Google Business Profile Description Rules for BC Contractors: What You Can and Can't Say Now

As of October 2026, a Google Business Profile description for contractors in BC cannot include prices, time-limited deals or a direct call to action like "call now for a free estimate." Google rewrote the advertising section of its Maps content policy on October 6, and the new "For merchants" rule applies to the listing itself: the description, the services fields and the other profile text a homeowner in Chilliwack or Surrey reads on Maps. Offers are still allowed, but only in Google Posts. For most roofing, HVAC and plumbing companies in the Fraser Valley, that means the description needs a rewrite this month.

TL;DR

• Google's updated policy bars time-bound promotions, pricing and direct calls to action from the listing itself.

• Posts are the exception. Offers and updates are allowed there, but no phone numbers, email addresses or social media links inside a post.

• A description that reads like an ad is now a policy problem, and policy problems are what Google uses when it rejects edits or suspends a profile.

• Write the description as a plain statement of what you do, where you work in BC and how long you have done it.

• Put your fall special in an Offer post with an end date, not in the description.

What Google changed in the listing policy this week

Google's Maps content policy has a section called "Advertising and solicitation." On October 6, 2026, Google added a merchant-specific rule to it, spotted by local search consultant Hiroko Imai and reported by Search Engine Roundtable. The new wording splits your profile into two zones.

The listing. Promotional or commercial content with time-bound promotions, pricing, or direct calls to action is prohibited. That covers the business description, the services list and any other text that describes the business.

Posts. Offers and updates "that may be seen as promotional or commercial content are otherwise permitted in posts." What a post may not contain is an email address, a phone number, a social media link, or a link to an unrelated website.

Google's reasoning is in the first line of the section: contributions to Maps should "reflect genuine experiences or define a business's permanent identity." The listing is meant to say who you are. The post is where you say what you are offering this month.

Why "call now for a free estimate" costs Fraser Valley contractors more than it earns

Read the description on your own profile. If it opens with "Call today," promises "the best prices in Abbotsford," or mentions a seasonal discount, every one of those lines is now flagged content.

• Edits get rejected. Update a profile with text that breaks the content policy and Google can refuse the change, often without a clear reason.

• Violations stack. Google rarely suspends a profile over one line of copy. It suspends profiles that keep tripping its policies, so a promotional description is one more mark against you when something else goes wrong, like a review spike or a keyword-stuffed business name.

• It was never doing the job you thought. Homeowners comparing three excavation companies in Mission are not won over by "call now." They want to know what you do, see that you work where they live, and read your reviews.

A painter in Langley, an electrician in Maple Ridge, a concrete contractor in Abbotsford: the listing should read like a plain, confident statement of fact, not a flyer.

How to write a Google Business Profile description that works in BC

You get 750 characters. Use them to answer the three questions a homeowner has before they call: what do you do, where do you work, and can I trust you.

A simple structure

1. What you do, in trade terms. "Residential and light commercial roofing, including re-roofs, repairs and metal roofing."

2. Where you work, in real sentences. "Based in Chilliwack, serving the Fraser Valley from Abbotsford out to Hope." This is the line that helps you match searches like "roofer near me" from someone in Agassiz.

3. How long and who. "Family-run since 2009, owner on every job."

4. What makes the work different, stated plainly. Licensed, insured, WorkSafeBC coverage, written warranties, cleanup included. Facts, not adjectives.

What to leave out

• Dollar figures of any kind

• "Free estimate," "free quote," "call now," "book today," "contact us"

• Any deal with a date attached, or words like "this fall" or "limited time"

• Superlatives you cannot prove ("number one," "best in BC")

• Keywords stacked in a list

Fix the services fields too

Many contractors added services like "Furnace tune-up $89" or "Spring gutter cleaning special." The service name should be the service: "Furnace tune-up." The description under it can explain what is included. Pricing belongs on your website and in your quote.

Where your offers go now: Google Posts

Posts are the part of a Google Business Profile almost nobody in the trades uses, and Google just made them the only sanctioned place for a promotion.

• Use the Offer post type for anything with a price or a discount, with a start date and an end date so it disappears on its own.

• Use Update posts for finished jobs and new services. A photo of a heat pump install in Sardis with two sentences about the job does more than any slogan.

• Keep contact details out of the post body. No phone number, no email, no Instagram link. The call and website buttons are already on your profile.

• Post about once a week. Posts age off the visible profile, so a steady drip beats a burst.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put my prices in my Google Business Profile in BC?

No. As of October 2026, Google's content policy prohibits pricing in the listing itself, including the description and services fields. Put prices in an Offer post with an end date, or on your website.

Is "free estimate" allowed in a Google Business Profile description?

Not as a call to action. Phrases like "call now for a free estimate" are direct calls to action, which the updated policy bars from the listing. You can describe the way you work ("we quote every job in writing") without telling the reader to call.

Does my description help me show up for "roofer near me" in Chilliwack?

The description is a small factor compared to your primary category, your reviews and your proximity to the searcher. It still helps when it states your services and your service area in plain language, because it gives Google clear text to match against what a homeowner in Chilliwack or Abbotsford typed.

What should Fraser Valley contractors post instead of putting offers in the description?

Use Offer posts for discounts and seasonal pricing, with a start and end date. Use Update posts to show completed jobs in the towns you serve. Both are allowed under the new policy as long as the post does not contain contact details or links to unrelated sites.

The bottom line

Your Google listing is the storefront. Your posts are the sign in the window. Google just wrote that distinction into policy.

Rewrite the description so it says what you do, where in BC you do it, and why a homeowner can trust you. Move the deal to a post with a date on it. Then make sure your website says the same things in more detail, because that is where Google and the homeowner go next. Built Tough builds contractor websites and local listings that tell the same clear story everywhere a customer looks. Marketing that works as hard as you do.