Thank you all you beautiful people for your support and keeping me motivated 🙏. This is my fitness journey. This is my life. I love my life! I have 2 beautiful baby boys, a loving partner and since giving birth I now have bounds of self confidence. I received an offensive comment off of a fellow Tumbler user, calling me ‘fat and a whore’. Now I like to use the word Curvy and not fat. The word fat has very negative connotations and I don’t need that in my life. I will NOT tolerate abusive or perverse comments towards myself or my followers. I wish people could just support each other instead of tearing each other down. If you have the same views as me, let’s be Tumblr buds! If not, then your loss ✌🤗.
’s rules and guidelines there is a lot of room for improvement.
Yes, they have
rules written down
, but those guidelines are vague in many areas and contradictory in spots.
That makes things confusing for even the smartest marketer or business owner. Trying to understand some of GMBs guidelines is almost like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a dark room.
And the rules pertaining to Service Area Businesses (SABs) seem to be the most
confusing.
In this column, you’ll learn about the most common problems SABs experience in Google My Business — and how to solve them.
What is Unique About Service Area Businesses in GMB?
Service Area Businesses are those lacking a physical storefront location where customers can visit.
SABs have employees that go out to their customers and serve or service the customers at their locations.
Common examples of SABs include plumbers, landscapers, pest control companies, and locksmiths. Many of these Service Area Businesses are run out of the business owner’s home.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Any eligible local service business – a painter, roofer, contractor, etc. – will benefit from claiming and
optimizing their Google My Business listing
.
The problem?
Many Service Area Businesses have set up their GMB profiles incorrectly and are violating Google’s
Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google
.
Violating these guidelines generally means trouble for them either instantly – such as when you verify your SAB listing with the GMB PIN postcard, and the listing immediately gets suspended — or down the road because of some other infraction.
Here are some of the common Google My Business Service Area Business problems and how to avoid the pitfalls associated with them.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
How to Correctly Claim Your GMB Service Area Business Listing
The old Google My Business claiming process was flawed for Service Area Businesses.
Google asked these businesses to enter their physical address during the early part of the claiming process.
The business owner would first enter the name of their business:
And then were immediately asked to enter their address.
The catch? There were two little checkboxes many people either skipped or didn’t know what they meant:
I deliver goods and services to my customers.
Hide my address (it’s not a store) Only show region.
Google didn’t do a very good job of explaining these checkboxes and their importance. They were easy to miss and you could select one without the other.
(So you could choose that you delivered goods and services but not check the “Hide my address” box.)
What this means is that there are a ton of SAB Google My Business listings out there online that are set up incorrectly.
Google does not
allow SAB businesses to display their home address or a non-storefront business address on GMB listings.
There are probably thousands and thousands (if not more) GMB SAB listings set up incorrectly from this flawed claiming process.
And because these business owners have likely not checked the frequently updated Google guidelines, they might not even realize their listings are in violation.
The good news is that Google has finally cleaned up this claiming process and made things a little clearer.
Let’s take a look at the new claiming process.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
The New SAB Claiming Process
First, the business is asked to enter their name and category:
Then they are asked if they want to add a location that customers can visit, like a store or office.
It’s a simple Yes or No radio button.
This is much clearer, although I think it would be even more helpful if they added a link to a section in the guidelines that clearly discussed the difference between a storefront (or physical location that customers come to) and a SAB.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
It would also be helpful if that page clearly stated that virtual offices or co-working space addresses are not allowed unless very specific criteria are met… but I’m jumping ahead of myself.
When the Service Area Business owner selects “No,” they are given the opportunity to list service areas:
It’s not until the very end of the process that they’re then asked for their address so that the verification postcard with the PIN number can be sent out to them.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
And the good thing? Google already knows that they are a Service Area Business, so when they go into their GMB dashboard, they are already set up as a SAB with no address displayed!
(Big improvement, huh?)
So this helps all the new service businesses claiming their GMB listings.
But what should all the SABs do if they already have their address displayed in their GMB listings?
Go Ahead – Delete Your Address Already!
If you run your business out of your home or out of a location where you don’t allow customers (and don’t have permanent signage and your staff working there during business hours), you must
delete your address from your GMB listing and select service areas.
You can select up to 20 service areas.
Keep in mind that the service areas you select should be within a two-hour drive from your location.
Also, fair warning: sometimes deleting your address can automatically trigger a suspension or can cause you to have to re-verify your listing.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
So before you delete your address, make sure you that you have formal proof of your business’s legitimacy in the way of documents with your company’s name and business address on them.
You’ll need to provide this to Google during the GMB listing reinstatement process, should you get suspended.
You will need to provide Google proof in the form of a business license, a record of your business from the Secretary of State or some other business governing body, a utility bill with your company’s name and address, photos of your service vehicles with signage on them, etc.
You will have to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business to get your listing reinstated if you get suspended.
But keep in mind that if you don’t delete your address from your GMB listing, you are very likely going to get suspended sooner rather than later anyway for violating GMBs guidelines.
It’s better to be proactive and follow the rules and explain to Google that you were correcting your errors instead of getting flat-out busted.
NOTE:
Google may need to review this change after you delete your address, so you may see a “Pending” notice or some other “Under Review” notice. If that notice doesn’t go away after 2-3 days, contact
Google My Business Support
.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Tip For Digital Marketing Agencies:
If you’re a digital marketing agency working with a SAB client and you need to confirm if they are violating the address rule or you’re doing some spam-fighting work on behalf of your client,
Melissa.com’s address lookup feature
is a handy tool.
In the example below, it’s pretty obvious that this business is being run out of a home just from the photo that Google displays in the GMB listing:
But you can use Melissa.com’s lookup tool to confirm it:
If your client is violating the address rule, they need to log in to the
GMB dashboard
, click on the “Info” section, and then click the pencil icon next to their address and delete their address.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
They’ll then be given the option to select service areas.
What Is a Google My Business Hybrid Business?
Before we move on, it’s best that we discuss what a
Hybrid Business
is.
A Hybrid Business is a company that has a storefront with a physical store/location that customers come to, they have permanent signage and their employees are staffed at their location during stated business hours.
These businesses also go out to their customers to service them at their location.
Restaurants with indoor dining but also deliver food to people’s homes are one example.
A service example would be a home improvements store that has a showroom that people can shop at, but they have service technicians and delivery employees that go out to customers’ homes to make deliveries and service/fix appliances.
Hybrid Businesses can have the best of both worlds – they can show their address (as long as they have permanent signage at their storefront) – and can select service areas.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
If they don’t have permanent signage at their location, however, they can only be categorized as a SAB and they cannot
display their address in their GMB profile.
By the way, Google doesn’t consider vinyl signs to be permanent signage.
Employees, Extra Locations, and Metro Listings… Oh, My!
According to Google’s guidelines, Service Area Businesses should have one
profile for the central office or location with a designated service area.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
However, the guidelines also say that if you have different locations for your service business, with separate service areas and separate staff at each location, you’re allowed one profile for each location.
Additionally, the guidelines state that Service Area Businesses can only create one profile
for the metropolitan area that they serve.
Also, the boundaries of your SABs
GMB profile
’s overall service area shouldn’t be more than about a two-hour drive from where your business is based. For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
(Confused yet? Remember my analogy about solving the Rubik’s Cube in a dark room? Here’s where that comes into play…)
So this is where things get complex. Let’s break this down a bit, and I will give you a word of caution: Do not
try and push the limits or stretch these guidelines.
If you do violate or bend these rules, sooner or later, you will get busted by Google, a competitor, a digital marketing agency that works for one of your competitors, or by someone who just enjoys knocking off spammers.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
If you violate or push the boundaries of these rules, you will get suspended .
When it comes to Google My Business’s Guidelines, it is far better to be safe than sorry.
(I’ve seen sorry, and it was the business owners that did push the limits, violated Google’s guidelines, and got their GMB listings suspended. They dropped off Google’s local search altogether. And it’s not a pretty picture! Their phone stopped ringing and their website visitors disappeared. Believe me, it’s not worth the risk.)
I’ll explain each of these as best I can, based on my interpretation and experience. Feel free to consult other expert opinions as well…
Service Area Businesses Should Have One Profile for the Central Office or Location With a Designated Service Area
This makes sense for most Service Area Businesses.
Let’s face it, if you are a sole proprietor, you will have one location and that’s most likely your home or space/location that’s used for storage for your materials or equipment. It’s not suitable for customers to visit.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
You would claim only one Google My Business listing and not include your physical address in that listing. You can list up to 20 service areas.
Note:
The ranking for SABs on Google is based on the physical location of your business – the address that you used to verify your listing. Rankings have nothing to do with the service areas you select.
If You Have Different Locations for Your Service Business, With Separate Service Areas and Separate Staff at Each Location, You’re Allowed One Profile for Each Location
Again, this is not the time to go out and say, “Wahoo! I’m going to claim a bunch of GMB listings from my employee’s home addresses and dominate the local search results in my entire state or county!”
Not. Going. To. Happen. Don’t do it!
First, claiming GMB listings from your employee’s homes wouldn’t stand up to Google’s scrutiny when your listings get suspended. You would have no official proof that those locations were legally or officially your
business locations.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
So, again, this guideline would truly not fit most SABs.
The other caveats are that you must have separate service areas and separate staff at each location. You better be prepared to hire lots of people if you think you’re going to try and perhaps “game” the system with this tactic.
Again, if this truly and legitimately is not your business model – which for 98% of the SAB cases I can predict it is not – don’t set up your listings this way.
Service Area Businesses Can Only Create One Profile for the Metropolitan Area That They Serve
This one makes sense. Doesn’t it?
And lastly…
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
The Boundaries of Your SABs GMB Profile’s Overall Service Area Shouldn’t Be More Than About a Two-Hour Drive From Where Your Business Is Based
For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
For most SABs, driving more than two hours to perform a service is a diminishing return. There are a few
service industries where that may not be the case (like the large-frame construction industry, for instance). So in those cases, you can set a larger service area.
But please don’t be like these people who literally had several countries as their service areas:
Don’t worry. They were taken down by Google. (See what happens when you break the rules?)
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Not-Real Offices: Let’s Get Real
I’ll lay out the hard truth for you, so brace yourself.
Businesses with a physical address often rank better than those that do not display their address.
That’s why it’s tempting for some Service Area Businesses to think they can game the system by renting out a UPS box address, a virtual office, or a co-working address just so they can have an “address” to put in that address field in their GMB listing.
But I will let you in on a little tip: Google knows where all the WeWork, Regus, and other major co-working and virtual offices are physically located. Have you heard of a little thing called Google Maps?
If you think you’re going to try and trick Google by adding one of those types of addresses to your GMB listing, you are just biding time until your listing gets suspended.
According to Google’s Guidelines, if your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn’t operate out of that location (a.k.a., a virtual office) that location is not eligible for a Business Profile on Google.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
And you can’t list an office at a co-working space unless that office has clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed by your employees during stated business hours. (Your staff – not the co-working building’s staff.)
From my experience with working with suspensions and on the
GMB Help Forum
, if you rent out space at one of these types of co-working places, Google expects you to rent out a dedicated office, have permanent signage outside the door of that office (and preferable have business signage in the lobby of the said office, too) and your company should be listed with your own suite number on the building’s directory.
