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Are Kiosks Allowed to Have Google Business Profiles?
Many years ago, people were surprised to see Redbox show up as a place on Google Maps. This is a business model where you stop at a kiosk to rent a movie and can also return the movie to the box. They are often located inside big grocery stores. This surprised people because a kiosk is not a “place” or a traditional business that has employees there to greet you, and usually these types of things would not be allowed listings on Google Maps.
Are Kiosks Allowed Listings on Google Maps?
Kiosks definitely are allowed to have Google Business Profiles, provided they meet a few specific criteria. If the kiosk is staffed, it must meet the following criteria:
- They must have a different phone number than the store they are located inside.
- They must display the correct GMB opening hours based on when people can access the kiosk.
- They are not temporary or related to one-time events.
Having these features on Google Maps is useful to users and will help them easily be able to locate the services they are looking for near them. That being said, it’s something that lots of businesses could easily abuse. It’s important to note that if the kiosk is not staffed, and operates more like a vending machine, it’s important to also have the following:
- There should be a store locator on the business website that easily shows where every machine is located.
- There must be a way for customers to contact support if they run into issues with the machine.
- You can only have one business profile at a single location, even if there are multiple machines there.
While this business model is fairly unusual, it’s great to see that Google has made ways for businesses to have listings for kiosks provided they adhere to these guidelines.
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Thanks for this writeup, Joy! Worth mentioning that Google has one elligibility requirement for kiosks that trumps all and it’s that the “point of sale” has to be at the kiosk, or a combination of at the kiosk and within the host store.
This is why you don’t see propane exchange kiosks on Google Maps en masse (unless it’s a self-service vending kiosk), or crypto “ATMs” unless it’s a true standalone ATM (not just a retailer where you can fund your wallet at the retailer’s checkout counter).
Thanks for this writeup, Joy! Worth mentioning that Google has one elligibility requirement for kiosks that trumps all and it’s that the “point of sale” has to be at the kiosk, or a combination of at the kiosk and within the host store.
This is why you don’t see propane exchange kiosks on Google Maps en masse (unless it’s a self-service vending kiosk), or crypto “ATMs” unless it’s a true standalone ATM (not just a retailer where you can fund your wallet at the retailer’s checkout counter).
Wow, this is a great tip – thanks for sharing!
So what category do we take for the kiosks, i have now a request to add an automated pizza box)
Add the closest category for your specific kiosk type. Jepto has a cool Google Business Profile Discovery Tool you can use to find the best categories https://www.jepto.com/gbp/discovery
So what category do we take for the kiosks, i have now a request to add an automated pizza box)
Add the closest category for your specific kiosk type. Jepto has a cool Google Business Profile Discovery Tool you can use to find the best categories https://www.jepto.com/gbp/discovery
Wow, this is a great tip – thanks for sharing!