Categories to consider
- House cleaning service (primary)
- Janitorial service
- Carpet cleaning service
- Window cleaning service
- Upholstery cleaning service
- Pressure washing service
Attributes
- Small business
- Women-owned
- Latino-owned
- LGBTQ+ owned
- Disabled-owned
Typical services
- Standard home cleaning
- Deep cleaning
- Move-in and move-out cleaning
- Office cleaning
- Carpet shampooing
- Window washing
- Post-construction cleaning
- Recurring weekly or biweekly cleaning
Homes or offices: pick the primary that matches
Residential and commercial cleaning get searched differently. Someone typing “house cleaner” wants a team that comes to their home. A facilities manager searching “janitorial service” wants nightly office contracts. Google tells you to pick the primary category that best describes the business, so match it to where most of your hours go. House cleaning service for residential, Janitorial service for commercial. If you do both at scale, use the larger side as primary and the other as a secondary.
Specialty cleaners should be careful. Carpet cleaning service, Window cleaning service and Pressure washing service are separate trades with their own equipment. Add them only if you sell that work, not because a customer once asked.
Running from home is fine, showing the address isn’t
Most cleaning businesses are run from a home office or a storage unit. Google allows a business with no storefront that travels to customers one service-area profile. Remove the address from display and list where you work: up to 20 cities, postal codes or areas, kept within roughly two hours’ drive. A shared storage unit or a mailbox can’t be your business address.
Services clients compare
People shopping for cleaners want to know what’s included. Add services for standard cleans, deep cleans, move-out cleans and recurring visits, and use the description to say what each covers. Google lets you add a price per service if you quote flat rates. Customers see the list under Services in Maps.
Asking clients after a clean
Asking every client for a review is allowed. Google’s content policy only forbids offering incentives such as discounts, discouraging negative reviews, or asking only the clients you expect to be happy. Don’t have cleaners press clients for a review during the visit, since Google prohibits pressuring users on the premises.
When replying, cleaning reviews often name a cleaner. Thanking them by first name is fine. If a client reports a broken item or missed room, acknowledge it and move the details to a phone call. Don’t argue about what was or wasn’t in the checklist in public.
Photos without privacy problems
Before-and-after photos are persuasive, but they are taken inside someone’s home. Ask the client first. Leave out family photos, mail, faces and house numbers. Keep files JPG or PNG under 5 MB.
If it doesn't work
- Your home address shows on Maps: you are still listed as a storefront. Remove the address so only the service area appears.
- Verification asks for proof of the business: have your registration and branded supplies or vehicle ready.
- A custom service was rejected: drop prices and phone numbers from the service name.
- Your service area includes towns you no longer cover: edit the list and save. Changes can take up to 48 hours.
Questions owners ask
I run my cleaning business from home. Is that allowed on Google?
Yes. A business that travels to customers and has no storefront with signage is allowed one service-area profile. Remove your home address from display and list the cities or postal codes you serve instead.
Are house cleaners eligible for Local Services Ads?
House cleaning services, carpet cleaning services and window cleaning services are on Google's US Local Services Ads list. Home services categories generally require business and owner checks for select users, and you need a verified Business Profile.
Can my cleaners be named in replies to reviews?
You can thank a team member by first name if the customer named them. Google's content policies prohibit sharing personal information without consent, so never post a client's address, schedule or access details.
Sources
- Manage your service areas for your Business Profile (support.google.com)
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google (support.google.com)
- About Local Services Ads (support.google.com)
- Prohibited and restricted content (support.google.com)
Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.