And, of course, you must have your employee(s) there at that office during business hours.
If your listing gets suspended, Google will ask for photos and/or videos of all of these things – sometimes right down to a video of your happy employee in the entrance of your dedicated office’s lobby area – just as if a customer were walking in.
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So don’t mess with the bull.
How to Select the Best GMB Categories for a Service Area Business
When it comes to categories, select those most specific to your business. Since categories directly impact your rankings, selecting the right categories for your GMB listing is extra important.
For some Service Area Businesses, it makes sense to choose several different categories. You can choose up to ten, and some may need to be changed depending on the season or other circumstances.
Take an HVAC and a landscaper, for example. During the summer season, the HVAC company will want to be in the “air conditioning contractor” category and the landscaper would probably want the “landscaper” category as their primary.
However, when things get cold, they’d probably want to switch their categories around a bit. The HVAC would want to switch their primary category to “heating contractor” and the landscaper (who does snow removal during the winter months) would switch to “snow removal service.”
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Warning:
Changing your GMB categories can sometimes trigger a suspension or cause Google to re-verify your GMB listing.
Spammy SAB Categories
Service Area Businesses are prone to getting suspended due to the nature of their business and because there’s a lot of spam associated with Service Area Business listings.
It’s not uncommon to see fake SAB GMB listings.
These fake listings not only hurt consumers but also harm legitimate business owners. Here are just some
of the spammier SAB categories:
Garage Door Companies.
Plumbers.
Locksmiths.
Pest Control.
HVAC.
Tree Pruning.
Roofing.
Water Damage Restoration.
Flooring Contractors.
Foundation Repair.
Tree Service.
If you are in virtually any Service Area Business, you need to be prepared at all times for a suspension – even if you are following all of the rules.
Sometimes Google does a “sweep” and suspends a whole bunch of listings for no reason. You have to be prepared with your paperwork to fill out the reinstatement request form.
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Continue Reading Below
Service Area Business Suspensions
Some industries are more likely to get their GMB listings suspended than others. These categories are known to have more spam and fake listings – which makes them more prone to suspensions.
Google and SEO professionals have been trying to crack down on spammy and fake GMB listings, so if you’re in one of these industries, it’s very possible that someone will report your profile if you are violating any Google My Business rules.
As I mentioned, these spammy categories are typically Service Area Business and include locksmiths, plumbers, pest control services, HVAC, etc.
To prepare for a suspension, please read my recent blog post about
what to do if your GMB listing gets suspended
.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
But keep one thing in mind if you get busted using a virtual office or co-working space address: you simply can’t go in and delete that address and call it good.
You have to go in and replace that address with the address you actually operate out of (whether it’s your home or some other building that’s used for storage, chemicals, or equipment), then delete that address and finally add your service areas.
Then you’ll be ready to fill out the reinstatement request form.
In the reinstatement request form, thoroughly explain that you fixed the virtual office/co-working space address error, that you added your home address, then deleted your home address and added service areas.
You also must be prepared to submit legal/official documentation to prove that you run your business out of the address you entered.
You are the one that needs to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business – otherwise they can deny your reinstatement, and you’ll be off the grid.
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SAB Sob Stories
Over the years I’ve spent helping clients and answering questions on the GMB Help Forum, I’ve heard plenty of sob stories from Service Area Businesses that have had issues when they didn’t follow the guidelines.
I truly hope that after reading this article, you’re better prepared with your Service Area Business Google My Business profile.
’s rules and guidelines there is a lot of room for improvement.
Yes, they have
rules written down
, but those guidelines are vague in many areas and contradictory in spots.
That makes things confusing for even the smartest marketer or business owner. Trying to understand some of GMBs guidelines is almost like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a dark room.
And the rules pertaining to Service Area Businesses (SABs) seem to be the most
confusing.
In this column, you’ll learn about the most common problems SABs experience in Google My Business — and how to solve them.
What is Unique About Service Area Businesses in GMB?
Service Area Businesses are those lacking a physical storefront location where customers can visit.
SABs have employees that go out to their customers and serve or service the customers at their locations.
Common examples of SABs include plumbers, landscapers, pest control companies, and locksmiths. Many of these Service Area Businesses are run out of the business owner’s home.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Any eligible local service business – a painter, roofer, contractor, etc. – will benefit from claiming and
optimizing their Google My Business listing
.
The problem?
Many Service Area Businesses have set up their GMB profiles incorrectly and are violating Google’s
Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google
.
Violating these guidelines generally means trouble for them either instantly – such as when you verify your SAB listing with the GMB PIN postcard, and the listing immediately gets suspended — or down the road because of some other infraction.
Here are some of the common Google My Business Service Area Business problems and how to avoid the pitfalls associated with them.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
How to Correctly Claim Your GMB Service Area Business Listing
The old Google My Business claiming process was flawed for Service Area Businesses.
Google asked these businesses to enter their physical address during the early part of the claiming process.
The business owner would first enter the name of their business:
And then were immediately asked to enter their address.
The catch? There were two little checkboxes many people either skipped or didn’t know what they meant:
I deliver goods and services to my customers.
Hide my address (it’s not a store) Only show region.
Google didn’t do a very good job of explaining these checkboxes and their importance. They were easy to miss and you could select one without the other.
(So you could choose that you delivered goods and services but not check the “Hide my address” box.)
What this means is that there are a ton of SAB Google My Business listings out there online that are set up incorrectly.
Google does not
allow SAB businesses to display their home address or a non-storefront business address on GMB listings.
There are probably thousands and thousands (if not more) GMB SAB listings set up incorrectly from this flawed claiming process.
And because these business owners have likely not checked the frequently updated Google guidelines, they might not even realize their listings are in violation.
The good news is that Google has finally cleaned up this claiming process and made things a little clearer.
Let’s take a look at the new claiming process.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
The New SAB Claiming Process
First, the business is asked to enter their name and category:
Then they are asked if they want to add a location that customers can visit, like a store or office.
It’s a simple Yes or No radio button.
This is much clearer, although I think it would be even more helpful if they added a link to a section in the guidelines that clearly discussed the difference between a storefront (or physical location that customers come to) and a SAB.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
It would also be helpful if that page clearly stated that virtual offices or co-working space addresses are not allowed unless very specific criteria are met… but I’m jumping ahead of myself.
When the Service Area Business owner selects “No,” they are given the opportunity to list service areas:
It’s not until the very end of the process that they’re then asked for their address so that the verification postcard with the PIN number can be sent out to them.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
And the good thing? Google already knows that they are a Service Area Business, so when they go into their GMB dashboard, they are already set up as a SAB with no address displayed!
(Big improvement, huh?)
So this helps all the new service businesses claiming their GMB listings.
But what should all the SABs do if they already have their address displayed in their GMB listings?
Go Ahead – Delete Your Address Already!
If you run your business out of your home or out of a location where you don’t allow customers (and don’t have permanent signage and your staff working there during business hours), you must
delete your address from your GMB listing and select service areas.
You can select up to 20 service areas.
Keep in mind that the service areas you select should be within a two-hour drive from your location.
Also, fair warning: sometimes deleting your address can automatically trigger a suspension or can cause you to have to re-verify your listing.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
So before you delete your address, make sure you that you have formal proof of your business’s legitimacy in the way of documents with your company’s name and business address on them.
You’ll need to provide this to Google during the GMB listing reinstatement process, should you get suspended.
You will need to provide Google proof in the form of a business license, a record of your business from the Secretary of State or some other business governing body, a utility bill with your company’s name and address, photos of your service vehicles with signage on them, etc.
You will have to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business to get your listing reinstated if you get suspended.
But keep in mind that if you don’t delete your address from your GMB listing, you are very likely going to get suspended sooner rather than later anyway for violating GMBs guidelines.
It’s better to be proactive and follow the rules and explain to Google that you were correcting your errors instead of getting flat-out busted.
NOTE:
Google may need to review this change after you delete your address, so you may see a “Pending” notice or some other “Under Review” notice. If that notice doesn’t go away after 2-3 days, contact
Google My Business Support
.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Tip For Digital Marketing Agencies:
If you’re a digital marketing agency working with a SAB client and you need to confirm if they are violating the address rule or you’re doing some spam-fighting work on behalf of your client,
Melissa.com’s address lookup feature
is a handy tool.
In the example below, it’s pretty obvious that this business is being run out of a home just from the photo that Google displays in the GMB listing:
But you can use Melissa.com’s lookup tool to confirm it:
If your client is violating the address rule, they need to log in to the
GMB dashboard
, click on the “Info” section, and then click the pencil icon next to their address and delete their address.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
They’ll then be given the option to select service areas.
What Is a Google My Business Hybrid Business?
Before we move on, it’s best that we discuss what a
Hybrid Business
is.
A Hybrid Business is a company that has a storefront with a physical store/location that customers come to, they have permanent signage and their employees are staffed at their location during stated business hours.
These businesses also go out to their customers to service them at their location.
Restaurants with indoor dining but also deliver food to people’s homes are one example.
A service example would be a home improvements store that has a showroom that people can shop at, but they have service technicians and delivery employees that go out to customers’ homes to make deliveries and service/fix appliances.
Hybrid Businesses can have the best of both worlds – they can show their address (as long as they have permanent signage at their storefront) – and can select service areas.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
If they don’t have permanent signage at their location, however, they can only be categorized as a SAB and they cannot
display their address in their GMB profile.
By the way, Google doesn’t consider vinyl signs to be permanent signage.
Employees, Extra Locations, and Metro Listings… Oh, My!
According to Google’s guidelines, Service Area Businesses should have one
profile for the central office or location with a designated service area.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
However, the guidelines also say that if you have different locations for your service business, with separate service areas and separate staff at each location, you’re allowed one profile for each location.
Additionally, the guidelines state that Service Area Businesses can only create one profile
for the metropolitan area that they serve.
Also, the boundaries of your SABs
GMB profile
’s overall service area shouldn’t be more than about a two-hour drive from where your business is based. For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
(Confused yet? Remember my analogy about solving the Rubik’s Cube in a dark room? Here’s where that comes into play…)
So this is where things get complex. Let’s break this down a bit, and I will give you a word of caution: Do not
try and push the limits or stretch these guidelines.
If you do violate or bend these rules, sooner or later, you will get busted by Google, a competitor, a digital marketing agency that works for one of your competitors, or by someone who just enjoys knocking off spammers.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
If you violate or push the boundaries of these rules, you will get suspended .
When it comes to Google My Business’s Guidelines, it is far better to be safe than sorry.
(I’ve seen sorry, and it was the business owners that did push the limits, violated Google’s guidelines, and got their GMB listings suspended. They dropped off Google’s local search altogether. And it’s not a pretty picture! Their phone stopped ringing and their website visitors disappeared. Believe me, it’s not worth the risk.)
I’ll explain each of these as best I can, based on my interpretation and experience. Feel free to consult other expert opinions as well…
Service Area Businesses Should Have One Profile for the Central Office or Location With a Designated Service Area
This makes sense for most Service Area Businesses.
