Name, address and service area: the rules that keep you visible

Picture these two names on a map. “Harbour View Dental”. And “Harbour View Dental, Emergency Dentist Sydney, Open 24/7”. Same practice, same sign over the door. Only one of them follows Google’s rules. The other puts the whole profile at risk.

This lesson is about the details that keep you visible: your name, your address or service area, and your phone number.

By the end, all three will follow Google’s guidelines, and you’ll have the final versions written in your workbook.

Let’s start with your name. Google’s rule is simple: your name should be your real-world name, the one on your sign, your website and your stationery.

Extra information isn’t allowed. That means no marketing taglines, no store codes, no service or product words, no locations, no opening hours, and no phone numbers or web addresses. Adding search words like these is what people call keyword stuffing.

So if your sign says “Northside Plumbing Co.”, your profile says “Northside Plumbing Co.”. Not “Northside Plumbing Co., Emergency Plumber Leeds”, and not “Best Plumber Leeds”.

Why do people do it? Because in Whitespark’s survey of local search experts, keywords in the business name ranked third of 187 factors for the map results. That’s expert opinion, not Google. But it’s only allowed when the words really are your name. Google says unnecessary information in the name isn’t permitted, and could result in your profile being suspended.

Next, your address. It must be precise and real. Google doesn’t accept P.O. boxes or mailboxes at remote locations. And if you rent a mailing address but don’t work from it, which is called a virtual office, that location isn’t eligible for a profile at all.

A desk in a co-working space only counts if your office there has clear signage, receives customers during business hours, and is staffed by your own team during those hours.

And keep to one profile for the business. If you’ve ended up with two by mistake, Google says you can remove the duplicate without affecting your verified profile.

One more thing before you change anything. Google says that if you move to a new address after you’re verified, you must verify again, and if you change your name, you might have to. So decide first, and make each change once.

Now, what if customers don’t come to you? Plumbers, cleaners, mobile dog groomers, gardeners: you go to them. Google calls this a service-area business.

If you don’t serve customers at your address, Google says to remove the address from your profile, and set service areas instead. Google even uses the example of a plumber who runs the business from home: clear the address.

You can add up to twenty service areas. Use towns, cities, postcodes, ZIP codes or other named areas, not a circle around your base. And the whole area shouldn’t be more than about two hours' drive from where you’re based.

Some businesses do both. Customers visit you, and you also go out to them, like a bike shop that also does home repairs. That’s a hybrid business: you can show your address and set a service area. But Google says a business without permanent signage isn’t eligible as a storefront, and your location should be staffed and able to receive customers during your stated hours.

Will listing more towns make you rank there? Not on its own. Service areas tell customers where you work, but Google still weighs how far your business is from the person searching.

Last, your phone number. It must be a number your business controls directly. Google asks for a local number rather than a central call-centre helpline whenever possible, and premium-rate numbers aren’t allowed at all, whatever the caller pays. Use the same number that’s on your website and your van, so customers see one set of details everywhere.

Here’s where these live. On your profile, select “Edit profile”. Your business name is near the top. Compare it, word for word, with your sign.

Then open “Location”. Here’s the address, and next to “Service area”, there’s “Edit”, where you’d add or remove areas. Google says service-area changes can take up to 48 hours to show.

You don’t need to rush. Google reviews edits before they go live. So decide what’s right, write it in your workbook, and then make each change once.

And the competitor down the road with “Emergency Plumber” stuffed into their name? You can report it. On Google Maps, open their listing and select “Suggest an edit”. For a misleading name, phone number or website, Google also has a business redressal complaint form. Stick to the facts, like what their sign actually says. Google says it can’t guarantee action and won’t send you updates. So report once, and get back to your own profile.

Here’s why it matters. Google’s guidelines say you must follow them to make sure your profile won’t be suspended. A suspended profile can’t be seen by the public, and you can’t make changes to it.

If it happens, fix the problem first. Then appeal through Google’s appeals tool, with documents that show your business name and address. Google says appeals can only be submitted once, and not to create a new profile for the same business. And don’t report others over and over: Google warns that repeated unfounded complaints can get all your future ones rejected without assessment.

A country note about the address you registered your company at. In the US, your LLC’s registered agent receives legal papers for you. In the UK, a limited company’s registered office receives official mail, and it can be your accountant’s address. In Australia, ASIC says a company’s registered office doesn’t have to be where it does business. None of these is automatically a place where you serve customers, so only use it on your profile if you really do.

Trade tip. Plumbers, cleaners and mobile groomers: hide your address and list your areas. Clinics, salons and cafés: show your address. And dentists, lawyers and estate agents who see clients themselves can have their own practitioner profile, but only one each, not one per speciality.

Recap. Your name: exactly as it appears on your sign, with nothing added. Your address: a real place where you serve customers, or hidden, with up to twenty service areas. Your phone: a number you control, local where possible, and never premium-rate.

Your task: open your profile next to a photo of your sign, and compare the names word for word. Decide whether you show your address or set service areas. Then write your final name, address or service areas, and phone number on page W3 of your workbook, and make any changes once.

Next, we’ll tell Google exactly what you do, with categories and services.