Google Business Profile description for dentists: what to write
Your Google Business Profile description is 750 characters that patients read while deciding between you and the practice down the road. Here is what Google allows, what to put in it, and a template to fill in.
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Your Google Business Profile description is the short block of text Google shows under "From the business" on your profile. For a dental practice it is one of the few places on Google where you choose every word, and patients comparing practices on Maps do read it. This guide covers Google's rules for the description, what a dental practice should put in it, a template you can fill in, and why descriptions get rejected.
What is the Google Business Profile description?
It is a plain-text summary of your practice that appears in the "From the business" section of your Business Profile on Google Search and Maps. Google's help page on editing your Business Profile says to enter a brief description of your business and not to exceed 750 characters. Google reviews changes before they go live. Its page on managing your description says changes usually take about 10 minutes to show, and in some cases up to 30 days.
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Google's rules for the description
Google's guidelines for representing your business say the description should provide useful information on the services and products you offer, and the mission and history of your business, and that you should be upfront and honest and focus on what is relevant and useful to customers. The description must not:
- display low-quality, irrelevant or distracting content, such as misspellings, gimmicky use of characters or gibberish
- focus on special promotions, prices or sales
- display links of any kind
That rules out three things practices often try: a welcome offer, a price list and a link to the booking page. Put offers in posts, prices on your website and the booking link in the profile's own website and appointment fields.
Does the description help you rank on Google Maps?
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and its page on improving your local ranking says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local search results. A good description is part of a complete profile.
Google does not say that the words in the description are a ranking factor in their own right, so do not write it for an algorithm. Write it for the patient deciding whether to call you. Stuffing it with "dentist [town]" repeated five times reads badly and falls under Google's own warning about low-quality content. Your categories, services, reviews and website do far more for local ranking than the description does.
What to include in a dental practice description
A strong description answers the questions a new patient has before they pick up the phone. In rough order of usefulness:
- Who you are and where. Practice name, the town or area you serve, and how long you have been there if it is a long time.
- NHS, private or mixed. The GDC's guidance on advertising says practice publicity must make clear whether a practice is NHS, mixed or wholly private, and it is the first thing many patients want to know. If you are not taking new NHS patients, say what you do offer.
- What you treat. General dentistry plus the treatments you most want to be known for. Name them plainly.
- Who you suit. Families, children, nervous patients, but only where it is true and you can describe what you actually do for them.
- Practical access. Parking, step-free access, ground-floor surgeries, languages spoken, evening or weekend opening.
- Urgent care. Whether you see emergencies, and for whom.
- How to book. Phone or online, without a link.
What to leave out
- Prices, offers and discounts, which Google's guidelines exclude.
- Links, including written-out web addresses.
- Claims you could not prove, such as "pain-free", "the best in the county" or "guaranteed results". The CAP Code requires evidence for objective claims, and the GDC requires advertising to be accurate and not misleading.
- "Specialist" or titles such as Orthodontist for anyone not on a GDC specialist list.
- Emoji, capital letters for emphasis and strings of symbols.
Google Business Profile description template for dentists
Fill in the brackets, delete what does not apply, and keep the result under 750 characters including spaces.
[Practice name] is a [NHS / mixed NHS and private / private] dental practice in [town or area], caring for patients since [year]. We offer [general dentistry, hygiene and the main treatments you provide], and we welcome [families / children / nervous patients] with [what you actually do, such as longer first appointments]. [Accepting new NHS patients / Accepting new private patients / Not currently taking new NHS patients, private and plan places available]. The practice has [parking / step-free access / ground-floor surgeries] and our team speaks [languages]. We see [emergency patients, including those not registered with us / registered patients with urgent problems] on [days or times]. Call us on [number] or book online.
The template is a structure, not wording to copy. Two practices using the same sentences will read like two practices using the same template. Change the order, use your own voice, and lead with whatever genuinely sets you apart.
How to check the length
Paste your draft into any word processor with a character count before you submit it. Use most of the 750 characters. A description of two short sentences is usually leaving out something a patient would want to know.
Google Business Profile description examples: weak and better
Rather than copy a sample, compare the kind of sentence that fails with the kind that works:
| Weak | Why it fails | Better |
|---|---|---|
| "The best dentist in [town] for pain-free treatment." | Unprovable claims, which the CAP Code and GDC both catch. | "We offer longer appointments and sedation referrals for anxious patients." |
| "New patient exam only £[price] this month." | Google's guidelines exclude prices and offers. | "We are accepting new private patients and have plan places available." |
| "Book now at [web address]." | No links of any kind are allowed. | "Call us or book online through our profile." |
| "Dentist [town], emergency dentist [town], cheap dentist [town]." | Keyword repetition reads as low quality. | "We see registered patients with urgent problems the same day where we can." |
Each "better" sentence only works if it is true for your practice. Swap in what you actually do.
Should you use Google's AI description generator?
Google offers an optional feature that writes a description for you based on your profile and website. On the description help page, Google says you can click "Suggest description" to generate options, "Try again" for alternatives and "Use" to accept one, and it advises that the feature writes creative text that you should review for accuracy and update as needed. Google also says the feature has regional and language limitations.
For a dental practice, treat any generated description as a first draft. Check every claim against what you actually offer, remove anything that implies specialist status or promises an outcome, and add NHS or private status if it is missing. You are responsible for the words, whoever drafted them.
How to add or edit your description
Google's steps, from its help page:
- Go to your Business Profile.
- Click Edit profile.
- Next to "Description", click Edit.
- Enter your business description.
- Click Save.
If several people manage the profile, agree who owns the wording. Descriptions often drift when a well-meaning team member adds an offer that Google then rejects.
Why is my Google Business Profile description not showing?
The usual reasons are:
- It is still in review. Google says changes usually show in about 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days.
- It breaks the guidelines. A link, a web address, a price or an offer is the most likely cause. Remove it and resubmit.
- It reads as low quality. Repeated keywords, unusual characters or all-capitals text fall under Google's warning about gimmicky or distracting content.
Beyond the description
The description is the easiest part of your profile to get right and one of the least powerful. Once it is done, the work that moves your position in the map is elsewhere: the right primary category, a complete services list, accurate hours, photos and, above all, reviews. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Our guide to working out your practice's review target shows how many your town actually requires, and our guide to rank grids explains how to see where in your catchment you appear.
Watch the map pack in your town
Practice Radar re-checks your map pack positions every week, and on Growth keeps your listings on 30 UK and dental directories in step with Google, Facebook, Bing and Apple Maps.
Run on our own practice first: ninth of the 14 practices measured in its town in May, first of 18 in September, on UK-wide search value. Page-one keywords: 6 in May, 194 in September.
Thirty days free. No card, and nothing starts automatically when it ends.