Let’s face it, if you are a sole proprietor, you will have one location and that’s most likely your home or space/location that’s used for storage for your materials or equipment. It’s not suitable for customers to visit.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
You would claim only one Google My Business listing and not include your physical address in that listing. You can list up to 20 service areas.
Note:
The ranking for SABs on Google is based on the physical location of your business – the address that you used to verify your listing. Rankings have nothing to do with the service areas you select.
If You Have Different Locations for Your Service Business, With Separate Service Areas and Separate Staff at Each Location, You’re Allowed One Profile for Each Location
Again, this is not the time to go out and say, “Wahoo! I’m going to claim a bunch of GMB listings from my employee’s home addresses and dominate the local search results in my entire state or county!”
Not. Going. To. Happen. Don’t do it!
First, claiming GMB listings from your employee’s homes wouldn’t stand up to Google’s scrutiny when your listings get suspended. You would have no official proof that those locations were legally or officially your
business locations.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
So, again, this guideline would truly not fit most SABs.
The other caveats are that you must have separate service areas and separate staff at each location. You better be prepared to hire lots of people if you think you’re going to try and perhaps “game” the system with this tactic.
Again, if this truly and legitimately is not your business model – which for 98% of the SAB cases I can predict it is not – don’t set up your listings this way.
Service Area Businesses Can Only Create One Profile for the Metropolitan Area That They Serve
This one makes sense. Doesn’t it?
And lastly…
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
The Boundaries of Your SABs GMB Profile’s Overall Service Area Shouldn’t Be More Than About a Two-Hour Drive From Where Your Business Is Based
For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
For most SABs, driving more than two hours to perform a service is a diminishing return. There are a few
service industries where that may not be the case (like the large-frame construction industry, for instance). So in those cases, you can set a larger service area.
But please don’t be like these people who literally had several countries as their service areas:
Don’t worry. They were taken down by Google. (See what happens when you break the rules?)
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
Not-Real Offices: Let’s Get Real
I’ll lay out the hard truth for you, so brace yourself.
Businesses with a physical address often rank better than those that do not display their address.
That’s why it’s tempting for some Service Area Businesses to think they can game the system by renting out a UPS box address, a virtual office, or a co-working address just so they can have an “address” to put in that address field in their GMB listing.
But I will let you in on a little tip: Google knows where all the WeWork, Regus, and other major co-working and virtual offices are physically located. Have you heard of a little thing called Google Maps?
If you think you’re going to try and trick Google by adding one of those types of addresses to your GMB listing, you are just biding time until your listing gets suspended.
According to Google’s Guidelines, if your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn’t operate out of that location (a.k.a., a virtual office) that location is not eligible for a Business Profile on Google.
Advertisement
Continue Reading Below
And you can’t list an office at a co-working space unless that office has clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed by your employees during stated business hours. (Your staff – not the co-working building’s staff.)
From my experience with working with suspensions and on the
GMB Help Forum
, if you rent out space at one of these types of co-working places, Google expects you to rent out a dedicated office, have permanent signage outside the door of that office (and preferable have business signage in the lobby of the said office, too) and your company should be listed with your own suite number on the building’s directory.
And, of course, you must have your employee(s) there at that office during business hours.
If your listing gets suspended, Google will ask for photos and/or videos of all of these things – sometimes right down to a video of your happy employee in the entrance of your dedicated office’s lobby area – just as if a customer were walking in.
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So don’t mess with the bull.
How to Select the Best GMB Categories for a Service Area Business
When it comes to categories, select those most specific to your business. Since categories directly impact your rankings, selecting the right categories for your GMB listing is extra important.
For some Service Area Businesses, it makes sense to choose several different categories. You can choose up to ten, and some may need to be changed depending on the season or other circumstances.
Take an HVAC and a landscaper, for example. During the summer season, the HVAC company will want to be in the “air conditioning contractor” category and the landscaper would probably want the “landscaper” category as their primary.
However, when things get cold, they’d probably want to switch their categories around a bit. The HVAC would want to switch their primary category to “heating contractor” and the landscaper (who does snow removal during the winter months) would switch to “snow removal service.”
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Warning:
Changing your GMB categories can sometimes trigger a suspension or cause Google to re-verify your GMB listing.
Spammy SAB Categories
Service Area Businesses are prone to getting suspended due to the nature of their business and because there’s a lot of spam associated with Service Area Business listings.
It’s not uncommon to see fake SAB GMB listings.
These fake listings not only hurt consumers but also harm legitimate business owners. Here are just some
of the spammier SAB categories:
Garage Door Companies.
Plumbers.
Locksmiths.
Pest Control.
HVAC.
Tree Pruning.
Roofing.
Water Damage Restoration.
Flooring Contractors.
Foundation Repair.
Tree Service.
If you are in virtually any Service Area Business, you need to be prepared at all times for a suspension – even if you are following all of the rules.
Sometimes Google does a “sweep” and suspends a whole bunch of listings for no reason. You have to be prepared with your paperwork to fill out the reinstatement request form.
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Service Area Business Suspensions
Some industries are more likely to get their GMB listings suspended than others. These categories are known to have more spam and fake listings – which makes them more prone to suspensions.
Google and SEO professionals have been trying to crack down on spammy and fake GMB listings, so if you’re in one of these industries, it’s very possible that someone will report your profile if you are violating any Google My Business rules.
As I mentioned, these spammy categories are typically Service Area Business and include locksmiths, plumbers, pest control services, HVAC, etc.
To prepare for a suspension, please read my recent blog post about
what to do if your GMB listing gets suspended
.
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But keep one thing in mind if you get busted using a virtual office or co-working space address: you simply can’t go in and delete that address and call it good.
You have to go in and replace that address with the address you actually operate out of (whether it’s your home or some other building that’s used for storage, chemicals, or equipment), then delete that address and finally add your service areas.
Then you’ll be ready to fill out the reinstatement request form.
In the reinstatement request form, thoroughly explain that you fixed the virtual office/co-working space address error, that you added your home address, then deleted your home address and added service areas.
You also must be prepared to submit legal/official documentation to prove that you run your business out of the address you entered.
You are the one that needs to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business – otherwise they can deny your reinstatement, and you’ll be off the grid.
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SAB Sob Stories
Over the years I’ve spent helping clients and answering questions on the GMB Help Forum, I’ve heard plenty of sob stories from Service Area Businesses that have had issues when they didn’t follow the guidelines.
I truly hope that after reading this article, you’re better prepared with your Service Area Business Google My Business profile.
Whether you notice or not, plenty of PPC ads utilize questions to get more engagement. The questions can be literal or rhetorical, but either way, they’re trying to get you to click so you can learn the answer.
Does this method work for
PPC campaigns
?
In this article, we’ll discuss why you should consider asking questions in your PPC ads and provide tips about best practices in doing so.
Why Should You Use Questions in Your PPC Ads?
Questions are how people show interest in each other’s lives, and they’re a regular part of our everyday lives to boot. When ads use questions effectively, potential customers may feel like the brand cares about them and isn’t simply trying to sell them something.
That said, marketers can’t measure how customers feel. But, you can measure data to see if your questions in PPC ads are driving people to your page. Here are some reasons marketers have discovered questions in PPC ads work:
1. Get People’s Attention
A question can easily pique people’s interest, especially if it’s about a relatable struggle.
Let’s say you’re a marketing agency.
Try starting your PPC ads with statements like, “Do you want to increase your conversion rate?” or “Do you want to boost marketing results?”
The answers to these questions may seem like no-brainers. Yet, they can easily attract the attention of business owners who are desperately looking for ways to improve their sales results, as they want you to answer these questions for them without having to dig further.
2. Questions Can Boost Engagement
Engaging your audience
is essential. If they feel like you’re talking at them, not with them, they have no reason to click, like, share, or comment.
So, if you ask a question they want an answer to or want to answer, you’re inviting them into the conversation, not giving them the hard sell.
Your ultimate goal is to convert people into paying customers, but engaging with them via questions could get them to want to purchase from you instead of the person who simply said: “buy our product.”
3. More Clicks on PPC Ads with Questions
Not only can questions pique interest, but they can tap into a feeling of social obligation. When you ask someone a question in “real life,” they often feel obligated to answer. While your PPC ad isn’t staring at a user anticipating an answer, the reader could feel like they need to respond.
Or, they could have that question themselves—maybe they even typed in that exact question, and that’s why they see your ad. It could feel like they asked you the question and are now the ones waiting for your answer!
Asking a question you want them to answer, like “Are you ready to take the leap?” or a question they may have asked, like “Why should I travel to Iceland?” could make them click.
Note: Be sure your PPC ad’s link actually answers the question, provides relevant information before they provide contact information, or is directly related to the query in another way. Don’t just send them to your homepage unless the answer is there.
4. Showcase Brand Personality
The questions you ask will give customers an idea about your
brand identity
or personality.
Let’s take a look at the difference between these two questions:
“What’s your next six-figure move?”
“If you could travel anywhere for free, where would it be?”
The first question will likely give the impression that a business-savvy financial advisor or entrepreneur wrote the ad. It may even attract like-minded individuals who want to learn about generating passive income or building their own business.
The second question could let viewers see you as a company with a genuine interest in their dreams and futures. The “if you could” portion may also trigger viewers to share the dream destinations they’ve been saving up for, which could increase visibility if your PPC ad is on social media and not a search engine.
You only have one chance to make a good first impression, so be sure your question does that for you.
5 Times You Should Use Questions in PPC Ads
How can you utilize questions when making your PPC ads? Here are five ways you can use them to yield the results you want.
1. Use Questions to Make a Tough Sell
There are brand messages which are easy to communicate, like “Buy now to get 70 percent off your first order,” or “Sign up to get free access to our course.” These statements answer a question that didn’t even need to be asked: “Do you want something for cheap or free?” So, questions aren’t needed.
However, when you’re making a tough sell, peppering your ad with a few questions can help readers ease into the idea of consuming your content or opting into your business.
Let’s say you’re a blogger in the finance industry who wants to talk about the perks of investing. Money can be a touchy subject—even an intimidating one—for many. Using questions focusing on the perks of investing or reflecting things readers may already be wondering could draw them in.
You could write something like, “Do you want to abandon the 9-to-5 grind and be your own boss?” or “Do you want to retire in your 50s?”
These inquiries can get people to notice your ads because they’re exciting and relatable.
2. Use Questions as Conversation Starters
Think about the last time you approached a stranger in a social situation.
To avoid being awkward, you probably introduced yourself with your name and a brief statement, then asked a question like, “How do you know [insert mutual friend’s name]?”
It’s the same way for PPC ads.
Questions are a good starting point to introducing your business and the services you offer without putting on too much pressure.
For example, Ready Set Food’s PPC ads introduce the company by name and give some basic information. First-time parents who are concerned about their baby’s diets may already be interested in the topic, but the CTA “How Does It Work?” truly gets the conversation started.
3. Use Questions to Encourage Readers to Click the CTA
Asking a question reflecting the reader’s thoughts or addressing a pain point could lead them to click the call-to-action (CTA). The CTA could be the question itself, or the question could lead to the CTA.
