What is a service area business?
Google sorts every Business Profile into one of three types, based on where customers are served:
| Type | Serves customers at its address | Travels or delivers to customers | Shows address on profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storefront | Yes | No | Yes |
| Service area business | No | Yes | No |
| Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes, plus a service area |
A service area business (SAB) goes to the customer. Google's examples are cleaning services and plumbers. Most moving companies fit the same pattern: the crew goes to the customer's home or office, and customers don't come to the company's address.
Should a moving company hide its address?
Google's rule is simple. If you don't serve customers at your business address, remove the address from your profile and list a service area instead.
A moving company can qualify as a hybrid business when customers are served at the address, for example an office or storage facility that customers visit during staffed hours. Google adds one condition: a location without permanent on-site signage isn't eligible as a storefront and should be listed as a service area business.
Pick the type that matches how customers actually deal with you, not the one that looks best on a map.
How do service areas work?
- You can add up to 20 service areas.
- Each one is a city, postal code, or other named area. You can't draw a radius around your business, and older radius settings can't be edited.
- The whole area should stay within about two hours of driving time from where the business is based.
- A service area business can have only one profile for the whole area it serves.
- Approved changes can take up to 48 hours to appear.
How do I set a service area?
- Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Location.
- Next to "Service area," select Edit.
- Choose suggested areas or type the cities and postal codes you serve.
- Select Save.
Start with the places you actually take jobs from. Because of the two-hour guideline, a long-distance mover lists the local areas around its base, and describes its interstate routes on its website instead.
Does the service area decide where I rank?
No. The service area tells customers where you work. It doesn't make a profile rank in every city on the list. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity.