How to set a Google Business Profile service area for contractors

Choose the profitable route, not every nearby town

List the cities, postal codes, or areas where the crew can take the jobs you want. Think about travel time, dispatch costs, licensing, minimum job size, and who answers the phone. If the business will routinely decline a location, remove it from the profile instead of hoping a wide area produces better rankings.

Use the right business type

A service-area business travels to customers and does not serve them at its own address. It can have one profile for the full service area. A hybrid business both receives customers at a staffed, signed location and travels to jobs, so it can show its address and service area. A home office that does not receive walk-ins belongs in the service-area setup.

Set and review the list

In the profile, go to Edit profile, Location, then Service area. Google allows up to 20 areas. It does not allow a radius, and it says the overall boundary should normally be within about two hours of driving time from the base. Review the list whenever coverage, crews, or job rules change.

The website should describe the same service area in plain language. A clear service-area page can explain where you work without creating a cloned city page for every place on the list.

Moving shops or adding a second truck

A move means more than changing the pin. Update the real operating address through the owner account, prepare for possible reverification, correct the website and major directories, and keep proof of the old and new locations. Do not leave two profiles active for one moved business.

A second truck does not create a second eligible location. Add another profile only when the business operates a distinct eligible location that meets Google’s rules, not because a crew now parks in another town.