In short
Yes: if you don't have premises open to the public, you can have a Google Business Profile as a service-area business. You must hide your address, set your service area (as a guide, no more than about two hours' drive) and verify the profile. After that, reviews, complete information and consistency with your website are what make you stand out.
Can I have a Google profile if I work from home?
Yes. Google distinguishes between businesses with premises customers visit and service-area businesses that visit or serve customers wherever they are: plumbers, mobile physiotherapists, remote agencies or cleaning services.
According to Google's guidelines, service-area businesses must hide their address from customers. Your address is only used to verify the profile and is not shown on Maps.
Step by step
This is how we set up ours, as we also work remotely:
- Go to business.google.com and create the profile with your business's real name.
- Choose the primary category that best describes you.
- When asked whether customers can visit you, answer no.
- Add your service areas: the towns or regions where you work.
- Add your phone and website. The address is requested for verification but stays hidden.
- Verify the profile. Google often asks for a short video showing where you work and something proving the business is yours.
- Complete services, hours, description, real photos and a booking link.
No commitment
Free 30-minute consultation
We review your business, your website and your presence on Google, and tell you what we'd do first. Free, no commitment, by video call.
- A quick check of your website and SEO
- Concrete ideas to win more clients
- A rough quote if you need one
Mistakes that can get your profile suspended
Google's rules are strict. Avoid these:
- Adding keywords to the name, such as "SEO Agency Barcelona". Use your real name.
- Using a virtual office or an address where you don't work: Google doesn't allow it.
- Creating several profiles for the same business. There should be only one.
- Setting huge service areas. Google's guidance is to stay within about two hours' drive.
How to stand out without a visible address
Google ranks local results by relevance, distance and prominence. Without visible premises, prominence matters even more:
- Ask customers for reviews and reply to every one.
- Fill in the whole profile: categories, services and description.
- Post updates regularly.
- Use exactly the same name, phone and website on your site and in directories.
- Link to your profile from your website.
Our own case
At Casa Strategies we work remotely and visit our clients. We set up our profile as a service-area business covering Badalona, Barcelona and nearby, with the address hidden, and link to it from our website so Google understands they are the same business.
Ranges are indicative: the final price depends on your website, your project and what you need. We give you a fixed quote after a free call.
Frequently asked questions
Will I appear on Maps if I hide my address?
Yes. You appear in searches within your service area, just without a pin at a specific address.
How many service areas can I add?
The ones you actually cover. Google recommends the whole area stays within about two hours' drive of your location.
What if Google rejects my verification?
Record the video again, showing your location, your workspace and proof the business is yours more clearly.
Can you help me set it up?
Yes. It depends on how you work and where your customers are. We can review it with you in a free call.