A question that could be the CTA is reflected in the Ready, Set, Food ad above: How does it work?
Regent Atlantic’s PPC ad uses a question to lead readers to the CTA by asking, “Do you have a financial plan that works for you?” They then encourage people to click their ad to get the financial help they need.
4. Use Questions to Introduce Your Business
Including a question related to your businesses’ niche is a good starting point to establishing a relationship with your customers.
SEO agency Pushfire starts with the question, “Tired of SEO services that take shortcuts or attempt to game the latest algorithm?” Since SEO is a broad and complicated topic, the loaded question helps give a brief introduction of what their agency offers and how hard they’re willing to work for you.
5. Use a Question to Introduce a Solution
PPC ads can have questions that introduce problems the audience may already have.
Your products or services should provide the solution, immediately answering the question in a way that lets the audience know this. People are looking for solutions, not problems.
For example, Bookakery Boxes’ PPC ad starts with, “Looking for a gift that will last beyond Christmas?” Their answer is their subscription box program, which lets people give books to their loved ones throughout the year.
6 Tips for Using PPC Ad Questions Successfully
It’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it. When it comes to questions in PPC ads, you need to know not just when to ask them but how and why you’re doing so.
1. Understand Your Message
What does your company stand for, and what does it offer? You need to answer these questions for yourself before you ask your audience anything.
The questions you ask readers should help them relate to your message.
For instance, if you run a travel agency focusing on affordability, you could ask, “Are you dreaming of a vacation but worried about the cost?”
Or, if you run a clothing store that donates a portion of all proceeds, you could ask, “Do you want to look great while helping others?”
In both of these, the audience knows what your company is all about from one simple question.
2. Keep Them to a Minimum
Chances are, we’ve all met someone who just constantly asks question after question, and eventually, they become background noise at best.
Questions are more effective when they are utilized infrequently.
Plus, asking too many questions could make your copy seem deceitful and spammy, like you’re trying to get answers out of them, not help them solve a problem. Not surprisingly, no one wants to see too many questions because we prefer to get answers or solutions.
Just include one question to maximize the impact of your ads.
3. Make the Questions Seem Natural
Questions are natural parts of human conversation, and copy should reflect that—and no more than that.
These days, it’s not uncommon for
keywords to be questions
. Historically, it was best to have your long-tail keywords be verbatim in your copy; now, search engines are smart enough to understand context. Don’t wedge those questions in, especially repeatedly, just to fit your keywords.
There’s nothing wrong with adding questions every now and then. You want to make your PPC
ad copy
seem like you’re encouraging a friend to make it more engaging and enticing. Just don’t overdo it.
4. Understand Your Audience
Picking the right question involves understanding your audience.
What are the most common dilemmas of your target audience? Why would they need your products or services? Formulating questions along these lines will help you create copy that resonates with your intended viewers.
5. Keep Questions Positive
Your questions should make people excited, not scared or unhappy. A question that only has a negative response could lead to a negative perception of your brand.
For example, the question “Do you want a house infested with rats?” could make readers uncomfortable and respond strongly with “no,” or even, “how dare you assume I would?” After all, it conjures an image of a house with a rat infestation and implies someone, somewhere, may say, “why yes, yes I do!”
In contrast, the question “Do you have rats and want them gone?” makes your intended message more concise and clear. Readers know you’re offering products and services designed to take care of a rat infestation without assuming they do have a house full of rats.
Plus, people want solutions to their problems, and positively phrased questions and responses offer those.
6. Only Ask When You Know What the Answer Will Be
When you ask someone to become engaged to be married, you’re likely already pretty sure they’ll say “yes.” The same goes when asking a reader to engage with your content—you need to be pretty sure the answer will be “yes.”
In other words, the “yes” should be so expected that the question is rhetorical.
For example, Plato’s Closet has a PPC ad with the words, “Ready to upgrade your closet?”
In this situation, people who read the copy are more likely to stop and stare because of the
free shipping
option. The question just drove the message home.
Getting readers to respond “yes” to this early on, to the point where they click on the
CTA
, may make them more likely to answer “yes” once they’ve reached your product page. They’re already pretty excited about the questions they’ve already responded affirmatively to.
Conclusion
Questions in PPC ads could help you engage with your readers in various ways.
They can introduce your business, engage your audience at a human level, or make them excited to learn more. It can also be used to bring up a solution to a problem, which may encourage your audience to respond to your
CTA
.
Ask questions aligned with your main message. Make sure they seem natural and show you understand your
target audience
.
As long as you keep these tips in mind, you could create PPC ads that produce excellent results.
How will you use questions to get more engagement with your PPC ads?
See How My Agency Can Drive
Massive
Amounts of Traffic to Your Website
SEO
– unlock massive amounts of SEO traffic. See real results.
Content Marketing
– our team creates epic content that will get shared, get links, and attract traffic.
Whether you notice or not, plenty of PPC ads utilize questions to get more engagement. The questions can be literal or rhetorical, but either way, they’re trying to get you to click so you can learn the answer.
Does this method work for
PPC campaigns
?
In this article, we’ll discuss why you should consider asking questions in your PPC ads and provide tips about best practices in doing so.
Why Should You Use Questions in Your PPC Ads?
Questions are how people show interest in each other’s lives, and they’re a regular part of our everyday lives to boot. When ads use questions effectively, potential customers may feel like the brand cares about them and isn’t simply trying to sell them something.
That said, marketers can’t measure how customers feel. But, you can measure data to see if your questions in PPC ads are driving people to your page. Here are some reasons marketers have discovered questions in PPC ads work:
1. Get People’s Attention
A question can easily pique people’s interest, especially if it’s about a relatable struggle.
Let’s say you’re a marketing agency.
Try starting your PPC ads with statements like, “Do you want to increase your conversion rate?” or “Do you want to boost marketing results?”
The answers to these questions may seem like no-brainers. Yet, they can easily attract the attention of business owners who are desperately looking for ways to improve their sales results, as they want you to answer these questions for them without having to dig further.
2. Questions Can Boost Engagement
Engaging your audience
is essential. If they feel like you’re talking at them, not with them, they have no reason to click, like, share, or comment.
So, if you ask a question they want an answer to or want to answer, you’re inviting them into the conversation, not giving them the hard sell.
Your ultimate goal is to convert people into paying customers, but engaging with them via questions could get them to want to purchase from you instead of the person who simply said: “buy our product.”
3. More Clicks on PPC Ads with Questions
Not only can questions pique interest, but they can tap into a feeling of social obligation. When you ask someone a question in “real life,” they often feel obligated to answer. While your PPC ad isn’t staring at a user anticipating an answer, the reader could feel like they need to respond.
Or, they could have that question themselves—maybe they even typed in that exact question, and that’s why they see your ad. It could feel like they asked you the question and are now the ones waiting for your answer!
Asking a question you want them to answer, like “Are you ready to take the leap?” or a question they may have asked, like “Why should I travel to Iceland?” could make them click.
Note: Be sure your PPC ad’s link actually answers the question, provides relevant information before they provide contact information, or is directly related to the query in another way. Don’t just send them to your homepage unless the answer is there.
4. Showcase Brand Personality
The questions you ask will give customers an idea about your
brand identity
or personality.
Let’s take a look at the difference between these two questions:
“What’s your next six-figure move?”
“If you could travel anywhere for free, where would it be?”
The first question will likely give the impression that a business-savvy financial advisor or entrepreneur wrote the ad. It may even attract like-minded individuals who want to learn about generating passive income or building their own business.
The second question could let viewers see you as a company with a genuine interest in their dreams and futures. The “if you could” portion may also trigger viewers to share the dream destinations they’ve been saving up for, which could increase visibility if your PPC ad is on social media and not a search engine.
You only have one chance to make a good first impression, so be sure your question does that for you.
5 Times You Should Use Questions in PPC Ads
How can you utilize questions when making your PPC ads? Here are five ways you can use them to yield the results you want.
1. Use Questions to Make a Tough Sell
There are brand messages which are easy to communicate, like “Buy now to get 70 percent off your first order,” or “Sign up to get free access to our course.” These statements answer a question that didn’t even need to be asked: “Do you want something for cheap or free?” So, questions aren’t needed.
However, when you’re making a tough sell, peppering your ad with a few questions can help readers ease into the idea of consuming your content or opting into your business.
Let’s say you’re a blogger in the finance industry who wants to talk about the perks of investing. Money can be a touchy subject—even an intimidating one—for many. Using questions focusing on the perks of investing or reflecting things readers may already be wondering could draw them in.
You could write something like, “Do you want to abandon the 9-to-5 grind and be your own boss?” or “Do you want to retire in your 50s?”
These inquiries can get people to notice your ads because they’re exciting and relatable.
2. Use Questions as Conversation Starters
Think about the last time you approached a stranger in a social situation.
To avoid being awkward, you probably introduced yourself with your name and a brief statement, then asked a question like, “How do you know [insert mutual friend’s name]?”
It’s the same way for PPC ads.
Questions are a good starting point to introducing your business and the services you offer without putting on too much pressure.
For example, Ready Set Food’s PPC ads introduce the company by name and give some basic information. First-time parents who are concerned about their baby’s diets may already be interested in the topic, but the CTA “How Does It Work?” truly gets the conversation started.
3. Use Questions to Encourage Readers to Click the CTA
Asking a question reflecting the reader’s thoughts or addressing a pain point could lead them to click the call-to-action (CTA). The CTA could be the question itself, or the question could lead to the CTA.
A question that could be the CTA is reflected in the Ready, Set, Food ad above: How does it work?
Regent Atlantic’s PPC ad uses a question to lead readers to the CTA by asking, “Do you have a financial plan that works for you?” They then encourage people to click their ad to get the financial help they need.
4. Use Questions to Introduce Your Business
Including a question related to your businesses’ niche is a good starting point to establishing a relationship with your customers.
SEO agency Pushfire starts with the question, “Tired of SEO services that take shortcuts or attempt to game the latest algorithm?” Since SEO is a broad and complicated topic, the loaded question helps give a brief introduction of what their agency offers and how hard they’re willing to work for you.
5. Use a Question to Introduce a Solution
PPC ads can have questions that introduce problems the audience may already have.
Your products or services should provide the solution, immediately answering the question in a way that lets the audience know this. People are looking for solutions, not problems.
For example, Bookakery Boxes’ PPC ad starts with, “Looking for a gift that will last beyond Christmas?” Their answer is their subscription box program, which lets people give books to their loved ones throughout the year.
6 Tips for Using PPC Ad Questions Successfully
It’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it. When it comes to questions in PPC ads, you need to know not just when to ask them but how and why you’re doing so.
1. Understand Your Message
What does your company stand for, and what does it offer? You need to answer these questions for yourself before you ask your audience anything.
The questions you ask readers should help them relate to your message.
For instance, if you run a travel agency focusing on affordability, you could ask, “Are you dreaming of a vacation but worried about the cost?”
Or, if you run a clothing store that donates a portion of all proceeds, you could ask, “Do you want to look great while helping others?”
In both of these, the audience knows what your company is all about from one simple question.
2. Keep Them to a Minimum
Chances are, we’ve all met someone who just constantly asks question after question, and eventually, they become background noise at best.
