mailbox. Not eligible, as quoted above.²

Coworking space. Google’s rule has three tests. A business “can't list an office at a co-working space unless that office maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during business hours by your business staff.”² A room you book by the hour, with no sign and no one on site, fails them.

Shared or sublet office. Google’s guidelines don’t say whether a room you rent from another clinician counts. Two rules come closest. Businesses “showing their address on Google should maintain permanent fixed signage of their business name at the address,” and an ongoing service “at a location that you don't own or have the authority to represent” is ineligible.²¹ If you share a suite with other clinicians, read the practitioner rules in the next section.

Home office. Google’s guidelines don’t say whether a therapy home office qualifies. The nearest rule is about a business that travels: “if you’re a plumber and run your business from your residential address, clear the address from your Business Profile.”² That example fits a business that goes to customers, not a therapist whose clients come to the house. Google’s service-area page says of hybrid businesses: “If your business doesn’t have permanent on-site signage, it's not eligible as a storefront and should be listed as a service-area business.”⁴ That sentence is written for businesses that also travel to customers, so we would not lean on it.

The address question is also a privacy question. Google states: “The address on your Business Profile is public.”³ If you would not put your home address on a billboard, decide that before you verify, and ask Google Business Profile support about your exact setup.

Should I use a solo, group or individual practitioner profile?

Use the one that matches how many clinicians clients can reach at your location. Google defines an individual practitioner as “a public-facing professional, typically with their own customer base,” and lists doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners and insurance or real estate agents.² Therapists are not named, but the definition describes a clinician with a caseload. Three setups follow from Google’s text.²

• Solo, practicing under your own name. You are the practitioner. You should have your own profile if you “operate in a public-facing role” and “can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours.” Support staff “should not create their own Business Profiles.”
• Solo, under a practice brand. If you are “the only public-facing practitioner at a location and represent a branded organization, it's best for the practitioner to share a Business Profile with the organization,” named in the format “[brand/company]: [practitioner name].”
• Group practice. “If the practitioner is one of several public-facing practitioners at this location,” the organization creates a profile for the location, separate from each clinician’s. A clinician’s profile title “should include only the name of the practitioner.”

One limit applies to everyone: “A practitioner shouldn't have multiple Business Profiles to cover all of their specializations.”² One profile for you, not one for anxiety and another for couples. Google also says “Do not create more than one page for each location of your business, either in a single account or multiple accounts.”²

What do the rules allow for the name, category, description, hours and services?

Less than most therapists expect, and nothing that adds keywords. Each field has its own rule in Google’s guidelines.²

• Name. It “should reflect your business’s real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers.” The name must not include marketing taglines, service or product information, location information, hours, or phone numbers and web addresses. “Including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile.” By that table, “Jane Doe Counseling, Anxiety Therapy in Pasadena” adds service and location words. Our guide to names and domains goes deeper. Practitioner profiles “may include title or degree certification (for example Dr., MD, JD, Esq., CFA).” Whether license letters like LMFT belong in a profile name, Google’s guidelines don’t say.
• Category. “Choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business,” and “Do not use categories solely as keywords.” Pick from the list Google shows you, because “You can’t create your own category.”¹¹
• Description. It should describe services and your mission and history, and it must not “Display links” (“No links of any type are allowed”) or “Focus on special promotions, prices, and offer sales.” Put fees on your website, not in the description.
• Hours. “Provide your regular customer-facing hours of operation.” Businesses “that operate only by appointment” shouldn’t provide hours.
• Website and phone. The phone number “must be under the direct control of the business,” and the website should represent your individual business location.
• Services and telehealth. Google allows one link to “Review a list of services (such as telemedicine or virtual).”¹² If you have a qualifying office and also offer video sessions, that is the place to say so.

Your license details belong on your website, not in these fields, because your board’s advertising rules apply there. California’s rule is in our guide to the 2026 advertising rule.

What does Google allow for reviews, and what do the ethics codes add?

Google allows asking for genuine reviews, but your ethics code is a separate and often tighter limit. Google’s policy lists what merchants may do: “Solicit or encourage the posting of content that does represent a genuine experience, without offering incentives to do so or attempting to influence the rating or the contents of the review.”¹³ Google prohibits “Reviews or ratings that have been paid for, directly or in kind,” and conduct that would “Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers.”¹³ Its review page adds: “Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews, change reviews, or remove negative reviews is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited.”¹⁴

The penalty is not trivial. Google may stop a profile from receiving “new reviews or ratings for set period of time,” unpublish existing ones, or display “a warning to let consumers know that fake reviews were removed.”¹⁵

Google’s permission does not settle the question for your profession. The APA, ACA, NASW and CAMFT codes limit asking clients for testimonials, and our guide on testimonials and reviews for therapists sets out the code language, the federal rule and the confidentiality risk of replying. We don’t give review-request scripts here, because that guide explains why the ordinary ones run into those codes.

How does Google rank local results, and what do you control?

