Check your situation
Can you get a Google Business Profile without a shop?
Yes, if you meet customers in person. Google’s eligibility guidelines say a business “must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours”. Under its guidelines for representing your business, travelling to customers counts.
| Your situation | Eligible for a Business Profile? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You work from home and travel to customers: a cleaner, mobile hairdresser, dog groomer or plumber | Yes, as a service-area business | Create a profile, hide your address and add the areas you cover. |
| Customers come to your home, with no permanent sign outside | Not as a shop front until you put up a permanent sign: Google says a business without permanent on-site signage isn’t eligible as a shop front | Put up a permanent sign with your business name if you want to show the address. If you also travel to customers, list as a service-area business and hide the address. If you don’t, rely on your website. |
| A desk in a co-working space | Only with clear signage and your own staff there to receive customers in opening hours | Otherwise, if you visit customers, verify with your real base and hide it. If not, rely on your website. |
| A virtual office, mail-forwarding address or PO box | No | Don’t use it on Google or Bing. If you visit customers, verify with your real base and hide it. |
| Online only: an online shop, remote services or digital products | No. Google lists online-only businesses as ineligible | Focus on your website, Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. |
| Classes or sessions in a hall you hire | No, not for a venue you don’t own or have the authority to represent | List each venue, day and time on your website. |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Google says profiles that break its guidelines can be suspended, so don’t borrow an address to get a map pin.
How to hide your address on Google
Google’s guidelines say service-area businesses, such as a plumber working from home, should hide their address. You still enter the address, because Google’s address help says you need one Google can find to verify. To hide it:
- Go to your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Location.
- Next to “Business location”, select Edit.
- Turn off Show business address to customers, then select Save.
Your profile then shows your service area instead. If you haven’t added one, Google chooses a local area, which you can change.
How to set your service areas, and the limits
In your Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Location. Next to “Service area”, select Edit, choose or type the areas, then Save. Google’s service area help sets these limits:
- Up to 20 service areas, based on cities, postcodes or other areas.
- No radius around your base. An old radius setting can’t be edited and must be replaced with named areas.
- The outer edge of your overall area shouldn’t be more than about two hours’ drive from where you’re based, though Google says a larger area may suit some businesses.
- Approved service-area changes can take up to 48 hours to show.
Google asks you to be as specific and accurate as possible, so list the places you actually go to.
How Google verifies a business without a shop
You can’t pick the method. Google’s verification help says Google sets the options automatically, based on things like your business type, region and opening hours. Some businesses need more than one. The methods it describes:
Video recording
Recommended by Google when offered. One unedited take of at least 30 seconds, filmed live on a mobile device. Review takes up to five working days.
Live video call
You show a Google support representative your location, equipment and proof you run the business. Only in your opening hours, and not for every business.
Phone, text or email
A code by call or text to your business number, or steps by email. Automated phone menus can’t receive the code.
Postcard
Not offered to every business. Most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days. Don’t edit your name, address or category while you wait.
Google says verification is sometimes instant if you’ve already verified your website in Google Search Console.
What to show in a verification video
Google’s video verification help lists what a service-area business must show. Before you press record, have ready:
- Street signs or landmarks near your base (if you work from home, your immediate neighbourhood)
- Tools, equipment or products ready to film
- Proof you run it: unlock a branded van, or show an invoice or utility bill in your profile’s business name
- Nothing showing bank, tax or ID numbers, private details or other people’s faces
If you’re not eligible, or don’t want a profile
Your website can appear in Google’s ordinary results without a Business Profile. These steps work for any business, online-only included.
1. A clear website that search engines can read
Put your services, areas, phone number and email on the page as text, not only in images, and list the towns or postcode districts you serve in one section. Google’s spam policies treat town-by-town pages that just funnel visitors to one page as doorway abuse. Our website checklist covers the rest.
2. Page titles that name the service and the area
Google’s title link guidance asks for a descriptive, concise title on every page, without keyword stuffing. For example: “Mobile dog grooming in [your town] and nearby villages | [Business name]”.
3. Google Search Console
Search Console is a free Google service. Once you verify your site, it shows which pages are indexed, any problems and which searches you appear for. Not showing at all? Read why a website doesn’t show on Google.
4. Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing Webmaster Tools is free, and you can import a site already verified in Search Console. Bing’s webmaster guidelines cover how content is found and shown in both Bing search and Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant.
5. Other maps and directories
| Listing | Address rules | Without a shop address |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | An address Google can find, to verify you. No virtual offices or remote PO boxes. | Hide it and add up to 20 service areas. Not for online-only businesses. |
| Bing Places | A current address is required for your account. No mailing address you don’t operate from, and its FAQ rules out PO boxes. | If customers don’t visit you, enter your full address and a category, add service areas (up to 20), then hide the address. Bing shows your city, and service areas for some categories. |
| Apple Business | A place card address is where customers can get goods or services during opening hours. | Since October 2024, businesses without a physical location can register their brand, so their name and logo can show in Apple Mail and Tap to Pay on iPhone. This is now in Apple Business, which replaced Business Connect and is free in the UK. Branded Mail needs email on your own domain, not Gmail or Outlook. |
| Directories | Varies by site | Check the help page first. Skip any that insist on showing your home address. |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Use the same business name, phone number and website everywhere you list.
Reviews: only from real customers
Google’s local ranking help says more reviews and positive ratings can help, but two sets of rules apply.
- Google: its reviews help says reviews must reflect a genuine experience. Offering free or discounted goods or services for posting, changing or removing a review is fake engagement and prohibited. Its Maps content policy also bars businesses from discouraging negative reviews or asking only happy customers, and removes reviews with a conflict of interest, such as from family or staff.
- UK law: since 6 April 2025, Schedule 20, paragraph 13 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans submitting fake reviews or reviews that hide an incentive, and paying or rewarding anyone else to do it. It also bans publishing reviews in a misleading way, such as removing negative ones while keeping positive ones.
The CMA’s guidance for businesses says don’t pose as a customer or offer money or gifts for positive reviews, and that breaking consumer protection law can mean a fine of up to 10% of global turnover. The detail is in its fake reviews guidance (CMA208).
Ask every customer the same way, with a review link or QR code on your invoice. Once your profile is live, our free Google review link maker turns its Place ID into both.
What hiding your address doesn’t change
If you run a limited company, gov.uk says your website must show its registered office address and registered number, though you don’t need a sign at home if you run the business from there. That address is public on the Companies House register. To keep your home off it, gov.uk’s registered office rules allow an accountant’s or solicitor’s address, with permission, but not a PO box.
Regulation 6 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 also requires anyone providing an “information society service” to make their name and the geographic address where they’re established easily accessible. If you’re unsure what applies, ask an accountant or legal adviser.
If you’d rather have it done for you
Millwards Digital builds and looks after websites for UK small businesses. Launch is a one-page website for £249 plus £39 a month; Business covers up to five pages for £599 plus £69 a month. No VAT is added.
Common questions about Google without a shop address
Can I have a Google Business Profile without showing my home address?
Yes, if you visit or deliver to customers. Set it up as a service-area business, turn off “Show business address to customers” and add your service areas. Google still asks for an address it can find to verify you, but once hidden it isn’t shown on your profile.
Can I use a virtual office or PO box address instead of my home?
No. Google says virtual offices aren’t eligible and PO boxes or mailboxes at remote locations aren’t acceptable. Bing Places doesn’t accept PO boxes or mailing addresses you don’t operate from.
Can an online-only business get a Google Business Profile?
No. Google lists online-only businesses as ineligible. Focus on your website, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools instead.
How many service areas can I add, and how far can they reach?
Up to 20, based on cities, postcodes or other areas, not a radius. Google says the outer edge shouldn’t be more than about two hours’ drive from where you’re based.
Can I choose how Google verifies my business?
No. Google sets the methods automatically and they can’t be changed. If video verification is offered, Google recommends using it.
Can I ask friends and family to leave reviews?
Only if they’ve genuinely used your business, and not family or staff. Google’s Maps content policy removes reviews based on a conflict of interest, such as family relationships, employment or other personal affiliations. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, a review that isn’t based on a genuine experience is a fake review.