Google Business Profile for Therapists: The 30-Minute Setup That Gets You on the Map

When someone searches "therapist near me" or "counselor in [city]," Google shows three businesses on a map before it shows anything else. Those three get most of the clicks. The listing that puts you there is your Google Business Profile, it is free, and the setup takes about thirty minutes if you do it in the right order.

This guide is for therapists, counselors, psychologists and psychiatry practices specifically, because the review rules and the telehealth question are different for clinicians than for a plumber.

Step 1: Claim or create the profile (5 minutes)

Go to business.google.com and search for your practice name. If a profile already exists (Google often creates them from other data), claim it. If not, create one.

Use the name on your license and your door. "Jane Rivera, LMHC" or "Lakeside Counseling" — not "Lakeside Counseling | Anxiety Therapy Orlando." Stuffing keywords into the name violates Google's rules and can get the profile suspended.

Verification usually happens by video call or a postcard to the address. Do it promptly; unverified profiles do not rank.

Step 2: Choose categories carefully (2 minutes)

The primary category is the single most important setting on the profile. Pick the one that matches what a client would call you:

• Psychotherapist — the broadest fit for most therapists and counselors
• Counselor or Mental health service
• Psychologist — if you are one
• Psychiatrist — for psychiatry practices
• Mental health clinic — for group practices
• Marriage or relationship counselor, Child psychologist, Family counselor — if that is your focus

Add two to four secondary categories for the rest. Do not add categories for things you do not do.

Step 3: Address, service area and telehealth (5 minutes)

If you see clients at a physical office, list the address. If you share a suite, that is fine; use the suite number.

If you are telehealth-only, do not list a home address. Set the profile to a service-area business and define the areas you serve (the state you are licensed in, or specific cities). Google allows this, and it is far better than a fake office address, which is a suspension risk.

If you do both, list the office and add service areas for telehealth.

Step 4: Fill in everything (10 minutes)

Google ranks complete profiles above incomplete ones, and clients trust them more.

• Hours. Real hours, including which days you offer evening or weekend sessions. Mark holidays.
• Phone. The number a client should call. If you use call tracking, this is a good place for a tracking number that forwards to your main line.
• Website. Your own site, not a directory profile. Google treats a profile that links to a real website as more credible, and it is where the client goes next.
• Appointment link. Your booking page or contact page. This adds a "Book" button to the profile.
• Services. Add each service you want clients for: individual therapy, couples counseling, EMDR, medication management, ADHD evaluation. Give each a one-line description. These help you show up for specific searches.
• Description. 750 characters. Who you help, what you specialize in, how to start. Plain language, no keyword lists.
• Attributes. Online appointments, wheelchair accessible, LGBTQ+ friendly, and the identity attributes you choose to share.

Step 5: Photos (5 minutes)

Profiles with photos get significantly more calls and direction requests than profiles without. Add:

• Your office exterior and the entrance (clients get anxious about finding the door)
• The waiting room and your office
• A professional photo of you
• Your logo

Skip stock photos of people holding hands on a beach. Google and clients can tell. Add a new photo every month or two so the profile looks alive.

Step 6: Reviews, and the rules for clinicians (ongoing)

Reviews are the biggest factor in prominence, and this is where therapists have to be careful.

What you can do: Let clients know that reviews exist, in a neutral way (a line on your intake paperwork or website: "If you would like to share your experience, reviews on Google help others find care"). Ask colleagues, supervisees, consultants and referral partners who have worked with you professionally to leave honest reviews about that experience. Accept reviews clients leave on their own.

What you should not do: Directly solicit testimonials from current clients in a way your licensing board would consider coercive (most boards address this; check yours). Offer anything in exchange for a review. Respond to a review in a way that confirms someone is or was a client.

How to respond: Reply to every review, briefly and generically. "Thank you for taking the time to share this" is enough. For a negative review, do not confirm a treatment relationship, do not argue, do not share anything. "We take all feedback seriously and are happy to discuss any concerns by phone" and nothing else.

A therapy practice does not need a hundred reviews. Ten to twenty honest ones with a high average will outrank most competitors in a suburb.

Step 7: Keep it active (5 minutes a month)

• Posts. A short post every month or two: a new service, expanded hours, a new clinician, a seasonal note about getting help. This is a cheap signal that the practice is real and active.
• Q&A. People can ask questions on your profile; anyone can answer. Seed it yourself with the three questions you get most (Do you take insurance? Do you offer telehealth? How do I schedule?) and answer them.
• Check for changes. Google lets users suggest edits, and it sometimes accepts them. Look at the profile every month to make sure hours, phone and categories are still right.

Make everything match

Your practice name, address and phone number must be identical on your Business Profile, your website, Psychology Today, your insurance panel listings, and anywhere else you appear. Small differences ("Suite 200" vs "#200", an old phone number on a directory) confuse Google's matching and hold back rankings. Spend twenty minutes once to align them.

The website behind the profile

The Business Profile gets you into the map pack. The website is what convinces the client and what Google checks to confirm you are what you say you are. A profile that links to a one-page site with no services listed will rank below one that links to a real site with a page for each service. If your site needs work, our guides on getting more therapy clients and what a therapist website should cost cover what to build.

If you want to see how your profile and site look to Google together, run a free scan.