Google Business Profile for real estate agents: a guide
Google Business Profile for real estate agents: who is eligible, the right name and category, photos, posts, reviews and a checklist to show up in local search.
A Google Business Profile for real estate agents is the free listing that shows your agency or your own name in Google Maps and in the local results when someone searches "real estate agent near me". It shows your address or service area, hours, phone, website, photos and reviews. For agents and agencies it is often the first thing a seller sees, before your website. This guide covers who is eligible, how to fill each field and how to collect reviews.
Who is eligible?
A business that meets customers in person at an address, or travels to customers in an area, can have a profile. For real estate that means:
- An agency with an office that receives clients: one profile per office, with the real address.
- An individual agent: Google allows profiles for individual practitioners, alongside the agency's profile. Check your brokerage's policy.
- An agent who works from home: a service-area business. Add the towns you cover and hide the home address.
A virtual office is not eligible. Google's guidelines for representing your business say an address you rent but do not operate from cannot have a profile, and co-working desks need signage, staff and customers on site.
Which name and category should I use?
Use your real-world name, exactly as it appears on your sign, cards and website. "Jane Smith, Realtor" is fine if that is how you present yourself; "Jane Smith Best Homes For Sale Springfield" is keyword stuffing and can get the profile suspended.
For the primary category, choose "Real estate agency" for an office or "Real estate agent" for an individual. Add secondary categories only if they describe something you really do, such as "Property management company".
What should the profile include?
| Field | What to put |
|---|---|
| Description | Areas covered, types of property, languages spoken, how long you have worked there |
| Hours | Real hours, including Saturdays if you do viewings |
| Phone | A number that is answered |
| Website | The page for that office or that agent, not only the home page |
| Photos | Office front, team, recent listings, the local area |
| Services | Sales, lettings, valuations, property management |
Photos that help
Add the shopfront so people recognise the office, the team so they recognise you, and recent listings so they see the kind of homes you sell. Bright, straight photos look better in the small thumbnails; the tools to brighten real estate photos and fix vertical lines take a few seconds.
Posts: what to publish
Google lets you publish updates on the profile. Use them for new listings, open house dates and a monthly market note. Link each listing post to the property page or its 360 tour, so a click turns into a visit. The ideas in our real estate social media post ideas work here too.
How do I get more reviews?
- Ask on the day of the good news: an accepted offer, keys handed over.
- Send the direct review link by message, with one sentence: "It would help us a lot if you wrote two lines about how it went."
- Never offer a gift or discount for a review. Google's policies do not allow it.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, within a few days.
Reviews and replies are local content
When a client writes "they sold our flat in Riverside in three weeks", that sentence tells Google and the next seller where you work. Replies can mention the area naturally, without keyword stuffing.
Link the profile to your listings
A buyer who finds you on Maps should land somewhere they can see homes. Add your listings page as the website, and include a 360 tour link in listing posts. Buyers who open the tour can leave their details in it; see the guide to real estate lead follow up for what to do next. A free Vistura account also gives you a public profile page with all your tours.
Checklist
- Real name, no keywords.
- Correct primary category.
- Real address or service area, no virtual office.
- Hours, phone and the right website page.
- At least 10 photos: office, team, listings, area.
- One update a week.
- A review request in every closing.
- A reply to every review.
Frequently asked questions
Can a real estate agent have their own Google Business Profile?
Usually yes. Google allows profiles for individual practitioners who meet customers in person, in addition to the agency's profile. Check your brokerage's policy first, and keep the name to your real name, without keywords.
Can I use a virtual office address?
No. Google's guidelines say a virtual office, an address you rent but do not work from, is not eligible. If you work from home and meet clients at the property, set the profile up as a service-area business and hide the address.
How do I get more Google reviews?
Ask every client at the moment of success, the day the keys are handed over, with a direct link to the review form. Do not offer gifts or discounts for reviews: Google's policy does not allow incentives.
Should I reply to bad reviews?
Yes, calmly and briefly, within a few days. Thank the person, state the facts without personal details and offer to talk offline. Future clients read the reply more than the review.