Questions are more effective when they are utilized infrequently.
Plus, asking too many questions could make your copy seem deceitful and spammy, like you’re trying to get answers out of them, not help them solve a problem. Not surprisingly, no one wants to see too many questions because we prefer to get answers or solutions.
Just include one question to maximize the impact of your ads.
3. Make the Questions Seem Natural
Questions are natural parts of human conversation, and copy should reflect that—and no more than that.
These days, it’s not uncommon for
keywords to be questions
. Historically, it was best to have your long-tail keywords be verbatim in your copy; now, search engines are smart enough to understand context. Don’t wedge those questions in, especially repeatedly, just to fit your keywords.
There’s nothing wrong with adding questions every now and then. You want to make your PPC
ad copy
seem like you’re encouraging a friend to make it more engaging and enticing. Just don’t overdo it.
4. Understand Your Audience
Picking the right question involves understanding your audience.
What are the most common dilemmas of your target audience? Why would they need your products or services? Formulating questions along these lines will help you create copy that resonates with your intended viewers.
5. Keep Questions Positive
Your questions should make people excited, not scared or unhappy. A question that only has a negative response could lead to a negative perception of your brand.
For example, the question “Do you want a house infested with rats?” could make readers uncomfortable and respond strongly with “no,” or even, “how dare you assume I would?” After all, it conjures an image of a house with a rat infestation and implies someone, somewhere, may say, “why yes, yes I do!”
In contrast, the question “Do you have rats and want them gone?” makes your intended message more concise and clear. Readers know you’re offering products and services designed to take care of a rat infestation without assuming they do have a house full of rats.
Plus, people want solutions to their problems, and positively phrased questions and responses offer those.
6. Only Ask When You Know What the Answer Will Be
When you ask someone to become engaged to be married, you’re likely already pretty sure they’ll say “yes.” The same goes when asking a reader to engage with your content—you need to be pretty sure the answer will be “yes.”
In other words, the “yes” should be so expected that the question is rhetorical.
For example, Plato’s Closet has a PPC ad with the words, “Ready to upgrade your closet?”
In this situation, people who read the copy are more likely to stop and stare because of the
free shipping
option. The question just drove the message home.
Getting readers to respond “yes” to this early on, to the point where they click on the
CTA
, may make them more likely to answer “yes” once they’ve reached your product page. They’re already pretty excited about the questions they’ve already responded affirmatively to.
Conclusion
Questions in PPC ads could help you engage with your readers in various ways.
They can introduce your business, engage your audience at a human level, or make them excited to learn more. It can also be used to bring up a solution to a problem, which may encourage your audience to respond to your
CTA
.
Ask questions aligned with your main message. Make sure they seem natural and show you understand your
target audience
.
As long as you keep these tips in mind, you could create PPC ads that produce excellent results.
How will you use questions to get more engagement with your PPC ads?
See How My Agency Can Drive
Massive
Amounts of Traffic to Your Website
SEO
– unlock massive amounts of SEO traffic. See real results.
Content Marketing
– our team creates epic content that will get shared, get links, and attract traffic.
’s rules and guidelines there is a lot of room for improvement.
Yes, they have
rules written down
, but those guidelines are vague in many areas and contradictory in spots.
That makes things confusing for even the smartest marketer or business owner. Trying to understand some of GMBs guidelines is almost like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a dark room.
And the rules pertaining to Service Area Businesses (SABs) seem to be the most
confusing.
In this column, you’ll learn about the most common problems SABs experience in Google My Business — and how to solve them.
What is Unique About Service Area Businesses in GMB?
Service Area Businesses are those lacking a physical storefront location where customers can visit.
SABs have employees that go out to their customers and serve or service the customers at their locations.
Common examples of SABs include plumbers, landscapers, pest control companies, and locksmiths. Many of these Service Area Businesses are run out of the business owner’s home.
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Any eligible local service business – a painter, roofer, contractor, etc. – will benefit from claiming and
optimizing their Google My Business listing
.
The problem?
Many Service Area Businesses have set up their GMB profiles incorrectly and are violating Google’s
Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google
.
Violating these guidelines generally means trouble for them either instantly – such as when you verify your SAB listing with the GMB PIN postcard, and the listing immediately gets suspended — or down the road because of some other infraction.
Here are some of the common Google My Business Service Area Business problems and how to avoid the pitfalls associated with them.
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How to Correctly Claim Your GMB Service Area Business Listing
The old Google My Business claiming process was flawed for Service Area Businesses.
Google asked these businesses to enter their physical address during the early part of the claiming process.
The business owner would first enter the name of their business:
And then were immediately asked to enter their address.
The catch? There were two little checkboxes many people either skipped or didn’t know what they meant:
I deliver goods and services to my customers.
Hide my address (it’s not a store) Only show region.
Google didn’t do a very good job of explaining these checkboxes and their importance. They were easy to miss and you could select one without the other.
(So you could choose that you delivered goods and services but not check the “Hide my address” box.)
What this means is that there are a ton of SAB Google My Business listings out there online that are set up incorrectly.
Google does not
allow SAB businesses to display their home address or a non-storefront business address on GMB listings.
There are probably thousands and thousands (if not more) GMB SAB listings set up incorrectly from this flawed claiming process.
And because these business owners have likely not checked the frequently updated Google guidelines, they might not even realize their listings are in violation.
The good news is that Google has finally cleaned up this claiming process and made things a little clearer.
Let’s take a look at the new claiming process.
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The New SAB Claiming Process
First, the business is asked to enter their name and category:
Then they are asked if they want to add a location that customers can visit, like a store or office.
It’s a simple Yes or No radio button.
This is much clearer, although I think it would be even more helpful if they added a link to a section in the guidelines that clearly discussed the difference between a storefront (or physical location that customers come to) and a SAB.
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It would also be helpful if that page clearly stated that virtual offices or co-working space addresses are not allowed unless very specific criteria are met… but I’m jumping ahead of myself.
When the Service Area Business owner selects “No,” they are given the opportunity to list service areas:
It’s not until the very end of the process that they’re then asked for their address so that the verification postcard with the PIN number can be sent out to them.
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And the good thing? Google already knows that they are a Service Area Business, so when they go into their GMB dashboard, they are already set up as a SAB with no address displayed!
(Big improvement, huh?)
So this helps all the new service businesses claiming their GMB listings.
But what should all the SABs do if they already have their address displayed in their GMB listings?
Go Ahead – Delete Your Address Already!
If you run your business out of your home or out of a location where you don’t allow customers (and don’t have permanent signage and your staff working there during business hours), you must
delete your address from your GMB listing and select service areas.
You can select up to 20 service areas.
Keep in mind that the service areas you select should be within a two-hour drive from your location.
Also, fair warning: sometimes deleting your address can automatically trigger a suspension or can cause you to have to re-verify your listing.
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So before you delete your address, make sure you that you have formal proof of your business’s legitimacy in the way of documents with your company’s name and business address on them.
You’ll need to provide this to Google during the GMB listing reinstatement process, should you get suspended.
You will need to provide Google proof in the form of a business license, a record of your business from the Secretary of State or some other business governing body, a utility bill with your company’s name and address, photos of your service vehicles with signage on them, etc.
You will have to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business to get your listing reinstated if you get suspended.
But keep in mind that if you don’t delete your address from your GMB listing, you are very likely going to get suspended sooner rather than later anyway for violating GMBs guidelines.
It’s better to be proactive and follow the rules and explain to Google that you were correcting your errors instead of getting flat-out busted.
NOTE:
Google may need to review this change after you delete your address, so you may see a “Pending” notice or some other “Under Review” notice. If that notice doesn’t go away after 2-3 days, contact
Google My Business Support
.
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Tip For Digital Marketing Agencies:
If you’re a digital marketing agency working with a SAB client and you need to confirm if they are violating the address rule or you’re doing some spam-fighting work on behalf of your client,
Melissa.com’s address lookup feature
is a handy tool.
In the example below, it’s pretty obvious that this business is being run out of a home just from the photo that Google displays in the GMB listing:
But you can use Melissa.com’s lookup tool to confirm it:
If your client is violating the address rule, they need to log in to the
GMB dashboard
, click on the “Info” section, and then click the pencil icon next to their address and delete their address.
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They’ll then be given the option to select service areas.
What Is a Google My Business Hybrid Business?
Before we move on, it’s best that we discuss what a
Hybrid Business
is.
A Hybrid Business is a company that has a storefront with a physical store/location that customers come to, they have permanent signage and their employees are staffed at their location during stated business hours.
These businesses also go out to their customers to service them at their location.
Restaurants with indoor dining but also deliver food to people’s homes are one example.
A service example would be a home improvements store that has a showroom that people can shop at, but they have service technicians and delivery employees that go out to customers’ homes to make deliveries and service/fix appliances.
Hybrid Businesses can have the best of both worlds – they can show their address (as long as they have permanent signage at their storefront) – and can select service areas.
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If they don’t have permanent signage at their location, however, they can only be categorized as a SAB and they cannot
display their address in their GMB profile.
By the way, Google doesn’t consider vinyl signs to be permanent signage.
Employees, Extra Locations, and Metro Listings… Oh, My!
According to Google’s guidelines, Service Area Businesses should have one
profile for the central office or location with a designated service area.
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However, the guidelines also say that if you have different locations for your service business, with separate service areas and separate staff at each location, you’re allowed one profile for each location.
Additionally, the guidelines state that Service Area Businesses can only create one profile
for the metropolitan area that they serve.
Also, the boundaries of your SABs
GMB profile
’s overall service area shouldn’t be more than about a two-hour drive from where your business is based. For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
(Confused yet? Remember my analogy about solving the Rubik’s Cube in a dark room? Here’s where that comes into play…)
So this is where things get complex. Let’s break this down a bit, and I will give you a word of caution: Do not
try and push the limits or stretch these guidelines.
If you do violate or bend these rules, sooner or later, you will get busted by Google, a competitor, a digital marketing agency that works for one of your competitors, or by someone who just enjoys knocking off spammers.
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If you violate or push the boundaries of these rules, you will get suspended .
When it comes to Google My Business’s Guidelines, it is far better to be safe than sorry.
(I’ve seen sorry, and it was the business owners that did push the limits, violated Google’s guidelines, and got their GMB listings suspended. They dropped off Google’s local search altogether. And it’s not a pretty picture! Their phone stopped ringing and their website visitors disappeared. Believe me, it’s not worth the risk.)
I’ll explain each of these as best I can, based on my interpretation and experience. Feel free to consult other expert opinions as well…
Service Area Businesses Should Have One Profile for the Central Office or Location With a Designated Service Area
This makes sense for most Service Area Businesses.
Let’s face it, if you are a sole proprietor, you will have one location and that’s most likely your home or space/location that’s used for storage for your materials or equipment. It’s not suitable for customers to visit.
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You would claim only one Google My Business listing and not include your physical address in that listing. You can list up to 20 service areas.
Note:
The ranking for SABs on Google is based on the physical location of your business – the address that you used to verify your listing. Rankings have nothing to do with the service areas you select.
