If customers do not come to your address, hide the address and select service areas. Google then shows your areas in the place of a street address. Do not use a P.O. box, a mailbox store or a virtual office. Select the areas that you actually drive to. Your position is still strongest near your real address.
Who is a service area business
Google has three types of listing.
- A storefront. Customers come to you. Example: a dental office.
- A service area business. You go to the customer. Example: a plumber or a mobile mechanic.
- A hybrid. Customers can come to you, and you also go to them. Example: an auto shop with a mobile service.
Select the type that matches your operation. A hybrid business keeps the address visible and adds service areas.
How to hide the address
- Open your Business Profile and select the address setting.
- Remove the street address, or clear the option that shows it to customers.
- Add your service areas. Google accepts cities, ZIP codes, counties and regions.
- Save. Google can review the change, and the listing can take a few days to update.
Google still asks for your address during verification. That address stays private. It is also the point that Google uses for distance.
How to select service areas
- Select the places that you drive to. A false area does not help your position, and it disappoints customers.
- Google limits you to 20 areas. Use larger areas, for example a county, when you need wide coverage.
- Google states that a service area should not extend more than about two hours of driving from your base. A larger area looks false.
- Start near your address. Distance still decides much of your position. Ten honest areas are better than 20 that you cannot serve.
The mistakes that cause a suspension
- A P.O. box or a mailbox store address. Google prohibits both.
- A virtual office or a coworking desk with no staff during your hours.
- A storefront setting with a home address. If customers cannot come to your home, hide the address.
- One listing for each city. One business gets one listing, unless you have a second real location with staff.
- A city name in your business name to cover more areas. Use service areas for that.
What this means for your position
A hidden address does not hide you from Google. Google still measures the distance from the customer to your real address.
This has two effects.
- Your position is strongest near your address, and it falls with distance.
- To win in an area far from your address, you need a much stronger reputation than the businesses in that area.
A rank scan shows this pattern clearly. It also shows the distance where your listing stops producing calls.