Quality business titles for your listing

Since we rolled out the most recent set of Local Business Center Quality Guidelines, we've seen a number of questions about which business titles are appropriate, and which are not. I hope this post will help clarify some of the confusion.

Our current guidelines state: "Represent your business exactly as it appears in the offline world. The name on Google Maps should match the business name."

A recent post from Mike Blumenthal polled a number of different amalgamations of one business title, with the following results:

A. "Jones Brothers - Dallas Plumbing and Heating" unofficial name with tag line on web & literature
B. "Jones Brothers" official name
C. "Jones Brothers - Plumbing and Heating" unofficial name on website & literature
D. "Jones Brothers - Plumbing and Heating" has a DBA or fictitious name filing
E. "Jones Brothers - Dallas Plumbing & Heating - Air conditioning, Emergency Repairs, Hot Water Heaters" unofficial name with tag line on web & literature

Of all the above choices, the ONLY acceptable one is the one labeled official name (Jones Brothers).

You could, of course change the title of your business, as we've known a couple business owners to do. You could officially become "Jones Brothers - Dallas Plumbing and Heating." If another user flags your listings for violating our guidelines however, we should be able to verify this name change.

So where should the words "Plumbing and Heating" go? You should add them as a category.

Thanks,
Maps Guide Jen