To set up a Google Business Profile for a service area business, search for an existing profile first, add your real name, category, and contact details, choose your service areas, hide your street address if customers do not visit you, and complete whatever verification Google offers. Creating the profile is free.
This guide is for companies that travel to the customer, like cleaning, remodeling, and landscaping. Google calls these service area businesses. Many Brazilian owners still call the product “Google Meu Negócio,” its old name. No approval, timeline, or ranking is guaranteed.
Is Your Business Eligible for a Profile?
Google expects your profile to represent your operation as it really is. In plain terms, there are three situations:
- In-person location: customers come to an address of yours, like a shop or an office open to the public.
- Service area: you go to the customer and do not receive visitors.
- Hybrid: you serve customers at an address and also travel to them.
A fully online business with no in-person service and no service area usually does not qualify. Read Google’s representation guidelines before you start.
Service Area Business or Hybrid Business?
Answer honestly: do customers come to you? A hybrid business serves customers at its address and also visits or delivers to them. That location needs permanent signage and must be able to receive customers during the hours you list. Without that, set it up as a service area business. Your setup must match reality, because a profile that does not reflect how you operate can cause trouble later.
Check for an Existing Profile Before Creating One
Search your business name on Google and Maps. A profile may already exist, created by someone else, a former partner, or automatically. If so:
- If it is yours, claim the profile;
- If someone else manages it, request access through Google’s flow;
- Create a new one only if none exists.
Duplicates confuse customers and can cause verification conflicts.
Add Your Name, Category, and Contact Details
Use real information:
- Name: the name your customers know, matching your website, truck, and business cards.
- Primary category: the most specific one that describes what you do. Available categories can vary by account.
- Phone: a number you actually answer.
- Website: the page that explains your services.
- Hours: the true ones.
Business Name vs LLC Name
Your LLC’s legal name does not have to be your profile name. What counts is the name your business goes by every day. Do not add extra words, like a city name or “best,” just to try to rank higher. That can break Google’s rules.
Set Your Address and Service Areas
If customers do not come to you, mark that you serve customers at their location and hide your address. Then enter your area:
- Google allows up to 20 service areas;
- You enter them as cities or ZIP codes. There is no radius setting;
- General guidance mentions about two hours of travel from your base. That is a reference limit, not an ideal distance for profit.
List only where you actually work. Adding an entire state does not raise your chances of showing up.
Do You Need to Display Your Home Address?
No. You give Google your address for verification, but you can hide it from the public. These are two different things: the address you provide and the address shown on the profile.
One caution: Google does not accept a virtual office or a mailbox used only for receiving mail as your address. If you operate from more than one base, specific conditions apply in the representation guidelines.
Complete the Available Verification Process
Verification confirms your business exists and operates where you say. Google decides which methods are available for each profile. It may be phone, email, video, or another route. Follow one of the options shown in your account. In some cases, you will need more than one method.
How to Prepare for Video Verification
Video recording verification is not the same as a live video call with support. For the recording, the official procedure asks for a continuous, unedited video of at least 30 seconds, shot on a mobile device through the profile’s own flow. Do not upload a video you produced earlier. If it applies to you, be ready to show:
- Where your business is located, using street signs or nearby landmarks;
- Equipment, supplies, or the vehicle you use for the work;
- Some sign that you manage the business, as Google asks on screen.
Read the on-screen instructions before recording. Record it in one take, in good light.
Review Your Profile Before Promoting It
Before you ask for reviews or run ads, run through this list:
- Name, phone, and website are correct;
- Hours are real;
- Service areas are limited to where you work;
- Category fits;
- Services list is filled in;
- Photos are real: work, team, and vehicle.
Your website matters too. It should say the same things your profile does. If you do not have a clear site yet, see our website design service.
What to Do After Your Profile Goes Live
The profile is the foundation, not the finish line. Next steps:
- Reputation: learn how to get more Google reviews without prohibited incentives.
- Local ads: if your service is eligible, learn the requirements for Local Services Ads and Google Verified.
- Ongoing management: keeping the profile current and tracking calls is part of our local SEO and Google Maps work.
Is your profile already suspended? This post covers creating and setting up. To recover a suspended profile, read our guide on how to recover a suspended Business Profile.
If you want someone who speaks Portuguese beside you during setup, see how to choose an agency for Brazilian business owners.
What No One Can Guarantee
Profile approval, which verification method you are offered, timing, and ranking depend on Google and on each account. Following the rules lowers the risk but does not remove it. Be wary of anyone who promises first place.
Next Step
Want help creating or fixing your profile? Book a free 30-minute diagnostic: get help with your profile.
