Can I List My Home Address on My Google Business Profile?

What Google says

From Google's guidelines and help pages (Google Business Profile guidelines, Google Business Profile Help):

• If you don't serve customers at your business address, remove the address from your profile.
• A service-area business visits or delivers to customers and doesn't serve them at its address. Google names plumbers and cleaning services as examples.
• A service-area business can only have one profile for the whole area it serves.
• You can set up to 20 service areas by city, postal code or other area, and the whole area shouldn't be more than about 2 hours of driving from where the business is based.

What that looks like for a home-based contractor

For example, an HVAC owner running the business out of his house in Brampton. He sets up the profile with his real address, then hides it so customers don't see his street. His service area lists the cities he actually drives to, like Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon and Vaughan. Customers see where he works, not where he lives.

What not to do

Don't swap in a fake address, a virtual office or a P.O. box to look like you're in a bigger city. Google says those aren't eligible (Google Business Profile guidelines). See can I use a virtual office address for my Google Business Profile.

Hiding the address doesn't mean you can't rank

Plenty of service-area businesses show up on Google Maps without a visible address. What moves you is a complete profile, a real website page for each service, and reviews from every customer. More on that in can a service area business rank in the map pack without showing an address, and it's what we set up in our local SEO work.

Questions you should also be asking

• Can I use a virtual office address for my Google Business Profile?
• Can I have more than one Google Business Profile for different cities?
• How many cities can I add to my Google Business Profile service area?
• Can a service area business rank in the map pack without showing an address?

FAQ

Can I use my home address for my Google Business Profile?

Yes, if it's where you really run the business. If customers don't come to you, hide the address and set a service area.

Will customers see my home address?

Not if you remove it from the profile. Google says to remove the address if you don't serve customers there.

What is a service-area business?

A business that goes to its customers or delivers to them and doesn't serve them at its address, like plumbers or cleaning services.

Does hiding my address hurt my ranking?

Service-area businesses can still show up on Google Maps. A complete profile, real service pages and reviews from every customer matter more.

Can I have more than one Google Business Profile for different cities?

Only for real locations that meet Google's rules. Google says a service-area business can only have one profile for the whole area it serves.

How many cities can I add to my Google Business Profile service area?

Google lets you set up to 20 service areas, and says the whole area shouldn't be more than about 2 hours of driving from your base.

Want us to check your profile setup? Book a call and we'll look at it with you.