Merchants who manage a Google Business Profile now have a clearer line on what counts as advertising inside their listing and posts. The updated Google Maps and Business Prohibited & Restricted Content policy expands the advertising and solicitation section and adds a dedicated “For merchants” section that names exactly what cannot be posted in each surface.
What the updated policy says
The advertising and solicitation section now frames merchant contributions this way: contributions to Google Maps should reflect genuine experiences or define a business’s permanent identity. The stated aim is to help users discover listings and to keep the platform reliable rather than a marketplace. Because of that framing, content posted for advertising or solicitation purposes is not allowed.
What merchants cannot post in the listing
The new “For merchants” section spells out that promotional or commercial content is not allowed in the listing itself when it contains any of the following:
- Time-bound promotions
- Pricing
- Direct calls-to-action
The intent is to keep a business profile a description of the business rather than a rotating offers board. Permanent identity information such as hours, services, and location details stays in scope; short-window deals, price lists, and buy-now prompts do not.
What merchants cannot post in posts
The same section limits what can appear inside Google Business Profile posts. Posts cannot include:
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Social media links
- Links to other websites that are not related to the business
Offers and updates that may be seen as promotional or commercial content are otherwise still permitted in posts, so businesses are not barred from posting. The change narrows the contact and off-platform linking that a post can carry.
Why the policy was expanded
The reframing pushes merchant content toward describing the business and away from turning the listing into an advertising channel. By separating the listing from the posts surface, the policy keeps the listing as a stable reference for the business and leaves posts as the place for time-sensitive updates that do not try to route the customer off Google.
How merchants can stay compliant
Three practical checks line up with the new wording. First, scan the listing for any time-bound promotion, a price, or a direct call-to-action and remove it. Second, review recent posts for off-platform contact details such as an email address, a phone number, a social handle, or an unrelated link, and edit those out. Third, keep offers and updates inside posts as plain text without layering on a sales pitch.
For businesses that want a quick read on how their own profile is shaping up in Maps, a tool like BizScoreAI can show how the listing looks to AI search and surface inconsistencies that might confuse either users or AI engines.
FAQ
What did Google change in the Maps and Business Profiles prohibited content policy?
Google expanded the advertising and solicitation section and added a “For merchants” subsection that names what cannot be posted in the listing and what cannot be posted in posts.
What is no longer allowed in a Google Business Profile listing?
Promotional or commercial content that includes time-bound promotions, pricing, or direct calls-to-action is no longer allowed in the listing.
What is no longer allowed in Google Business Profile posts?
Posts cannot include email addresses, phone numbers, social media links, or links to other websites that are not related to the business. Offers and updates that may be seen as promotional or commercial content are otherwise permitted in posts.
BizScoreAI
BizScoreAI’s free listing check scores how visible a business is to AI search and shows what its listing looks like to the engines people ask. Open the free listing check.
This article summarizes reporting from seroundtable.com.