If You Have Different Locations for Your Service Business, With Separate Service Areas and Separate Staff at Each Location, You’re Allowed One Profile for Each Location
Again, this is not the time to go out and say, “Wahoo! I’m going to claim a bunch of GMB listings from my employee’s home addresses and dominate the local search results in my entire state or county!”
Not. Going. To. Happen. Don’t do it!
First, claiming GMB listings from your employee’s homes wouldn’t stand up to Google’s scrutiny when your listings get suspended. You would have no official proof that those locations were legally or officially your
business locations.
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So, again, this guideline would truly not fit most SABs.
The other caveats are that you must have separate service areas and separate staff at each location. You better be prepared to hire lots of people if you think you’re going to try and perhaps “game” the system with this tactic.
Again, if this truly and legitimately is not your business model – which for 98% of the SAB cases I can predict it is not – don’t set up your listings this way.
Service Area Businesses Can Only Create One Profile for the Metropolitan Area That They Serve
This one makes sense. Doesn’t it?
And lastly…
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The Boundaries of Your SABs GMB Profile’s Overall Service Area Shouldn’t Be More Than About a Two-Hour Drive From Where Your Business Is Based
For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
For most SABs, driving more than two hours to perform a service is a diminishing return. There are a few
service industries where that may not be the case (like the large-frame construction industry, for instance). So in those cases, you can set a larger service area.
But please don’t be like these people who literally had several countries as their service areas:
Don’t worry. They were taken down by Google. (See what happens when you break the rules?)
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Not-Real Offices: Let’s Get Real
I’ll lay out the hard truth for you, so brace yourself.
Businesses with a physical address often rank better than those that do not display their address.
That’s why it’s tempting for some Service Area Businesses to think they can game the system by renting out a UPS box address, a virtual office, or a co-working address just so they can have an “address” to put in that address field in their GMB listing.
But I will let you in on a little tip: Google knows where all the WeWork, Regus, and other major co-working and virtual offices are physically located. Have you heard of a little thing called Google Maps?
If you think you’re going to try and trick Google by adding one of those types of addresses to your GMB listing, you are just biding time until your listing gets suspended.
According to Google’s Guidelines, if your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn’t operate out of that location (a.k.a., a virtual office) that location is not eligible for a Business Profile on Google.
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And you can’t list an office at a co-working space unless that office has clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed by your employees during stated business hours. (Your staff – not the co-working building’s staff.)
From my experience with working with suspensions and on the
GMB Help Forum
, if you rent out space at one of these types of co-working places, Google expects you to rent out a dedicated office, have permanent signage outside the door of that office (and preferable have business signage in the lobby of the said office, too) and your company should be listed with your own suite number on the building’s directory.
And, of course, you must have your employee(s) there at that office during business hours.
If your listing gets suspended, Google will ask for photos and/or videos of all of these things – sometimes right down to a video of your happy employee in the entrance of your dedicated office’s lobby area – just as if a customer were walking in.
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So don’t mess with the bull.
How to Select the Best GMB Categories for a Service Area Business
When it comes to categories, select those most specific to your business. Since categories directly impact your rankings, selecting the right categories for your GMB listing is extra important.
For some Service Area Businesses, it makes sense to choose several different categories. You can choose up to ten, and some may need to be changed depending on the season or other circumstances.
Take an HVAC and a landscaper, for example. During the summer season, the HVAC company will want to be in the “air conditioning contractor” category and the landscaper would probably want the “landscaper” category as their primary.
However, when things get cold, they’d probably want to switch their categories around a bit. The HVAC would want to switch their primary category to “heating contractor” and the landscaper (who does snow removal during the winter months) would switch to “snow removal service.”
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Warning:
Changing your GMB categories can sometimes trigger a suspension or cause Google to re-verify your GMB listing.
Spammy SAB Categories
Service Area Businesses are prone to getting suspended due to the nature of their business and because there’s a lot of spam associated with Service Area Business listings.
It’s not uncommon to see fake SAB GMB listings.
These fake listings not only hurt consumers but also harm legitimate business owners. Here are just some
of the spammier SAB categories:
Garage Door Companies.
Plumbers.
Locksmiths.
Pest Control.
HVAC.
Tree Pruning.
Roofing.
Water Damage Restoration.
Flooring Contractors.
Foundation Repair.
Tree Service.
If you are in virtually any Service Area Business, you need to be prepared at all times for a suspension – even if you are following all of the rules.
Sometimes Google does a “sweep” and suspends a whole bunch of listings for no reason. You have to be prepared with your paperwork to fill out the reinstatement request form.
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Service Area Business Suspensions
Some industries are more likely to get their GMB listings suspended than others. These categories are known to have more spam and fake listings – which makes them more prone to suspensions.
Google and SEO professionals have been trying to crack down on spammy and fake GMB listings, so if you’re in one of these industries, it’s very possible that someone will report your profile if you are violating any Google My Business rules.
As I mentioned, these spammy categories are typically Service Area Business and include locksmiths, plumbers, pest control services, HVAC, etc.
To prepare for a suspension, please read my recent blog post about
what to do if your GMB listing gets suspended
.
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But keep one thing in mind if you get busted using a virtual office or co-working space address: you simply can’t go in and delete that address and call it good.
You have to go in and replace that address with the address you actually operate out of (whether it’s your home or some other building that’s used for storage, chemicals, or equipment), then delete that address and finally add your service areas.
Then you’ll be ready to fill out the reinstatement request form.
In the reinstatement request form, thoroughly explain that you fixed the virtual office/co-working space address error, that you added your home address, then deleted your home address and added service areas.
You also must be prepared to submit legal/official documentation to prove that you run your business out of the address you entered.
You are the one that needs to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business – otherwise they can deny your reinstatement, and you’ll be off the grid.
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SAB Sob Stories
Over the years I’ve spent helping clients and answering questions on the GMB Help Forum, I’ve heard plenty of sob stories from Service Area Businesses that have had issues when they didn’t follow the guidelines.
I truly hope that after reading this article, you’re better prepared with your Service Area Business Google My Business profile.
Whether you notice or not, plenty of PPC ads utilize questions to get more engagement. The questions can be literal or rhetorical, but either way, they’re trying to get you to click so you can learn the answer.
Does this method work for
PPC campaigns
?
In this article, we’ll discuss why you should consider asking questions in your PPC ads and provide tips about best practices in doing so.
Why Should You Use Questions in Your PPC Ads?
Questions are how people show interest in each other’s lives, and they’re a regular part of our everyday lives to boot. When ads use questions effectively, potential customers may feel like the brand cares about them and isn’t simply trying to sell them something.
That said, marketers can’t measure how customers feel. But, you can measure data to see if your questions in PPC ads are driving people to your page. Here are some reasons marketers have discovered questions in PPC ads work:
1. Get People’s Attention
A question can easily pique people’s interest, especially if it’s about a relatable struggle.
Let’s say you’re a marketing agency.
Try starting your PPC ads with statements like, “Do you want to increase your conversion rate?” or “Do you want to boost marketing results?”
The answers to these questions may seem like no-brainers. Yet, they can easily attract the attention of business owners who are desperately looking for ways to improve their sales results, as they want you to answer these questions for them without having to dig further.
2. Questions Can Boost Engagement
Engaging your audience
is essential. If they feel like you’re talking at them, not with them, they have no reason to click, like, share, or comment.
So, if you ask a question they want an answer to or want to answer, you’re inviting them into the conversation, not giving them the hard sell.
Your ultimate goal is to convert people into paying customers, but engaging with them via questions could get them to want to purchase from you instead of the person who simply said: “buy our product.”
3. More Clicks on PPC Ads with Questions
Not only can questions pique interest, but they can tap into a feeling of social obligation. When you ask someone a question in “real life,” they often feel obligated to answer. While your PPC ad isn’t staring at a user anticipating an answer, the reader could feel like they need to respond.
Or, they could have that question themselves—maybe they even typed in that exact question, and that’s why they see your ad. It could feel like they asked you the question and are now the ones waiting for your answer!
Asking a question you want them to answer, like “Are you ready to take the leap?” or a question they may have asked, like “Why should I travel to Iceland?” could make them click.
Note: Be sure your PPC ad’s link actually answers the question, provides relevant information before they provide contact information, or is directly related to the query in another way. Don’t just send them to your homepage unless the answer is there.
4. Showcase Brand Personality
The questions you ask will give customers an idea about your
brand identity
or personality.
Let’s take a look at the difference between these two questions:
“What’s your next six-figure move?”
“If you could travel anywhere for free, where would it be?”
The first question will likely give the impression that a business-savvy financial advisor or entrepreneur wrote the ad. It may even attract like-minded individuals who want to learn about generating passive income or building their own business.
The second question could let viewers see you as a company with a genuine interest in their dreams and futures. The “if you could” portion may also trigger viewers to share the dream destinations they’ve been saving up for, which could increase visibility if your PPC ad is on social media and not a search engine.
You only have one chance to make a good first impression, so be sure your question does that for you.
5 Times You Should Use Questions in PPC Ads
How can you utilize questions when making your PPC ads? Here are five ways you can use them to yield the results you want.
1. Use Questions to Make a Tough Sell
There are brand messages which are easy to communicate, like “Buy now to get 70 percent off your first order,” or “Sign up to get free access to our course.” These statements answer a question that didn’t even need to be asked: “Do you want something for cheap or free?” So, questions aren’t needed.
However, when you’re making a tough sell, peppering your ad with a few questions can help readers ease into the idea of consuming your content or opting into your business.
Let’s say you’re a blogger in the finance industry who wants to talk about the perks of investing. Money can be a touchy subject—even an intimidating one—for many. Using questions focusing on the perks of investing or reflecting things readers may already be wondering could draw them in.
You could write something like, “Do you want to abandon the 9-to-5 grind and be your own boss?” or “Do you want to retire in your 50s?”
These inquiries can get people to notice your ads because they’re exciting and relatable.
2. Use Questions as Conversation Starters
Think about the last time you approached a stranger in a social situation.
To avoid being awkward, you probably introduced yourself with your name and a brief statement, then asked a question like, “How do you know [insert mutual friend’s name]?”
It’s the same way for PPC ads.
Questions are a good starting point to introducing your business and the services you offer without putting on too much pressure.
For example, Ready Set Food’s PPC ads introduce the company by name and give some basic information. First-time parents who are concerned about their baby’s diets may already be interested in the topic, but the CTA “How Does It Work?” truly gets the conversation started.
3. Use Questions to Encourage Readers to Click the CTA
Asking a question reflecting the reader’s thoughts or addressing a pain point could lead them to click the call-to-action (CTA). The CTA could be the question itself, or the question could lead to the CTA.
A question that could be the CTA is reflected in the Ready, Set, Food ad above: How does it work?
Regent Atlantic’s PPC ad uses a question to lead readers to the CTA by asking, “Do you have a financial plan that works for you?” They then encourage people to click their ad to get the financial help they need.
4. Use Questions to Introduce Your Business
Including a question related to your businesses’ niche is a good starting point to establishing a relationship with your customers.
SEO agency Pushfire starts with the question, “Tired of SEO services that take shortcuts or attempt to game the latest algorithm?” Since SEO is a broad and complicated topic, the loaded question helps give a brief introduction of what their agency offers and how hard they’re willing to work for you.
