Your Google Business Profile: A Guide for Doulas. Updated for 2024!

Do you have a Google Business Profile for your birth or postpartum business yet? If you are a doula, lactation consultant, newborn care specialist, placenta encapsulation specialist, childbirth educator serving local clients and you don’t yet have a FREE Google profile you’re missing out! I know some of you are already ROCKING your profiles with amazing 5-star Google reviews – well done!

Let’s take a step back for a moment – you may be wondering: “What on earth is a Google Business Profile?” You know how sometimes when you search for local pizza, or a massage therapist, or a doula, there is either a listing of Google+ pages that comes up and/or a map with a bunch of red balloons? Those are Google Business Profiles, friends, and if you don’t have one you are missing out on a simple way to show up well online. 

BONUS TIP: Having great reviews on your Google Business Profile helps even more, so be sure to check out this tutorial on a creative way to get more reviews.) 

Choosing the right birth categories for your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile page for your birth or postpartum practice have likely hit a wall when having to choose a category for your business. Now if you run a biscuit shop, or are a “Power Station Equipment Supplier” (What does that even mean???!), you’re in luck because Google has created a category just for you. Birth professionals, however, have surprisingly few options – though it has improved greatly in recent years since the early days when even DOULA was not an option. Newborn Care Specialists and Postpartum Doulas are still nowhere to be seen, however.

The closest category fits I’ve found for birth and postpartum professionals include:

• Birth Center
• Childbirth Class
• Doula
• Lactation Service
• Pregnancy Care Center
• Alternative Medical Practitioner (if you also offer related services…)
• PhD Doctor (for those of you with an advanced degree)
• Consultant
• Baby Shop

I know, your specific titles are likely not reflected above. The good news is they now offer you the option to use multiple business categories

Hiding your address on your Google Business Profile

Also… many doulas worry that a Doula Google Business Profile will require their home address to be listed as your location. Thankfully, they now offer a “service area” option so that be in the “I serve customers at their location” category rather than a brick and mortar business. Instead of showing your home address, you can set a number of surrounding communities as your location or set a mileage radius around your location.

What are you waiting for? Set up your Doula Google Business Profile today!

Setting your Doula Google Business Profile up will help with your search engine results and get your practice included on map results for local service listings. It’s a no-brainer, and I’m always amazed by how many of my new clients have not yet done so. It only takes a few minutes to get started, I promise!

Want to upgrade your existing Google Business Profile or need help creating a new one?

That’s why I’m here! I offer a Google Business Profile optimization package to rock your Doula profile with the right keywords & features so you can take full advantage of this FREE platform to grow your business.