Google ranks local results on three factors, relevance, distance and prominence, and says you cannot pay to change them. Its summary says “Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity,” and its definitions, quoted below, call the third one prominence. It also says “There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.”¹⁶

• Relevance is “how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for.” Google’s advice is to “provide complete and detailed business info.” You control this.
• Distance is “how far each business is from the customer who’s searching.” You don’t control it, except by choosing an honest location.
• Prominence is “how well-known a business is,” based partly on “how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.” You can earn links from real places, such as your professional association’s directory. Reviews are the part your profession’s ethics codes can limit (see the reviews section above), so let the other signals carry more of the weight.

Two more things are in your hands. Verification: it “tells Google that you’re authorized to represent the business, so it's more likely to show up in search results.” Accuracy: “Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.”¹⁶ A telehealth-only practice has no distance to compete on, which is why its work happens on the website and in consistent facts.

How do I set up my profile?

Work through the steps below in order, and stop at step 1 if your row in the table says no.

1. Check eligibility. Match your practice to the table. Don’t make a profile you can’t defend.
2. Look for an existing profile. Search your practice name and city. Google says “If an unverified Business Profile for your business already exists, you can claim the Business Profile.”⁵
3. Enter the facts exactly as on your website: real-world name, address (or none, if you are not eligible to show one), a phone number you control, and your website.
4. Choose categories and hours by the rules above.
5. Verify. “Verification methods are automatically determined by Google and can’t be changed.” The options on offer can include phone or text, email, live video call and mail, and “verification reviews take up to 5 business days.” Google verifies some profiles instantly, for example when you verify your website with Search Console.¹⁷
6. Add your website link, then an appointment link once the profile is verified: “Your business must be verified before you can add a link.” Booking links must “lead to a dedicated landing page” and cannot be “Social media sites,” “Messaging links,” “App store links” or “Link shorteners.”¹⁸ Booking tools and your site’s booking page are a separate topic; our guide to adding SimplePractice booking to your website covers one common setup.
7. Write the description without links or prices, and add the services link if you offer video sessions.
8. Own the profile yourself. If anyone, including us, helps you, Google’s rule is that they “encourage the business owner to create an account, own the Business Profile, and add authorized representatives as managers.”¹ If you pay someone for this work, our guide to what SEO services cost lists what to put in the contract.

What should I check every month?

A short monthly pass keeps the profile accurate, which is the thing Google says helps it appear. It takes a few minutes.

• Open your profile and confirm the name, address, phone, hours and website match your site and your directory listings.
• Click your website and booking links. Google “will regularly check whether the business links you have provided are in compliance with our policies, and we may remove any non-compliant links.”¹⁸
• Check for a “Get verified” button or a “Review issues” notice, which Google uses when it finds a verification problem.¹⁷
• Add holiday or vacation hours as special hours before they happen.²
• Read any new reviews. Google says “you can flag it” if a review breaks its content policies.¹⁴ Decide how you will handle replies using the reviews guide linked above.
• Check the list of owners and managers, and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
• After any change to your name, license, address or services, update the profile, the website and your directories the same day.

Questions therapists also ask

My profile was suspended. What do I do?

Appeal instead of starting over. Google says “Do not create a new Business Profile for the same business while your appeal is under review,” and tells you to make sure the profile follows all its guidelines before you submit an appeal. Prepare evidence first, such as a business registration, business license or a utility bill whose name and address match the profile.¹⁹

Can I list the states I’m licensed in on my profile?

Not as a service area. Service areas are for businesses that go to customers, and Google says the area shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time.⁴² Put your licensed states on your website. If you have a qualifying office and also offer video sessions, use the services link and your description.

Should I use my home address?

Only if you would accept it being public, and only if your setup is eligible. Google says the address on a profile is public³ and that a rented mailing address you don’t work from is not eligible.² If clients never come to your home, the in-person test is not met, and a rented mailing address is not a substitute.

Which is better for finding clients, Psychology Today or a Google profile?

They do different jobs, and we didn’t check any directory’s rules for this guide. A directory listing is a page on another site, and a Google profile is Google’s record of a place where you meet clients. A telehealth-only practice can’t have the second, so read each directory’s own terms before you count on it.

Can someone else manage my profile for me?

Yes. Google calls them authorized representatives and says they must “Never claim a Business Profile without express consent from the business owner” and “Always keep the business owner informed about which actions the authorized representative will take.”¹ You should remain the owner.

Where to start

If you have an office where clients come, find your row in the table, claim and verify the profile, and fill it in with the checklist. If you see clients only by video, put your licensed states and practice facts on your website first. When you want help, our Active Visibility plan manages an eligible Business Profile every month and keeps up to 10 directory listings matching your website; a practice that works online only gets pages for the states it serves instead. Find the plan that fits your practice.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Google, Bing and Apple can change their guidelines, so check the current pages cited below. For what your advertising must say, and how telehealth rules apply to you, ask your licensing board, your professional association’s ethics line, or an attorney.