5. Use a Question to Introduce a Solution
PPC ads can have questions that introduce problems the audience may already have.
Your products or services should provide the solution, immediately answering the question in a way that lets the audience know this. People are looking for solutions, not problems.
For example, Bookakery Boxes’ PPC ad starts with, “Looking for a gift that will last beyond Christmas?” Their answer is their subscription box program, which lets people give books to their loved ones throughout the year.
6 Tips for Using PPC Ad Questions Successfully
It’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it. When it comes to questions in PPC ads, you need to know not just when to ask them but how and why you’re doing so.
1. Understand Your Message
What does your company stand for, and what does it offer? You need to answer these questions for yourself before you ask your audience anything.
The questions you ask readers should help them relate to your message.
For instance, if you run a travel agency focusing on affordability, you could ask, “Are you dreaming of a vacation but worried about the cost?”
Or, if you run a clothing store that donates a portion of all proceeds, you could ask, “Do you want to look great while helping others?”
In both of these, the audience knows what your company is all about from one simple question.
2. Keep Them to a Minimum
Chances are, we’ve all met someone who just constantly asks question after question, and eventually, they become background noise at best.
Questions are more effective when they are utilized infrequently.
Plus, asking too many questions could make your copy seem deceitful and spammy, like you’re trying to get answers out of them, not help them solve a problem. Not surprisingly, no one wants to see too many questions because we prefer to get answers or solutions.
Just include one question to maximize the impact of your ads.
3. Make the Questions Seem Natural
Questions are natural parts of human conversation, and copy should reflect that—and no more than that.
These days, it’s not uncommon for
keywords to be questions
. Historically, it was best to have your long-tail keywords be verbatim in your copy; now, search engines are smart enough to understand context. Don’t wedge those questions in, especially repeatedly, just to fit your keywords.
There’s nothing wrong with adding questions every now and then. You want to make your PPC
ad copy
seem like you’re encouraging a friend to make it more engaging and enticing. Just don’t overdo it.
4. Understand Your Audience
Picking the right question involves understanding your audience.
What are the most common dilemmas of your target audience? Why would they need your products or services? Formulating questions along these lines will help you create copy that resonates with your intended viewers.
5. Keep Questions Positive
Your questions should make people excited, not scared or unhappy. A question that only has a negative response could lead to a negative perception of your brand.
For example, the question “Do you want a house infested with rats?” could make readers uncomfortable and respond strongly with “no,” or even, “how dare you assume I would?” After all, it conjures an image of a house with a rat infestation and implies someone, somewhere, may say, “why yes, yes I do!”
In contrast, the question “Do you have rats and want them gone?” makes your intended message more concise and clear. Readers know you’re offering products and services designed to take care of a rat infestation without assuming they do have a house full of rats.
Plus, people want solutions to their problems, and positively phrased questions and responses offer those.
6. Only Ask When You Know What the Answer Will Be
When you ask someone to become engaged to be married, you’re likely already pretty sure they’ll say “yes.” The same goes when asking a reader to engage with your content—you need to be pretty sure the answer will be “yes.”
In other words, the “yes” should be so expected that the question is rhetorical.
For example, Plato’s Closet has a PPC ad with the words, “Ready to upgrade your closet?”
In this situation, people who read the copy are more likely to stop and stare because of the
free shipping
option. The question just drove the message home.
Getting readers to respond “yes” to this early on, to the point where they click on the
CTA
, may make them more likely to answer “yes” once they’ve reached your product page. They’re already pretty excited about the questions they’ve already responded affirmatively to.
Conclusion
Questions in PPC ads could help you engage with your readers in various ways.
They can introduce your business, engage your audience at a human level, or make them excited to learn more. It can also be used to bring up a solution to a problem, which may encourage your audience to respond to your
CTA
.
Ask questions aligned with your main message. Make sure they seem natural and show you understand your
target audience
.
As long as you keep these tips in mind, you could create PPC ads that produce excellent results.
How will you use questions to get more engagement with your PPC ads?
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Luke Thomas’ brilliant goal for Leicester helped the Foxes to a 2-1 win at Manchester United this week, the left-back’s fine finish helping secure his side what could prove to be a vital three points in the race for Champions League football.
Thomas’ goal also saw the teenager join an exclusive list of Premier League youngsters, becoming just the 10th teenage talent in the division’s history to net an away goal at Old Trafford.
Following the defender’s goal, we’ve looked back at the 10 teenagers to score away goals at Manchester United in the Premier League.
Nick Barmby
Nick Barmby became the first teenager to score an away Premier League goal at Old Trafford, scoring for Tottenham in a 4-1 defeat at Manchester United in the league’s inaugural campaign.
The north London side proved little match for the Red Devils who were in the midst of a first title-winning campaign in 26 years, goals from Eric Cantona, Denis Irwin, Brian McClair and Paul Parker putting the home side four goals ahead inside the opening hour.
Barmby’s goal came two minutes from time as the youngster headed in, though it was little consolation for a Spurs side well beaten.
Darren Caskey
The following season and it was another Spurs talent who netted as a teenager at Manchester United, Darren Caskey scoring in a 2-1 defeat for Ossie Ardiles’ side.
United headed into the October 1993 clash as defending champions and looked on their way to three points after goals from summer signing Roy Keane and Lee Sharpe put the home side in control.
Caskey’s goal reduced the arrears just three minutes after Sharpe’s goal to set up a nervy finish, but the Red Devils held on to secure all three points against Spurs for a second successive season.
Michael Owen
Michael Owen’s rapid rise remains one of the most exciting teenage emergences of the Premier League era, the forward bursting onto the scene with Liverpool to become one of the division’s brightest talents.
Owen was in the midst of a first full season that saw the 18-year-old win the Premier League’s Golden Boot, finishing the campaign with 18 league goals including an equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Manchester United.
The lightning pace that defined Owen’s early game was evident as he burst beyond a hesitant Gary Pallister, lifting the ball over Peter Schmeichel to secure Liverpool a point at Old Trafford.
Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka was another forward who lit up the Premier League whilst still a precociously talented teenager, arriving from PSG as a relative unknown before helping Arsenal to a domestic double during his debut campaign.
The following season saw the Frenchman explode with 17 league goals to be named as the PFA Young Player of the Year, including scoring in a 1-1 draw between the Gunners and title rivals Manchester United.
The two teams were locked together in a tight title race with this the first of four defining games in the season, Anelka opening the scoring with a high finish – after Dwight Yorke had earlier missed a penalty for United – before Andy Cole rescued a point for the hosts.
That equaliser proved pivotal as the Red Devils pipped Anelka and Arsenal to the title by a single point, whilst also eliminating the Gunners in the FA Cup semi-finals on their way to a historic treble.
Embed from Getty Images
Francis Jeffers
Francis Jeffers emerged from the Everton ranks in the late nineties amid much excitement, the penalty-box poacher making his debut as a 16-year-old before growing into the side.
Jeffers scored six league goals in each of his three seasons as a regular, including a close-range effort to open the scoring at Manchester United during the 1999/2000 season.
Everton’s performance – much like Jeffers’ later career – fizzled out soon after however, the Toffees on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing as an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brace inspired a comeback win for the Premier League champions.
Kevin Nolan
Bolton returned to the Premier League after a three-season absence in 2001/02 and started impressively with three consecutive wins, though their finest result of the campaign came with a shock win at defending champions Manchester United.
Kevin Nolan equalised become the sixth Premier League teenager to score at Old Trafford, with Michael Ricketts scoring a late second as Bolton responded to Juan Sebastien Veron’s opener to stun the Red Devils.
Embed from Getty Images
Defeat for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side was one of six in the league at Old Trafford that season, their worst record since the 1977/78 campaign.
Jermain Defoe
West Ham also won at Manchester United during the 2001/02 season, Jermain Defoe scoring the only goal of the game for Glenn Roeder’s side.
Defoe came through the academy ranks with the Hammers and finished as their leading scorer as a teenager during that campaign, netting 14 times across all competitions.
He left for Tottenham in controversial circumstances following West Ham’s relegation the following season, later enjoying spells with Portsmouth and Sunderland to become the ninth-highest scoring player in Premier League history.
’s rules and guidelines there is a lot of room for improvement.
Yes, they have
rules written down
, but those guidelines are vague in many areas and contradictory in spots.
That makes things confusing for even the smartest marketer or business owner. Trying to understand some of GMBs guidelines is almost like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in a dark room.
And the rules pertaining to Service Area Businesses (SABs) seem to be the most
confusing.
In this column, you’ll learn about the most common problems SABs experience in Google My Business — and how to solve them.
What is Unique About Service Area Businesses in GMB?
Service Area Businesses are those lacking a physical storefront location where customers can visit.
SABs have employees that go out to their customers and serve or service the customers at their locations.
Common examples of SABs include plumbers, landscapers, pest control companies, and locksmiths. Many of these Service Area Businesses are run out of the business owner’s home.
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Any eligible local service business – a painter, roofer, contractor, etc. – will benefit from claiming and
optimizing their Google My Business listing
.
The problem?
Many Service Area Businesses have set up their GMB profiles incorrectly and are violating Google’s
Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google
.
Violating these guidelines generally means trouble for them either instantly – such as when you verify your SAB listing with the GMB PIN postcard, and the listing immediately gets suspended — or down the road because of some other infraction.
Here are some of the common Google My Business Service Area Business problems and how to avoid the pitfalls associated with them.
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How to Correctly Claim Your GMB Service Area Business Listing
The old Google My Business claiming process was flawed for Service Area Businesses.
Google asked these businesses to enter their physical address during the early part of the claiming process.
The business owner would first enter the name of their business:
And then were immediately asked to enter their address.
The catch? There were two little checkboxes many people either skipped or didn’t know what they meant:
I deliver goods and services to my customers.
Hide my address (it’s not a store) Only show region.
Google didn’t do a very good job of explaining these checkboxes and their importance. They were easy to miss and you could select one without the other.
(So you could choose that you delivered goods and services but not check the “Hide my address” box.)
What this means is that there are a ton of SAB Google My Business listings out there online that are set up incorrectly.
Google does not
allow SAB businesses to display their home address or a non-storefront business address on GMB listings.
There are probably thousands and thousands (if not more) GMB SAB listings set up incorrectly from this flawed claiming process.
And because these business owners have likely not checked the frequently updated Google guidelines, they might not even realize their listings are in violation.
The good news is that Google has finally cleaned up this claiming process and made things a little clearer.
Let’s take a look at the new claiming process.
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The New SAB Claiming Process
First, the business is asked to enter their name and category:
Then they are asked if they want to add a location that customers can visit, like a store or office.
It’s a simple Yes or No radio button.
This is much clearer, although I think it would be even more helpful if they added a link to a section in the guidelines that clearly discussed the difference between a storefront (or physical location that customers come to) and a SAB.
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It would also be helpful if that page clearly stated that virtual offices or co-working space addresses are not allowed unless very specific criteria are met… but I’m jumping ahead of myself.
