The Google Business Profile for professional firms: set it up, maintain it, reply to reviews properly

Why the profile matters for professional firms

Anyone searching for “family lawyer near me”, “Steuerberater Wien 22” (tax adviser in Vienna's 22nd district) or “Notar Graz” first sees a map with three entries, and only below it the websites. Whether your firm appears there depends mainly on three things: how well the profile matches the search, how close the firm is and how well known it is. The profile is free, and for many sole practitioners it brings in more first contacts than any ad.

There is a second effect: someone who has heard your name from a colleague or acquaintance searches for it on Google to find your phone number and address. An incomplete profile with wrong opening hours or a photo of the building's back wall costs trust at exactly that moment.

Setting up the profile

The right category

The primary category has a big influence on which searches you appear in. Google does not publish a complete list; what counts is what the profile editor suggests as you type, in the language of your interface. The following categories (shown here with their German names, as used in German-language accounts) are common, but check before saving whether they exist in exactly this form in your account.

One firm, several people

Google allows independent practitioners, expressly including lawyers, to have their own profile in addition to the firm's profile. Employees do not get one. If you work alone and trade under a firm name, you should run a single profile in the format “Firm name: first name and surname” instead of two separate ones. Several profiles for different areas of law at the same address are not allowed.

Shared offices are where it gets tricky. If three self-employed lawyers share premises, each runs their own profile under their own name. A joint profile named “Rechtsanwälte am Ring” (lawyers on the Ring) would suggest a partnership that does not exist. In Austria, advertising must be true (§ 47 RL-BA 2015), so such a name would be risky at the very least; in Germany, § 8 BORA prohibits creating the appearance of joint practice.

Asking for reviews: what is allowed

Google allows you to ask customers for a review, by link or QR code. Prohibited are incentives such as discounts or vouchers, asking only satisfied clients (review gating) and pressure on the spot. Bought or self-written reviews are not permitted under Google's rules or under unfair competition law in either country. Professional rules apply on top:

• Lawyers, tax advisers, auditors: a neutral request after the matter has closed is common. Rewards for reviews or recommendations are off limits; commissions for referring clients are prohibited in both countries anyway.
• Bookkeepers and mediators: the general rules apply. In mediation, ask both parties equally or neither, so as not to call your neutrality into question.
• Notaries in Germany: under the Bundesnotarkammer's (Federal Chamber of Notaries) rules, notaries must not encourage the parties to leave positive reviews. Reviews that arise of their own accord must be accepted.
• Notaries in Austria: promotional self-aggrandisement is prohibited. Actively soliciting reviews is therefore risky at the very least; if in doubt, check with your chamber.

Replying without breaching confidentiality

This is where professional firms differ most from other sectors. A restaurant can write: “Sorry you didn't enjoy the schnitzel.” A law or tax firm may not even confirm that someone was a client. A reply such as “We handled your divorce with great commitment” already reveals a mandate and its content. The duty of confidentiality under § 9 RAO, § 80 WTBG 2017, § 43a Abs. 2 BRAO or § 57 StBerG does not stop at Google.

Firms that act against the other side are hit particularly often: the review then comes from the opposing party, who was never a client. Check whether the review breaches Google's guidelines, for example through insults, false facts or personal data, and if so report it via the profile; Google removes content that breaches its guidelines. Here too, a public reply should reveal nothing about the case. For wording that works for both positive and critical reviews, try the review reply generator.

Photos, posts and services

Photos show what text cannot: what the entrance looks like, how the meeting room feels, who will greet you. Upload a photo of the facade and entrance, two or three images of the premises and team photos, the latter only with the consent of the people shown. Make sure that no files, screens or labels on folders are legible in any image.

Posts on the profile let you point out news: changed opening hours over the holidays, a new colleague, a talk on inheritance law. Keep them factual. Under “Services” you can list your fields of activity. Use the same terms as on your website, so that Google connects the two.

Questions and answers: now via your website

Users used to be able to ask public questions on the profile, which the firm or strangers answered. Since the end of 2025, Google has been gradually phasing out this section and relying instead on AI answers drawn from the profile, website and reviews, which are not yet available in every country. For you, this means: answers to typical questions, such as whether evening appointments are available, whether you advise in English or what the initial consultation costs, belong on your website where they are easy to find. What is stated clearly there, Google can reproduce correctly. You can test how assistants describe your firm with the AI preview.

Showing reviews on your own website

Many firms also want to show their Google reviews on their website. Google's interface allows you to embed the average, the number and up to five individual reviews. Under unfair competition law, anyone who makes reviews available must state whether and how it is checked that they come from real customers: in Austria under § 2 Abs. 6b UWG, in Germany under § 5b Abs. 3 UWG. A short note below the widget is enough, for example that the reviews are taken unfiltered from Google and the firm cannot check them.

There are two limits you should know about. Google does not show stars in search results for reviews that a business marks up about itself on its own website. And for notaries, presenting reviews on their own site is problematic as evaluative self-presentation. More on this in the guides to advertising law, for example for notaries in Germany or tax advisers in Austria.

The profile is one building block of local visibility. How website, directories and structured data work together is described in the guide to local SEO for professional firms, and which content belongs on the website in the article Content for a firm website.