Google Business Profile Checklist for Apartment Communities
An apartment Google Business Profile should represent the staffed leasing office, use one specific primary category, and carry accurate hours, attributes, photos and posts that someone checks every week. Most of the problems I find on apartment profiles are not ranking secrets. They are wrong facts, an old photo set, or a profile nobody owns.
This is the checklist we work from. Google changes the product often, so treat it as a starting point and confirm each item in your own dashboard.
Is an apartment community eligible for a Google Business Profile?
Yes, through its leasing office. Google lists rental and for sale properties, including vacant apartments, as ineligible, but says sales or leasing offices are eligible for verification. The profile represents the office where renters meet your team, not the units.
Google's business eligibility and ownership guidelines also say a business must make in person contact with customers during its stated hours. In practice, the hours on your profile should be the hours someone is actually in the leasing office. If you have moved to self guided tours, or one office now serves several communities, review that before you change anything, because it affects what the profile can honestly claim.
Do not create separate profiles for floor plans, amenities or individual buildings. If you find duplicates, which often happens after a rebrand or a management change, sort those out before anything else on this list.
What should the business name be?
The name renters see on your signage, website and lease, and nothing else. Google says the name should reflect your real world name as used consistently on your storefront and website, and that adding unnecessary information to the name is not permitted and can lead to suspension.
That rule is in Google's guidelines for representing your business. For apartments, the usual temptations are adding "Luxury Apartments," a neighborhood, or a move in special to the name. Put those in your description, posts and website instead.
Which category should an apartment community use?
Pick one primary category that describes the community as a whole, and be specific. For most conventional communities that is Apartment complex. Add only the few additional categories that describe real parts of the business, not every amenity.
Google's category help page says to use as few categories as possible to describe your core business and not to add a category for every product or service. It also says all locations of a business must share the same primary category, which matters if you manage a portfolio under one brand. A fitness center or dog park is an amenity. It belongs in your photos and description, not your categories.
What belongs on the checklist?
Every field below needs a name next to it. The owner column is a suggestion, and the right answer depends on how your team is set up.
| Item | What to check | Usual owner |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Matches signage and lease documents, with no keywords or specials added | Marketing |
| Address and pin | Pin sits at the leasing office entrance, not the middle of the property | Marketing |
| Hours | Regular office hours, plus holiday and special hours | Community manager |
| Phone and website | Phone reaches the office or the tracking line you intend; website link goes to the community page, not a corporate home page | Marketing |
| Categories | One specific primary, few additional | Marketing |
| Attributes | Factual attributes set and still true | Community manager |
| Description | Plain facts renters ask about, with no prices that will go stale | Marketing |
| Photos | Current exterior, office, amenities and units, with nothing from a past name | Marketing with onsite help |
| Posts | Recent and accurate, with no expired specials still visible | Marketing |
| Reviews | Every review answered, reported reviews tracked | Community manager |
| Access | Primary owner is the owner or management company, not a former employee's personal account | Regional or marketing lead |
What should you do with attributes?
Set every factual attribute that applies and recheck them when something changes. Google lets owners edit some attributes directly, while others are filled in from what visitors tell Google, so you will not control all of them.
Google's attributes help page says the attributes available depend on country, region and category, and that a review of edits usually takes about 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days. Accessibility details are the ones I check first, because a wrong answer there costs a renter a wasted trip.
What makes a good set of photos?
Current, real and well lit. Google accepts JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, recommends 720 by 720 pixels, and asks that photos be in focus, well lit and free of significant alterations, heavy filters or AI changes, so they represent reality.
Those specifications are on Google's photos and videos help page. Beyond the specs, I look for coverage. A renter should be able to see the building from the street, the leasing office entrance, the main amenity, a real or model unit, and where to park for a tour. Remove photos that show a previous name or the property before a renovation.
What happened to Questions and Answers?
Treat Q&A as something you can no longer manage. Google discontinued its Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and the public Q&A section has been disappearing from profiles since. Check whether yours still shows it, and move those answers to pages you control.
Google's Q&A API change log confirms the API can no longer be used to read or post questions and answers. I have not seen Google publish a full timeline for the public section, so I would not build a process around it. The questions renters asked there, about pets, parking, fees and specials, still need clear answers in your description, posts and website. Our post on Google Business Profile and AI search covers why those answers matter beyond the profile.
Are Google Business Profile posts worth the time?
Yes, if they stay accurate. Posts let you share updates, offers and events on Search and Maps, and Google reviews each one against its content policy before it shows.
Google's posts help page covers post types, scheduling and archiving. My rule for apartments is simple: never leave an expired special visible, and never post a price the leasing team cannot honor on the day a renter calls. One clear, true post beats four generic ones.
How do reviews fit the checklist?
Answer every review and keep a list of any you report. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can improve local ranking, and that local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence.
That comes from Google's page on how to improve local ranking. For the replies themselves, see how to respond to apartment reviews. For how the profile performs across your trade area, see how operators win in Google Maps. This checklist is part of what we run every week in LocalLift, our Google, Maps and AI visibility program for apartment communities.
Questions we hear
Can each building or floor plan have its own Google Business Profile?
Usually not. The eligible business is the staffed leasing office. Google lists rental properties, including vacant apartments, as ineligible on their own, so buildings, floor plans and amenities belong inside one community profile.
Can we put our special or "luxury apartments" in the business name?
No. Google says the name should match your real world name and that adding unnecessary information can lead to suspension. Put specials in posts and your description instead.
What primary category should an apartment community use?
For most conventional communities, Apartment complex. Google says to choose a specific primary category that describes the business as a whole and to use as few categories as possible.
Can we still answer questions on our profile?
Google discontinued the Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and the public Q&A section has been phasing out. Check your own profile, and put answers about pets, parking and fees on pages you control.
How often should someone check the profile?
We check weekly. Hours, photos, posts and reviews change often enough that a monthly look can leave a wrong fact live for weeks.
Not sure who owns your profile today? Request a free visibility plan and we will walk through this checklist with your team.
