Google Business Profile Service Areas: Should You Use Zip Codes, Cities, or a Radius?

The Short Answer: Radius is Dead, Use Cities or Zip Codes

If you are wondering whether to use a radius, cities, or zip codes for your Google Business Profile service area settings, the answer is simple: Google no longer supports radius targeting. You must use specific cities, counties, or zip codes.

Many service-area business owners—like plumbers, roofers, and mobile detailers—assume that expanding their service area in Google will magically make them rank in surrounding towns. Unfortunately, that is not how the algorithm works. Your service area simply draws a boundary on your map listing; it does not change the physical address Google uses to calculate your local search rankings.

How Google Business Profile Service Area Settings Actually Work

Google divides businesses into three categories: storefronts, service-area businesses (SABs), and hybrid businesses. If you run your business out of your home and travel to customers, you are an SAB and must hide your physical address. If you have a shop where customers can visit, but you also deliver, you are a hybrid.

When configuring your service area, Google enforces a few strict rules:

• The 20-Area Limit: You can only select a maximum of 20 service areas. This can be a mix of cities, zip codes, or counties, but the total cannot exceed 20.
• The 2-Hour Rule: The boundaries of your overall service area should not extend beyond a two-hour driving distance from where your business is based.
• No More Radius: You can no longer say "within 50 miles of my address." If you have an old profile with a radius, you cannot edit it without being forced to switch to cities or zip codes.

Zip Codes vs. Cities: Which Should You Choose?

Since you are capped at 20 areas, how you define your territory matters. Here is a practical breakdown of how to choose between zip codes and cities.

In practice, I recommend using cities for your primary coverage to save your 20 slots, and only using zip codes if you need to carve out a very specific, highly profitable neighborhood.

The Hard Truth: Service Areas Do Not Improve Your Rankings

Important: Adding a city to your Google Business Profile service area does not help you rank in that city.

This is the most common misconception in local SEO. Google determines your ranking based on the physical address where you verified your profile, even if that address is hidden from the public. If your home address is in Suburb A, but you add Suburb B to your service area, you will still struggle to rank in Suburb B unless you build dedicated location pages on your website.

If you want to capture traffic outside your immediate zip code, you need a broader strategy. An InspectRank report can help you identify which surrounding towns have the highest search volume so you can prioritize your website content accordingly.

How to Update Your Service Area Settings

Updating your territory takes less than a minute. Here is the step-by-step process:

1. Log in to the Google account associated with your business.
2. Search for your business name or "my business" in Google Search.
3. Click Edit profile, then select Location.
4. Scroll down to Service area and click the pencil icon to edit.
5. Remove any old radius settings or unwanted areas, and type in your new cities or zip codes.
6. Click Save.

Conclusion

Your Google Business Profile service area settings are about customer communication, not search engine optimization. They tell potential clients whether you will drive to their house, but they do not convince Google to rank you higher in those towns. Stick to the 20-area limit, keep it under a two-hour drive, and focus your real SEO efforts on your website.