Understanding and correctly setting your service area in your Google Business Profile helps local customers discover your business - even if you don’t serve them at your physical location. This guide walks you through what a service area is and how to check or update it in just a few minutes.
1 - What Is a Service Area?
Your service area defines where your business offers services or delivers products. Google displays this information on your Business Profile to help potential customers know if you're available in their area.
This feature is especially important if:
You visit customers at their location (e.g., plumbers, electricians, mobile pet groomers).
You serve customers in specific areas, even though your store or office is in one location.
You want to increase visibility in nearby towns or neighborhoods where customers may be searching for your service.
Setting this up correctly signals to Google - and your potential customers - that you're active and accessible in those regions.
Why It Matters
Adding a service area helps boost your visibility on Google Maps for people searching in those locations. It can:
Increase the number of views your Business Profile receives.
Help you appear in searches outside your direct city or zip code.
Reflect the true reach of your services, especially for delivery, on-site jobs, or consultations.
📌 Important: According to Google’s guidelines, the locations in your service area should be places a customer can reasonably reach you from—ideally within 2–3 hours of travel time.
2 - How to Check or Edit Your Service Area in Google Business Profile
You can check and update your service area in just four steps. Here’s how:
1. Find Your Business and Open the Editor
Go to your Google Business Profile and click “Edit profile.”
2. Locate the Service Area Section
Once in the profile editor, navigate to the “Location and areas” or “Service Area” section. This is where you’ll see any areas already listed.
3. Add or Adjust the Area
Use cities, postal codes, or regions to define your service area. You can enter multiple areas - but make sure they realistically reflect where you operate. Google allows up to 20 service areas.
Here are some best practices:
Avoid overlapping multiple large areas that cover the same region.
Be as specific as possible (e.g., “Brooklyn” instead of just “New York”).
Don’t include locations where you want customers but don’t currently serve.
4. Save Your Changes
Once you’re satisfied with the updates, hit “Save” to confirm.
Your changes may take a few minutes or hours to appear publicly on your profile, depending on Google’s review time
What Happens Next?
Once updated, your service area becomes visible in your Business Profile. This helps improve your chances of appearing in local search results - not just for your business address, but for all the areas you’ve added.
💡 Pro Tip: If you want to track your rankings in those added service areas, use Localo’s Area Difficulty Analysis or Position Map tools to see how you’re performing and spot opportunities to improve visibility.
Need Help?
Still unsure about setting the right service areas or want help analyzing your visibility?
We’re here for you.
📩 Email us anytime at [email protected]