Google Business Profile Justifications are short, bolded snippets, sometimes accompanied by icons, that appear under your Google Business Profile (formerly GMB or Google My Business) listing in local SERPs.
They are important as they highlight WHY your business is relevant for a specific query. Justifications are triggered by referencing:
- On-site content or meta descriptions (Website Mentions)
- Google Reviews (Review Snippets)
- Services or products you’ve explicitly added in your GBP dashboard (Provides, Sold Here etc…)
- Live store inventory (In Stock, via See What’s in Store integrations)
While justifications don’t directly change your ranking, they can amplify click appeal and can significantly boost click-through rates (CTR) by showing searchers that you match their specific needs or keywords.
In competitive local markets, search terms like “AC repair in [City]” or “car dealers near me”, these snippets can be the deciding factor between someone clicking on your listing or a competitor’s.
Besides, by optimising for justifications you’ll improve your local SEO in the process!
Types of Justifications & Comparisons
Local justifications take several forms. Here we’ll focus on the five primary categories that SEO professionals and local marketers can influence (in varying degrees).
“Provides” (Services)
This justification displays a checkmark icon and text like “Provides: [Service name],” sourced from the “Services” tab within your Google Business Profile.
- Control Level: High – You can edit your services to match the actual offerings, ensuring relevant terms (e.g., “Teeth Whitening,” “Oil Changes”) appear in these justifications.
- How to Optimise:
- Refine and fill out all your products and services in GBP
- Remove any auto-added services that do not align to your business
- Add a keyword rich, yet concise description to all services and products
- Add unique images to all products
- Why It Matters: It quickly tells searchers that you do the thing they’re looking for. If someone searches “tax preparation,” seeing “Provides: Tax Return Preparation” in your listing is a direct signal of relevance and a huge potential boost to CTR!
Comparison: Similar to “Sold Here,” but “Provides” is specifically about services and is fully within your control through the GBP dashboard.
“Sold Here” (Products)
“Sold Here” uses the same checkmark icon but references products (e.g., “Sold here: Apple MacBooks”). Google often pulls this data from user feedback or its own sources.
- Control Level: Limited – You can’t directly force “Sold Here” justifications to appear. It depends on Google’s confidence that a product is available at your location.
- How to Optimise:
- Run through your Google Merchant Centre optimisations and data syncs – see below “In Stock” points.
- Why It Matters: Tells users you stock the exact item they’re searching for. This “product-level” reassurance can drive store visits.
Comparison: Similar to “In Stock” (both revolve around merchandise) but “Sold Here” does not confirm availability, only that your business typically offers that product line or brand.
“In Stock” (Live Inventory)
In Stock shows up as “In stock: [Item]” when Google receives real-time (or frequently updated) inventory data via SWIS (See What’s in Store) or POS integrations.
- Control Level: Medium – You can enable live inventory sharing (e.g., via Pointy or a supported POS partner), but if you don’t, you can’t get this justification.
- How to Optimise:
- For starters, make sure you have Google Merchant Centre established
- Make sure “See What’s in Store” (SWIS) is enabled – See guide here
- Integrate your Point-of-Sale system to keep real-time product availability
- Update your POS data diligently to ensure accuracy
- Why It Matters: Extremely attractive to shoppers who want to confirm an item is physically on the shelf before visiting. Perfect for electronics, apparel, any retail goods that buyers often need immediately, and those random craving moments.
Comparison: More precise than “Sold Here” because it displays current availability. Great for out-competing listings that only show “Sold Here” or no product justification at all! This can make it a key differential.
Review Snippets
These are as you would imagine. Short excerpts from a Google Review that includes the specific search term in bold (e.g., “…car service was outstanding!”).
The review snippet justification emphasises how important it is to get keywords in your reviews. For local businesses, review prompting is a big part of your local SEO reputation management.
- Control Level: Low/Indirect – You can’t directly modify user reviews, but you can encourage customers to mention specific services or products in their feedback.
- How to Optimise:
- Prompt your review responses, don’t just ask for “a review”. Get users to mention things like: what happened, who they dealt with and how they felt.
- Use short codes to make it easy for customers to drop a review
- Why It Matters: Highlights social proof and personal experience. Seeing another person mention the exact keyword (e.g., “family-friendly” or “quick oil changes”) is compelling and may answer another users question instantly.
Comparison: Distinct from “Provides” or “Website Mentions” because the snippet is user-generated, not brand-generated. It carries more authenticity but less direct control.
Action Plan for Justifications
Here are some short and simple steps you can run through which will help improve you Google Business Profile in general, while also optimising for justifications.
- Complete your GBP throughoughly – Sounds like a given, but in my 14+ years in SEO, I’ve rarely seen a compelte profile. Populate all essential fields (Services, Products, Attributes, NAP) with accurate, keyword-targeted information.
- Add at least 5 Q & A – Questions can be asked AND answered for your own account. So add as many relevant questions and answers as possible.
- Sync on-site SEO with GBP Services and Products – Simple in practice, if you have a page on your site for “bas statements”, add that as a service on your GBP.
- Implement live inventory if in retail – Consider Pointy or another inventory partner to unlock “In Stock” justifications and attract immediate buyers.
- Prioritise and prompt reviews – The quality and quantity of reviews are your gold as a service area business. Chase customers, make it easy, and provide guidelines for what they should include.
