Google Business Profile for Vancouver service businesses

Google says a business generally needs in-person customer contact during its stated hours to qualify for a Business Profile. A service-area business can qualify when it travels to customers at their locations even if customers do not visit the business address.

Online-only businesses and lead-generation companies are specifically listed as ineligible. That distinction matters: a legitimate service provider that performs real on-site consultations or service visits should describe that reality accurately rather than trying to manufacture a storefront.

If customers do not come to the business address, Google instructs service-area businesses to remove that address from the public profile and define the geographic areas they actually serve.

• Use cities, postal codes or other supported areas rather than inventing a radius.
• Google currently allows up to 20 service areas.
• Google advises that the overall service area generally should not extend more than about two hours of driving from the business base.
• Choose areas where you would genuinely travel to a customer—not every city that contains a potential buyer.
• Do not use a virtual office or mailbox as a fake customer-facing location.

The primary category is one of the strongest ways to tell Google what kind of business the profile represents. Choose the most specific category that describes the business as a whole, then add only secondary categories that are genuinely material.

Services are different from categories. Use the services editor to describe actual offerings with clear names and useful descriptions. Avoid turning service names into keyword strings or stuffing phone numbers and prices into the service name.

• Primary category: the clearest description of the business itself.
• Secondary categories: other substantial lines of business, not every capability.
• Services: customer-facing offerings that can be grouped under the available categories.
• Descriptions: explain the work, boundary and useful outcome without unsupported ranking or lead guarantees.

The profile should not be treated as an isolated SEO object. The business name, website, phone, service description and social profiles should tell the same story as the website and other credible profiles.

• Use the real-world business name without adding geographic or service keywords that are not part of the name.
• Use a phone number that reaches the business and keep the same number on the website where practical.
• Link to the canonical business website rather than a tracking domain or unrelated landing page.
• Keep operating hours realistic for when customers can actually reach the business.
• Connect official social profiles and keep branding consistent across the website, Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

For a service business without a storefront, a fake exterior photo creates the wrong signal. Use photographs and graphics that help a prospective customer understand the business, the work and the people behind it.

• A clean logo and cover image that match the website identity.
• Real project or service photographs where client permission allows publication.
• On-site consultation or working-process photographs when they accurately represent how the business operates.
• Screenshots, diagrams or branded service graphics that explain a digital service without pretending to be physical premises.
• New evidence over time rather than uploading a large batch once and abandoning the profile.

Google publishes specific photo and video requirements, including supported formats and file-size limits. Check the current business photo guidance before preparing a batch.

Ask real customers for honest reviews after meaningful work has been delivered. Do not write the review for the customer, offer incentives in exchange for a positive review, or manufacture review exchanges.

• Make the review request easy with the direct Google review link.
• Ask at a natural project milestone rather than sending generic review requests to everyone at once.
• Encourage customers to describe the actual service and experience in their own words.
• Respond professionally and specifically to reviews without stuffing service keywords into every reply.
• Build review acquisition into the operating process so evidence grows gradually rather than in suspicious bursts.

The website should clearly identify the business, the services it actually provides, how to contact it and where it works. A strong profile cannot compensate indefinitely for a confusing or technically weak website.

• Consistent business name, phone and location/service-area context.
• Dedicated service pages for commercially important offerings instead of one generic services paragraph.
• A clear contact or project-request page that works on mobile.
• Organization and service structured data where appropriate.
• Real case studies, project photographs and customer proof rather than fabricated metrics.
• Google Search Console and analytics so visibility and enquiries can be measured over time.

• Check that hours, phone, website, service areas and categories are still accurate.
• Add new real project or service photos where useful.
• Reply to new customer reviews.
• Review services when the business launches or removes an offering.
• Publish useful updates when there is something genuinely worth communicating; do not post filler merely to hit a cadence.
• Check Search Console, analytics and Business Profile performance together rather than judging success from one manual search.

The point of the profile is not to reach a setup-progress percentage. It is to maintain an accurate, credible local business entity that matches what customers find everywhere else.