Categories to consider
- Certified public accountant (primary, or Accountant)
- Accountant
- Tax preparation service
- Tax consultant
- Bookkeeping service
- Payroll service
- Financial planner
Attributes
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance
- Small business
- Asian-owned
- Women-owned
- Disabled-owned
Typical services
- Individual tax return preparation
- Business tax returns
- Monthly bookkeeping
- Payroll processing
- IRS notice help
- Quarterly estimated taxes
- Small business accounting
- Financial statement preparation
- New business setup
CPA, accountant or tax preparer
These three get different searches. “CPA near me” is someone who wants a licensed professional. “Tax preparer” is often a person with one return to file. “Bookkeeper” is a business owner who wants monthly help. Google asks you to choose the primary category that best describes the business and to keep secondaries few. A licensed firm leads with Certified public accountant. A firm that prepares returns but isn’t licensed should not use the CPA category or put CPA in its name. Google only allows terms like that in the name when signage or invoices back them up.
Tax-season offices
Seasonal tax offices are common, and Google has two rules for them. To be eligible, a seasonal business must keep permanent signage at the location year-round. During the off-season, the profile should be marked temporarily closed. A tax desk set up inside another company’s store for a few months is different: Google lists an ongoing service at a location you don’t own or have authority to represent as ineligible.
Shared offices and remote practices
Many solo accountants rent a desk in a shared office. Google accepts a co-working office only when it has clear signage, receives clients during business hours and is staffed by you in those hours. A virtual office address or mail drop isn’t eligible. Firms that work only online, with no place where clients are met, aren’t eligible either.
CPAs as practitioners
Accountants who serve the public are practitioners in Google’s terms. In a firm with several CPAs, each can have their own profile using only their name, while the firm keeps its own. A solo CPA under a firm brand shares one profile named “Firm: Name”. Staff accountants who don’t see clients directly shouldn’t have profiles.
Confidentiality carries into review replies. Never mention refund amounts, audit outcomes or anything from a client’s return, even when the reviewer brought it up. If someone complains about a missed deadline or a fee, keep the public reply to one or two sentences and invite them to call.
Services that answer “can you help me with this”
List returns by type, bookkeeping, payroll and help with tax notices. Use the description to say who the service is for, such as freelancers or small businesses. Custom service names can’t include prices or phone numbers.
If it doesn't work
- Your co-working office was rejected: Google requires signage, customers received during business hours and your staff present.
- You only work remotely with clients: online-only businesses aren't eligible. You need a place where you meet clients or travel to them.
- A pop-up tax site in a store got suspended: ongoing services at a location you don't own or represent aren't eligible.
- Your profile shows open in July but nobody answers: mark the season's end with temporarily closed.
Questions owners ask
Can a tax prep business that only operates January to April keep a profile?
Yes. Google says seasonal businesses are eligible if they display permanent signage at the location year-round, and the guidelines say to mark the business temporarily closed during the off-season.
Can I run my accounting practice from home and still have a profile?
If clients come to your home office during stated hours, it can be a storefront. If you visit clients instead, set it up as a service-area business with the address hidden. Purely online practices aren't eligible.
Do tax preparers qualify for Local Services Ads?
Google's US Local Services Ads list includes tax services and financial planning services. Tax specialists need business license checks, and financial planners need individual license checks.
Sources
- Business eligibility and ownership guidelines (support.google.com)
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google (support.google.com)
- Business screening and verification requirements (support.google.com)
Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.