When the Service Area Business owner selects “No,” they are given the opportunity to list service areas:
It’s not until the very end of the process that they’re then asked for their address so that the verification postcard with the PIN number can be sent out to them.
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And the good thing? Google already knows that they are a Service Area Business, so when they go into their GMB dashboard, they are already set up as a SAB with no address displayed!
(Big improvement, huh?)
So this helps all the new service businesses claiming their GMB listings.
But what should all the SABs do if they already have their address displayed in their GMB listings?
Go Ahead – Delete Your Address Already!
If you run your business out of your home or out of a location where you don’t allow customers (and don’t have permanent signage and your staff working there during business hours), you must
delete your address from your GMB listing and select service areas.
You can select up to 20 service areas.
Keep in mind that the service areas you select should be within a two-hour drive from your location.
Also, fair warning: sometimes deleting your address can automatically trigger a suspension or can cause you to have to re-verify your listing.
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So before you delete your address, make sure you that you have formal proof of your business’s legitimacy in the way of documents with your company’s name and business address on them.
You’ll need to provide this to Google during the GMB listing reinstatement process, should you get suspended.
You will need to provide Google proof in the form of a business license, a record of your business from the Secretary of State or some other business governing body, a utility bill with your company’s name and address, photos of your service vehicles with signage on them, etc.
You will have to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business to get your listing reinstated if you get suspended.
But keep in mind that if you don’t delete your address from your GMB listing, you are very likely going to get suspended sooner rather than later anyway for violating GMBs guidelines.
It’s better to be proactive and follow the rules and explain to Google that you were correcting your errors instead of getting flat-out busted.
NOTE:
Google may need to review this change after you delete your address, so you may see a “Pending” notice or some other “Under Review” notice. If that notice doesn’t go away after 2-3 days, contact
Google My Business Support
.
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Tip For Digital Marketing Agencies:
If you’re a digital marketing agency working with a SAB client and you need to confirm if they are violating the address rule or you’re doing some spam-fighting work on behalf of your client,
Melissa.com’s address lookup feature
is a handy tool.
In the example below, it’s pretty obvious that this business is being run out of a home just from the photo that Google displays in the GMB listing:
But you can use Melissa.com’s lookup tool to confirm it:
If your client is violating the address rule, they need to log in to the
GMB dashboard
, click on the “Info” section, and then click the pencil icon next to their address and delete their address.
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They’ll then be given the option to select service areas.
What Is a Google My Business Hybrid Business?
Before we move on, it’s best that we discuss what a
Hybrid Business
is.
A Hybrid Business is a company that has a storefront with a physical store/location that customers come to, they have permanent signage and their employees are staffed at their location during stated business hours.
These businesses also go out to their customers to service them at their location.
Restaurants with indoor dining but also deliver food to people’s homes are one example.
A service example would be a home improvements store that has a showroom that people can shop at, but they have service technicians and delivery employees that go out to customers’ homes to make deliveries and service/fix appliances.
Hybrid Businesses can have the best of both worlds – they can show their address (as long as they have permanent signage at their storefront) – and can select service areas.
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If they don’t have permanent signage at their location, however, they can only be categorized as a SAB and they cannot
display their address in their GMB profile.
By the way, Google doesn’t consider vinyl signs to be permanent signage.
Employees, Extra Locations, and Metro Listings… Oh, My!
According to Google’s guidelines, Service Area Businesses should have one
profile for the central office or location with a designated service area.
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However, the guidelines also say that if you have different locations for your service business, with separate service areas and separate staff at each location, you’re allowed one profile for each location.
Additionally, the guidelines state that Service Area Businesses can only create one profile
for the metropolitan area that they serve.
Also, the boundaries of your SABs
GMB profile
’s overall service area shouldn’t be more than about a two-hour drive from where your business is based. For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
(Confused yet? Remember my analogy about solving the Rubik’s Cube in a dark room? Here’s where that comes into play…)
So this is where things get complex. Let’s break this down a bit, and I will give you a word of caution: Do not
try and push the limits or stretch these guidelines.
If you do violate or bend these rules, sooner or later, you will get busted by Google, a competitor, a digital marketing agency that works for one of your competitors, or by someone who just enjoys knocking off spammers.
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If you violate or push the boundaries of these rules, you will get suspended .
When it comes to Google My Business’s Guidelines, it is far better to be safe than sorry.
(I’ve seen sorry, and it was the business owners that did push the limits, violated Google’s guidelines, and got their GMB listings suspended. They dropped off Google’s local search altogether. And it’s not a pretty picture! Their phone stopped ringing and their website visitors disappeared. Believe me, it’s not worth the risk.)
I’ll explain each of these as best I can, based on my interpretation and experience. Feel free to consult other expert opinions as well…
Service Area Businesses Should Have One Profile for the Central Office or Location With a Designated Service Area
This makes sense for most Service Area Businesses.
Let’s face it, if you are a sole proprietor, you will have one location and that’s most likely your home or space/location that’s used for storage for your materials or equipment. It’s not suitable for customers to visit.
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You would claim only one Google My Business listing and not include your physical address in that listing. You can list up to 20 service areas.
Note:
The ranking for SABs on Google is based on the physical location of your business – the address that you used to verify your listing. Rankings have nothing to do with the service areas you select.
If You Have Different Locations for Your Service Business, With Separate Service Areas and Separate Staff at Each Location, You’re Allowed One Profile for Each Location
Again, this is not the time to go out and say, “Wahoo! I’m going to claim a bunch of GMB listings from my employee’s home addresses and dominate the local search results in my entire state or county!”
Not. Going. To. Happen. Don’t do it!
First, claiming GMB listings from your employee’s homes wouldn’t stand up to Google’s scrutiny when your listings get suspended. You would have no official proof that those locations were legally or officially your
business locations.
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So, again, this guideline would truly not fit most SABs.
The other caveats are that you must have separate service areas and separate staff at each location. You better be prepared to hire lots of people if you think you’re going to try and perhaps “game” the system with this tactic.
Again, if this truly and legitimately is not your business model – which for 98% of the SAB cases I can predict it is not – don’t set up your listings this way.
Service Area Businesses Can Only Create One Profile for the Metropolitan Area That They Serve
This one makes sense. Doesn’t it?
And lastly…
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The Boundaries of Your SABs GMB Profile’s Overall Service Area Shouldn’t Be More Than About a Two-Hour Drive From Where Your Business Is Based
For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate.
For most SABs, driving more than two hours to perform a service is a diminishing return. There are a few
service industries where that may not be the case (like the large-frame construction industry, for instance). So in those cases, you can set a larger service area.
But please don’t be like these people who literally had several countries as their service areas:
Don’t worry. They were taken down by Google. (See what happens when you break the rules?)
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Not-Real Offices: Let’s Get Real
I’ll lay out the hard truth for you, so brace yourself.
Businesses with a physical address often rank better than those that do not display their address.
That’s why it’s tempting for some Service Area Businesses to think they can game the system by renting out a UPS box address, a virtual office, or a co-working address just so they can have an “address” to put in that address field in their GMB listing.
But I will let you in on a little tip: Google knows where all the WeWork, Regus, and other major co-working and virtual offices are physically located. Have you heard of a little thing called Google Maps?
If you think you’re going to try and trick Google by adding one of those types of addresses to your GMB listing, you are just biding time until your listing gets suspended.
According to Google’s Guidelines, if your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn’t operate out of that location (a.k.a., a virtual office) that location is not eligible for a Business Profile on Google.
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And you can’t list an office at a co-working space unless that office has clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed by your employees during stated business hours. (Your staff – not the co-working building’s staff.)
From my experience with working with suspensions and on the
GMB Help Forum
, if you rent out space at one of these types of co-working places, Google expects you to rent out a dedicated office, have permanent signage outside the door of that office (and preferable have business signage in the lobby of the said office, too) and your company should be listed with your own suite number on the building’s directory.
And, of course, you must have your employee(s) there at that office during business hours.
If your listing gets suspended, Google will ask for photos and/or videos of all of these things – sometimes right down to a video of your happy employee in the entrance of your dedicated office’s lobby area – just as if a customer were walking in.
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So don’t mess with the bull.
How to Select the Best GMB Categories for a Service Area Business
When it comes to categories, select those most specific to your business. Since categories directly impact your rankings, selecting the right categories for your GMB listing is extra important.
For some Service Area Businesses, it makes sense to choose several different categories. You can choose up to ten, and some may need to be changed depending on the season or other circumstances.
Take an HVAC and a landscaper, for example. During the summer season, the HVAC company will want to be in the “air conditioning contractor” category and the landscaper would probably want the “landscaper” category as their primary.
However, when things get cold, they’d probably want to switch their categories around a bit. The HVAC would want to switch their primary category to “heating contractor” and the landscaper (who does snow removal during the winter months) would switch to “snow removal service.”
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Warning:
Changing your GMB categories can sometimes trigger a suspension or cause Google to re-verify your GMB listing.
Spammy SAB Categories
Service Area Businesses are prone to getting suspended due to the nature of their business and because there’s a lot of spam associated with Service Area Business listings.
It’s not uncommon to see fake SAB GMB listings.
These fake listings not only hurt consumers but also harm legitimate business owners. Here are just some
of the spammier SAB categories:
Garage Door Companies.
Plumbers.
Locksmiths.
Pest Control.
HVAC.
Tree Pruning.
Roofing.
Water Damage Restoration.
Flooring Contractors.
Foundation Repair.
Tree Service.
If you are in virtually any Service Area Business, you need to be prepared at all times for a suspension – even if you are following all of the rules.
Sometimes Google does a “sweep” and suspends a whole bunch of listings for no reason. You have to be prepared with your paperwork to fill out the reinstatement request form.
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Service Area Business Suspensions
Some industries are more likely to get their GMB listings suspended than others. These categories are known to have more spam and fake listings – which makes them more prone to suspensions.
Google and SEO professionals have been trying to crack down on spammy and fake GMB listings, so if you’re in one of these industries, it’s very possible that someone will report your profile if you are violating any Google My Business rules.
As I mentioned, these spammy categories are typically Service Area Business and include locksmiths, plumbers, pest control services, HVAC, etc.
To prepare for a suspension, please read my recent blog post about
what to do if your GMB listing gets suspended
.
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But keep one thing in mind if you get busted using a virtual office or co-working space address: you simply can’t go in and delete that address and call it good.
You have to go in and replace that address with the address you actually operate out of (whether it’s your home or some other building that’s used for storage, chemicals, or equipment), then delete that address and finally add your service areas.
Then you’ll be ready to fill out the reinstatement request form.
In the reinstatement request form, thoroughly explain that you fixed the virtual office/co-working space address error, that you added your home address, then deleted your home address and added service areas.
You also must be prepared to submit legal/official documentation to prove that you run your business out of the address you entered.
You are the one that needs to prove to Google that you are a legitimate business – otherwise they can deny your reinstatement, and you’ll be off the grid.
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SAB Sob Stories
Over the years I’ve spent helping clients and answering questions on the GMB Help Forum, I’ve heard plenty of sob stories from Service Area Businesses that have had issues when they didn’t follow the guidelines.
I truly hope that after reading this article, you’re better prepared with your Service Area Business Google My Business profile.
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