Local visibility guide
Google Business Profile rules for service-area businesses
A service-area business that visits or delivers to customers but does not serve them at its address should hide the address and use service areas. Google permits up to 20 service areas. A virtual office is not eligible unless it is genuinely staffed during business hours and otherwise meets the profile guidelines.
Maximum service areas listed by Google
Address for businesses that do not serve customers there
Locations must be real and eligible
Choose the correct business model
Use a service-area profile when the business travels to customers and does not receive them at the listed address. Use a hybrid profile only when the location is staffed, has permanent signage, receives customers during stated hours, and also serves customers elsewhere.
Do not convert a mail service, coworking booking, or virtual office into a false storefront.
Configure service areas
Select cities, postal codes, or other areas that reflect actual operations, up to Google's stated limit. Service areas communicate coverage but do not create physical proximity or guarantee rankings across a province.
Keep the website, profile, citations, hours, phone, business name, categories, services, and operational evidence consistent.
Multiple locations
Each profile should correspond to a genuine eligible location with its own staff and operating reality. Document staffing, signage, access, phone handling, customers served, dispatch records, and business registration before seeking another profile.
Follow the current Google guidelines rather than competitor behaviour. Profiles can be suspended when location representation is misleading.
Primary sources
This page separates sourced facts from North Star's operational guidance. Check the current source before relying on a changing price, rule, list, or technical standard.
Questions businesses ask
Can a service-area business hide its address?
Yes. Google instructs businesses that do not serve customers at their address to remove the address from the public profile.
How many service areas can be added?
Google currently permits up to 20 service areas.
Can a virtual office have its own profile?
Not merely because it receives mail. Google says a virtual office must be genuinely staffed during business hours and meet the applicable location rules.
Turn the research into an operating plan
North Star can help assess the environment, define scope, document ownership, implement controls, and verify the result.
Review a business profile