As of late last week, Google is offering an update to the Google My Business app that adds support for service-area businesses. In November, a Google My Business support forum post indicated that Google would be adding features to help such businesses with local customers.
“There will now be separate fields in Google My Business for you to edit your business address and your service area,” the blog post read. “When you update your business information, you’ll have the option to enter your address, service area, or both.”
The change is significant for at least two reasons.
Firstly, it helps out business owners who want to connect with local customers but do not serve them at the address they’ve used to register with GMB. Comments on the blog post indicated that such owners would be glad not to list their addresses, listing only their service area in the app.
Secondly, the change appears to regulate the service area business owners and managers can list, supplanting the radius-around-business strategy with listing service area by region, city, or ZIP code.
The move follows an announcement in early December that Google would be expanding Local Service Ads to Canada. Those ads have seen rapid growth in the last couple of years.
Source: Street Fight Mag