Google Business Profile Attributes: The Small Checkboxes That Change Who Finds You

Attributes are the small checkboxes buried in your Google Business Profile editor — “wheelchair accessible entrance,” “women-led,” “outdoor seating,” “free Wi-Fi” — and most owners never touch them after setup. That’s a missed opportunity, because Google increasingly uses attributes to match businesses to specific, filtered searches: “wheelchair accessible restaurant near me” or “women-owned business Cape Town” pulls directly from these fields, not from your general description.

Why attributes matter more than they look like they should

Search is getting more specific. People filter Google Maps results by amenity, ownership, and accessibility more than they used to, especially on mobile. If those checkboxes sit unfilled, you’re invisible to every one of those filtered searches, even if you’d genuinely qualify.

Which attributes are worth prioritising

Accessibility attributes (wheelchair access, accessible parking, accessible restroom) carry real weight for a growing share of local searches. Identity attributes (women-led, LGBTQ+ friendly, Black-owned) matter to a specific and often loyal customer base actively searching for them. Service attributes — delivery, outdoor seating, free parking — answer the exact practical question a searcher has before they even click through to your website.

How to update yours

Open your Google Business Profile, go to “Edit profile,” and look for the “More” or attributes section — it’s usually a short scroll under your business info. Tick everything that’s genuinely true. Leave off anything you can’t confidently back up; an inaccurate attribute is a fast way to erode trust the moment a customer arrives and finds it wasn’t true.

The honest limit

Attributes won’t move a poorly-optimised profile into the map pack on their own — they work alongside reviews, categories, and proximity, not instead of them. But for the specific searchers filtering by exactly what you offer, they’re often the difference between showing up and not existing at all.

If your Google Business Profile hasn’t had a proper once-over in a while, our local SEO team can run through it in one sitting and fix what’s been left unfilled.