Google Business Profile for Therapists: Setup Guide

Last updated: October 17, 2026 · By Alex Sandev, Founder of HiveSourced

A Google Business Profile is the free listing that puts your practice on Google Maps and in the local results when someone searches for a therapist near them. To set one up, you add or claim your practice at business.google.com, enter an accurate name, category and address (or a service area), verify it, and then keep it complete with services, photos and a link to your website. Google says it costs nothing and is not something you can pay to rank higher.

What is a Google Business Profile, and does a therapist need one?

A Business Profile is your practice’s listing on Google Search and Maps. It shows your name, category, hours, phone number, website link, photos and reviews. If your clients search “therapist near me” or “anxiety therapist in Chicago”, the map pack at the top of the results comes from these profiles.

You need one if you see clients in person, because that is how you appear on the map. Online-only practices can still benefit from a profile with a service area, as long as they meet Google’s eligibility rules below. Your profile also feeds the consistent name, address and phone details that AI assistants look for, which we cover in our guide on how therapists get recommended by ChatGPT.

How does Google decide which therapists show up in local results?

According to Google’s own explanation of local ranking, results are based mainly on three things:

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what the person searched for. Complete, detailed information helps.
• Distance: how far your location is from the searcher. You cannot change this, so it matters that your address is accurate.
• Prominence: how well known your practice is, based on things like links from other websites and reviews.

Google also states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone selling you a guaranteed map-pack spot is not describing how it works.

Are you eligible? Office, home office and online-only practices

This is where many therapists get stuck. Google’s guidelines for representing your business say:

• Use a precise, real address. P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes are not acceptable.
• Virtual offices are not eligible for a profile.
• A co-working or shared office qualifies only if it has clear signage, receives customers during business hours, and is staffed by your own team.
• If you have no storefront, you can hide your address and show a service area instead.
• Each location gets one profile, and each business should have only one.

In practice, that gives you three common setups:

Your situation	What to do
You rent a private office and see clients there	Show your office address and your real office hours.
You work from a home office and clients do not visit	Hide your address and set a service area.
You see clients only by telehealth	Check the eligibility rules first. You may not qualify, and a website page for your state matters more.
You share a suite with other clinicians	Only list it if the signage and staffing rules above are met. Otherwise use a service area.

Never use a friend’s address or a mailbox store to get on the map. A profile that breaks these rules can be suspended, and that is hard to undo. Licensing and telehealth rules vary by state, so confirm what applies to you with your own licensing board.

How do you set up your Google Business Profile, step by step?

1. Search for your practice on Google Maps first. If a listing already exists, choose “Claim this business” rather than creating a duplicate.
2. If it does not exist, go to business.google.com/add and enter your business name.
3. Choose your primary category (see the next section) and enter your address, or hide it and set a service area.
4. Add your phone number and your website. Use a phone number and page that belong to your practice.
5. Choose a verification option and complete it. Google says verification is what makes your profile visible on Search and Maps.
6. Once verified, add your hours, services, a short description, photos and your booking or contact link.

Adding or claiming a profile is free, according to Google’s verification help page. If someone else already owns a verified listing for your practice, you request ownership from them instead of claiming it.

Which categories and name should a therapist use?

Google’s rule for categories is to choose the fewest that describe your core business, as specifically as you can, and to pick ones that finish the sentence “This business IS a…”, not “This business HAS a…”. For most practices that means one primary category that matches your license or practice type, plus a small number of secondary ones. Do not use categories as keywords.

For your name, use the real-world name that appears on your website and paperwork. Google says unnecessary information in the name is not permitted and can lead to suspension. That means no “Anxiety Therapy Chicago” tacked on to “Jane Smith, LMFT”. If your practice name is already on your website and signage, use exactly that.

What should you add to make the profile complete?

• Services: list the issues and approaches you actually offer, in plain language.
• Description: who you help and where. Google does not allow links, promotions, prices or sales offers in the description.
• Photos: your office, the entrance, the waiting area. Skip stock images of people. Clients want to know what the space looks like.
• Website link: point to the page that matches the profile, such as your home page for a solo practice or the location page for a group practice.
• Hours: your real hours. Google notes that appointment-only businesses should not list hours in some cases, so check the guideline for your type of business.

How should therapists handle Google reviews?

Reviews affect prominence, and Google suggests responding to them. For therapists there is an extra layer: ethics codes. The APA Ethics Code, for example, tells psychologists not to solicit testimonials from current clients or others vulnerable to undue influence, and other professions have similar rules. Read your own code and your state board’s guidance before you ask anyone for a review.

If a review does appear, you can reply, but you must not confirm that the person is a client. Even a thank-you can reveal that someone received treatment. A safe reply is general, like “Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re always happy to talk about how we can help.” Check the HHS guidance on HIPAA privacy rules if you are unsure.

How does your website help your Google Business Profile?

Your profile and your website back each other up. The profile gets you onto the map. The website is where the person decides to book. A few things to line up:

• Use the same practice name, address and phone number on your profile, your website footer and your contact page.
• Make sure the page you link to loads fast on a phone and has a clear way to book.
• Build a page for each office location and each service. Our SEO for therapists service covers this, and our beginner’s SEO guide explains the basics.
• Get linked from real places: your state association, a professional directory, local organizations.

If you are a group practice with several offices, each office gets its own profile and its own page. See real group and solo practice sites in our portfolio.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Creating a second profile for a practice that already has one.
• Stuffing keywords into the business name.
• Using a virtual office or P.O. box as your address.
• Leaving the profile unverified, which keeps it out of Search and Maps.
• Letting the phone number or address on the profile drift from the website.
• Replying to a review in a way that confirms someone is your client.

Frequently asked questions

Want a website built to turn those map views into booked consults? I’d like to explore my options, or see our pricing first.

About the author: Alex Sandev is the Founder of HiveSourced, a Chicago-based agency that has built 100+ websites for therapy practices since 2023. More about HiveSourced.