Getting your adult family home on Google Maps
It is free, it takes an afternoon, and it is the single highest-return thing an unlisted home can do. When a family types “adult family home near me” at 9pm after a hospital discharge, the map is what they see first. Here is how to claim it and fill it in properly.
The short version
- It costs nothing. Google Business Profile is free, permanently.
- You may already have a listing you have never seen. Google creates them automatically. Claiming an existing one is different from creating a new one.
- Verification is the slow part. Often a postcard to the home’s address, sometimes phone or video. Budget one to two weeks.
- Never hand over your password. Add your marketer as a Manager by email instead. You stay Owner and can remove them any time.
- Photos decide it. Families compare homes visually before they ever call. A listing with no photos loses to one with eight.
- Reviews are the multiplier. Two or three honest reviews will out-convert any amount of advertising.
Why this matters more than it sounds
Families do not usually find adult family homes the way you would expect. They are not browsing at leisure. Somebody has just been told their father is being discharged in two days, and they are searching on a phone, at night, under pressure.
What they get is a map with three homes on it and a list underneath. If you are not on that map, you are not in the decision. Not passed over, not rejected, simply never considered. That is the whole argument for spending an afternoon on this.
First, find out which situation you are in
Search your home’s exact name plus your city on Google. One of three things is true, and they need different steps.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing at all | No listing exists | Create a profile. Verification usually by postcard to the home. |
| A listing you never made | Google generated it automatically from public data. Very common for DSHS-licensed homes. | Claim it. Look for “Own this business?” and verify. |
| A listing marked as claimed | Somebody manages it. Sometimes a former partner, a family member, or an agency. | Request ownership through Google, or ask whoever holds it to add you. |
Claiming and verifying it
- Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Google account you want to own this forever. Use a business account you control, not a caregiver’s personal one.
- Search for your home. If it appears, claim it. If not, create it.
- Choose your category carefully. This is what Google matches searches against. “Assisted living facility” is the closest widely-used category for an adult family home. Add secondary categories that genuinely apply, such as memory care.
- Enter your address exactly as DSHS has it. Consistency between your licence, your listing and your website is one of the things Google uses to trust you.
- Verify. Usually a postcard with a code, mailed to the home, taking a week or two. Sometimes phone or video. Nothing goes live properly until this is done, so start it early.
Never give anyone your Google password, including me. The correct way to let a marketer help is to add them as a Manager by email address. You remain the Owner, they can edit the listing, and you can remove them with two taps. Anyone who asks for your password instead of a manager invite is either careless or worse, and either way it is your listing they are putting at risk.
Filling it in so it actually converts
A claimed but empty listing barely helps. This is the part most homes skip.
- Eight to ten real photos. The outside so they recognise it when they drive up, a bedroom, the living room, the dining table, the yard. Phone photos in daylight are completely fine. Nothing beats showing the actual home.
- Hours. For most homes this is genuinely 24/7. Say so.
- Phone number that a human answers. If your listed number rings a line nobody picks up, the listing is working against you.
- A description that sounds like you, naming your city and what you actually provide: private rooms, memory care, mental health, developmental disabilities, hospice support, languages spoken.
- Your website link, which is where a family goes to decide once the map has done its job.
- Services and attributes, filled in honestly. Wheelchair accessible, private rooms, and so on.
On the map, but nothing to send them to?
Google Maps gets a family to notice you. Your website is where they decide. A listing that links to nothing loses to the home down the road whose site shows real rooms and real people. That is the part I build.
Reviews, done honestly
Reviews are the strongest signal you have, and adult family homes are chronically short of them because nobody thinks to ask.
- Ask families you have genuinely served, at a natural moment, once things have settled.
- Make it one tap. Google gives you a short review link in your profile. Text it rather than explaining where to click.
- Reply to every review, warm and brief. Prospective families read the replies as closely as the reviews.
- Never buy reviews or ask staff to post them. It violates Google’s policies, it is detectable, and losing the listing costs you far more than a few stars gained.
Two or three real reviews put you ahead of most homes in your city. That is a low bar and it is worth clearing.
What Google Business Profile will not do
- It is not a website. It is a listing on Google’s property, showing what Google chooses to show. You cannot tell your story there, and you do not own it.
- It will not rank you on its own. Homes with a real website, consistent details and reviews outrank a bare listing.
- It stops at the click. The map gets attention. What happens next is decided by whatever they land on.
Common questions
Is Google Business Profile free for adult family homes?
Yes, completely and permanently free. There is no paid tier required to appear on Maps, and anyone charging you a subscription simply to maintain the listing is charging for the labour, not for Google.
What category should an adult family home use on Google?
“Assisted living facility” is the closest widely-used primary category. Add genuinely applicable secondary categories such as memory care. Categories are how Google decides which searches you appear in, so this choice matters.
How long does verification take?
Usually one to two weeks when Google verifies by postcard to the home’s address. Phone or video verification is faster when offered. Start the process early, because nothing works properly until verification completes.
Someone else claimed my home’s listing. What now?
You can request ownership through Google, which notifies the current manager and gives them a window to respond. If it is a former partner or agency, asking them directly to release it or add you as Owner is usually faster.
Should I give my marketing person access to my Google listing?
Add them as a Manager using their email address, never by sharing your password. You stay the Owner, they can make edits, and you can remove their access at any time.
Do I still need a website if I have a Google listing?
They do different jobs. The listing gets you found on the map. The website is where a family decides, and it is the thing they check after a discharge planner or a friend says your home’s name.
Serving adult family homes across Washington
We work with licensed adult family homes throughout Snohomish, King, Pierce, Thurston, Spokane, Whatcom, Skagit, Kitsap and Clark counties, including Everett, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Marysville, Mill Creek, Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Auburn, SeaTac, Shoreline, Kirkland, Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, Olympia, Lacey, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Bellingham, Blaine, Vancouver and Mount Vernon.