Google Clarifies What Businesses Can—and Can’t—Post on Their Business Profiles

What Google changed

Permanent listing content and GBP Posts now have clearer, separate rules.Google's official Google Business Profile content policy is the authoritative source here. It now separates two types of content: information placed directly in your business listing, and content you publish as a Google Business Profile Post.

The update was documented by Search Engine Roundtable in an article published October 6, 2026. Google has clarified its published policy. It has not announced a new ranking algorithm, and it hasn't explained exactly how the wording will be enforced.

What is prohibited in the business listing

For merchants, Google's policy says the listing itself should not include promotional or commercial content containing:

•  Time-limited promotions•  Pricing•  Direct calls to action

Think of the listing as your business's permanent record: your description, services and other lasting details. Google wants that information to be accurate and informative, not written like an ad.

What businesses can still publish in GBP Posts

Posts work differently. Google specifically says offers and updates containing promotional or commercial content are permitted in Posts. That means you can still announce a seasonal special, share a discount or invite people to book.

There are a few things Google doesn't allow inside Posts:

•  Email addresses•  Phone numbers•  Social-media links•  Links to websites unrelated to the business

Your phone number and website already appear on your profile, so customers can still reach you. The Post just shouldn't repeat that contact information in its text.

Examples of content that may now create a problem

Be cautious about putting language like this into your business description, service descriptions or other free-text listing fields:

•  "Call today"•  "Book now before this offer ends"•  "Starting at $99"•  "20% off this week"•  "Contact us now for a free quote"

Those phrases aren't wrong. They're just in the wrong place. A temporary deal or discount fits naturally in a GBP Post or Google's designated Offer format, where it can run for a set time and then expire.

Google hasn't confirmed that every description with a price or a call to action will be removed. The wording is broad, so the safest approach is to keep permanent fields factual and move promotional wording into Posts.

What business owners should review

A quick review of your profile is a sensible next step. Look at:

•  Your business description: does it describe what you do, where you work and who you serve, without sales slogans?•  Service descriptions: are they explaining the service, or advertising a deal?•  Any other free-text fields: remove countdown language, limited-time discounts and "call now" phrasing.•  Your recent Posts: make sure they don't include phone numbers, email addresses or social links in the text.

One important note: don't automatically delete prices you've entered through Google's own pricing fields just because of this update. Those fields are designed to display pricing. The clearest concern is promotional language inserted into ordinary listing text.

If you're tidying up your profile anyway, our GBP optimization checklist and our guide to the most common Google Business Profile mistakes are good companions. It's also worth watching for suggested edits that may have a four-day deadline.

What Nearby Calls is doing for clients

We're reviewing the permanent profile content we manage for clients, including business descriptions and service information, to keep it accurate, useful and aligned with Google's policies.

We'll keep using GBP Posts for timely offers, updates and calls to action, because Posts remain the right place for that kind of content. For our clients, very little changes day to day. The promotional message stays; it just lives where Google wants it.

If you'd like help keeping your profile clean and active, you can learn more about Nearby Calls.

The bottom line

Google isn't stopping businesses from promoting themselves. It's asking them to keep permanent listing content factual and to put offers and calls to action in Posts. A few minutes reviewing your description and services now can help keep your profile in line with the policy. New to profiles? Start with what a Google Business Profile is.

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