ReferenceBusiness Profile suspension
Service-area business showing its address
A business that goes to its customers, rather than receiving them at a staffed, signed address, should hide its address on its Business Profile and show a service area instead. Showing a home or unstaffed address breaks Google's guidelines and can get the profile suspended. Turn off Show business address to customers, set the service area, then appeal if already suspended.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- On the Business Profile itself: the address shows on Search and Maps. If Google has acted, the appeals tool lists the decision.
- What stops
- Nothing until Google acts. A suspended or disabled profile cannot be seen by the public or edited by its owners and managers.
- How serious
- A guideline breach that can lead to suspension, and a home address published for anyone to find.
- How long
- Address edits usually appear within about 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days. Service area edits can take up to 48 hours.
What it means
Google's guidelines separate businesses that serve customers at their address from businesses that travel to customers. The second kind should have one profile for its base, with a service area, and should hide its address. Google's own example is a business run from home that removes the home address from its profile.
A hybrid business that does both can show its address, but only if the location is staffed and can receive customers during its stated hours, with permanent signage. A business without permanent signage is not eligible as a storefront and should be listed as service-area only.
What actually triggers it
A home address shown as if customers visit
The plain case: a business run from home, with no customers coming to the door, set up with the address showing. Google says that address should be removed.
Listed as hybrid without the staffed, signed location
Showing the address is allowed for a hybrid business only when the location has permanent signage and staff who receive customers during the stated hours. A workshop or storage unit customers never visit does not qualify.
A switch from storefront that kept the address
Google says a business that moves from storefront to service-area should remove the address if it no longer serves customers there, and enter only the service area. Leaving the old setting on is easy to miss.
A virtual office used as the base
A virtual office is not eligible unless it is staffed during business hours, whether the address is shown or hidden.
A service area drawn too wide
Google says the area generally should not extend more than about two hours' driving time from the base, though larger areas may suit some businesses. Up to 20 areas can be set, by city, postal code or other area, and not as a radius.
Fix it in this order
- Decide which kind of business it is. Customers come to a staffed address with permanent signage during stated hours: keep the address, and add a service area if the business also travels. Otherwise: hide the address.
- To hide it, go to the Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Location, select edit next to Business location, turn off Show business address to customers, and save.
- Set the service area: Edit profile, then Location, then edit next to Service area. Choose the cities or postal codes actually served and select Save. If none is set, Google picks a local area itself.
- If the profile is already suspended, make these changes first, then open the appeals tool, choose the profile and the decision, attach documents where the business name and address match the profile, and submit.
The profile then shows only the service area. Google emails the decision on an appeal, and a refused one can get an additional review only with new evidence.
When to appeal
Appeal only after the address is hidden or the location meets the storefront conditions. Appeals can be submitted once, so an appeal on an unchanged profile spends the chance on a profile that still breaks the rule.
Do not create a new profile for the same business while the old one is suspended. Google says not to.
Often confused with
Suspended for a virtual office or unstaffed address
The address itself is not eligible, shown or hidden. Hiding it does not fix a virtual office; the business needs a real base or a service-area profile.
Dropped out of the map results
The profile is live but shows for fewer searches. That is a ranking question, and the appeals tool shows no decision.
Can every kind of business hide its address?
No. Google says businesses that require customers to meet a minimum age, such as those selling alcohol, cannabis or weapons, cannot be service-area businesses without a storefront.