How do you write a short business bio for Instagram, Facebook and your Google profile?
Write one short bio from four plain facts, in this order: what you do, who it is for, where you work, and what to do next. Then trim it for each place, because every platform sets its own length. Google's profile description rules bar links and a focus on promotions or prices, so the Google version is the plainest. Leave out claims you cannot show.
The four facts, in order
Say what you do in the words a customer would use, not the trade's own terms. Then who it is for, where you work, and the one next step. Plain facts beat adjectives: "repairs water heaters for homeowners in Tallahassee" tells a stranger more than "quality service you can trust".
- What you do: the service, named plainly.
- Who it is for: homeowners, small offices, new parents, whoever hires you.
- Where: the town or area you serve, or "by video call anywhere in the U.S." if that is true.
- Next step: call, fill in the form or book a visit.
What Google's profile description allows
Google's guidelines for Business Profiles say to focus on content "relevant and useful to your customers" and to be "upfront and honest". The description may cover services, products, mission and history. It must not focus on special promotions, prices or sales, and "No links of any type are allowed". Google also lists low-quality content such as misspellings, gimmicky characters and gibberish as not allowed.
That makes the Google version a good base for the others: plain, honest and free of offers.
Three made-up examples
These businesses are invented, for illustration only.
- Harbor Light Plumbing repairs and replaces water heaters and pipes for homeowners in Tallahassee. Call or use the form to book a visit.
- Pinewater Bookkeeping keeps the books and payroll records for small construction firms in North Florida. Call to talk through your setup.
- Willow Street Photography takes family and small-business portraits across the Panhandle. Use the form to ask about a session.
Trim it, and use AI only as a start
Platforms set their own length limits and can change them, so check the edit screen. Put the most useful line first, because short bios get cut off. Some places may allow a link or a button, and the Google description does not, so keep the next step in words as well.
An AI tool can produce a first draft, but it does not know your facts, as the related answer on AI-written websites explains. Check every line against what is true. Clear, specific facts can also give customers, and assistants that read public pages, something accurate to repeat; the related answer on checking what AI says about your business shows how to see it. The long version of your story belongs on your website, as the related answer on the About page describes.
Sources
Related answers
- What should a small business put on its About page?
- How do you check what ChatGPT says about your business?
- Can AI write your website copy?
SEO for service businesses
Get found on Google by the people already looking for what you sell, in the places you serve, and see which searches turned into inquiries.