Service Areas in Google Business Profile Misunderstood by Businesses

Google's service area feature in Google Business Profile is often misunderstood by businesses operating across multiple cities. According to Brett Thomas, owner of Rhino Web Studios, adding a city as a service area does not automatically establish strong local search visibility within that city.

'Service areas are often treated like a list of cities where a company wants to rank, but that's not really their purpose,' said Thomas. 'Adding Baton Rouge, Metairie, Slidell or another community to a profile does not suddenly make the business local to every search taking place in those communities.'

The Google Business Profile guidelines state that service areas can be identified using cities, postal codes, or other geographic areas. A profile can contain as many as 20 service areas, and Google recommends keeping the overall territory within approximately two hours of driving time from the location where the business is based.