How do I add a Business Profile?
A Business Profile is how a business, attraction, or organisation appears on your destination website's Business Directory. Here's how to create one and make the most of the fields available.
Getting started
In the left-hand navigation of the DCMS, go to Entries > Business Directory
Click the red Create New Entry button, located top right of the screen
The first screen you'll see is the General tab — this is where you'll find the core business details
Choosing the right Business Profile type
Just below the Create New Entry button, top right of the screen, you'll find a dropdown where you can select the type of Business Profile you're creating. Examples of the types you might find here include:
- General Business Profile
- Accommodation Profile
- Food & Drink Profile
The exact options available can differ from client to client, and more types are added regularly, so it's always worth checking this dropdown for the most accurate option available to you.
Choosing the right type matters more than it might seem. Each profile type applies a different structured data type (also known as Schema) behind the scenes — for example, an Accommodation Profile is recognised by search engines as a Lodging Business, while a Food & Drink Profile is recognised as a Food Establishment. This helps Google and AI discovery tools like ChatGPT understand exactly what kind of business this is, which improves its eligibility for rich search results and how clearly it's interpreted by search engines.
Each profile type also unlocks different fields suited to that type of business — for example, an Accommodation Profile may include check-in and check-out times, while a Food & Drink Profile may include cuisine type and whether takeaway or delivery is available. Filling in these fields properly strengthens both the visitor experience and your search visibility, so it's worth taking the time to complete them fully.
Filling in the core details
We always recommend completing as many fields as possible across all available tabs — the more complete a Business Profile, the better the experience for visitors and the stronger its performance in search engines and AI discovery tools.
The essentials to focus on are:
- Business name and description — found in the General tab. Write a clear, engaging description that tells visitors what the business offers and why it's worth a visit
- Address and map location — add the business address and pin its exact location on the map so visitors can find it easily
- Contact details — phone number, website, and any relevant social links
- Logo and images — upload a clear logo and strong supporting imagery. Ideally use images without text overlaid, and check the recommended pixel dimensions for the space you're uploading into
- Categories — assign the Business Profile to the relevant category or categories so it appears in the right filtered views across your site
- Type-specific fields — complete the fields relevant to the profile type you've selected, as these directly support the Schema applied to the listing
Post Date and Expiry Date
Towards the top right of the screen you'll find a date picker (calendar icon) and time picker (clock icon) for both Post Date and Expiry Date.
- Post Date lets you schedule a Business Profile to go live at a specific date and time in the future. This means you can build and prepare a profile in advance and have it publish automatically when you're ready, without needing to come back and hit publish manually
- Expiry Date works the same way in reverse — it sets a date and time at which the profile will stop being live. This is useful for time-limited listings, such as a seasonal pop-up business or a temporary partner
Adding FAQs
If your site supports it, you can add FAQs to a Business Profile in the FAQ tab. These power FAQ Schema, which can help your listing appear in rich search results and gives search engines and AI discovery tools clear, specific answers to common questions. Aim for around 6–7 FAQs on key listings, keeping questions short and answers even shorter.
Linking related content
If you have other Business Profiles that are relevant to this one — for example a related attraction or a complementary business — you can link them in the Relations tab. This helps visitors discover more relevant businesses and improves how connected your content feels across the site.
It's worth knowing that this kind of linking generally works the other way for most other content types. For example, rather than linking an event to a business from the Business Profile itself, you'd normally create the link the other way — adding the business to the event when you're creating or editing it.
Featuring a Business Profile
If you want to give a Business Profile greater prominence — for example in a featured businesses area — use the Featured toggle, normally found in the General tab. Use this selectively so that featured status remains meaningful to visitors.
Before you publish
Use the Live Preview to check how the Business Profile looks before it goes live, on both desktop and mobile. You can save it as a Draft if you're not ready to publish straight away.
💡 Top tip: Encourage businesses to write their own description in their own voice where possible — a Business Profile that sounds authentic and specific to that business will always feel more trustworthy to visitors than a generic description.