Should I show my home address on Google if I work from home?

No. If customers don't visit, hide the address and set service areas instead. Google's guidelines require this for service-area businesses.

Can I get a Google profile in a town where I don't have an office?

Not a separate one. Google profiles must have a real location or base. Cover other towns through your service areas, website and reviews.

AI search for service-area businesses

By the Pickgap team · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · 3 min read

Service-area businesses get named by AI when every source agrees on where they work. Set your service areas in your Google profile, name the towns you serve on your website and listings, show real work in those towns, and collect reviews that mention them. Avoid near-duplicate city pages; build a few genuinely local ones instead.

The challenge

A plumber based in Mesa may work in Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert every day. But when someone asks AI for "a plumber in Chandler", the assistant looks for evidence that a business serves Chandler. If the only address it finds is in Mesa and nothing mentions Chandler, you're a weaker match than a plumber whose listings, pages and reviews all mention Chandler.

Step 1: Set up your Google profile as a service-area business

If customers don't come to you, hide your address and set your service areas: the cities, towns or postcodes you cover. Google allows up to 20.
Keep the areas realistic. Google's guidelines say service areas shouldn't extend beyond about 2 hours' drive from your base.
Choose categories and services that match what you do in those areas.

See the Business Profile guide.

Step 2: Say where you work, in plain text

On your website:

A clear sentence near the top of the homepage: "We serve Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert and Queen Creek."
An "Areas we serve" section on every service page.
Response times or travel details by area if they differ.

On your listings: set service areas wherever the directory supports it, and mention the main towns in your description.

Step 3: Build a few real local pages

City pages help when they show genuine local presence:

Projects you've done in that town, with photos and details.
Local considerations: water hardness, permit rules, typical home ages, climate issues.
Reviews from customers in that town (with permission).
A team member who lives or works there.

Pages that swap the city name into the same text ("Best plumber in Tempe", "Best plumber in Chandler") are doorway pages. They break Google's spam policies and give AI nothing new to read. Five strong town pages beat fifty thin ones. See service and location pages.

Step 4: Reviews that mention places

Customers often mention where they live ("came out to our place in Gilbert the same day"). You can't script it, but you can ask follow-up questions that invite it: "How was the visit to your home in Gilbert?" Reviews that mention towns give AI direct evidence you work there.

Step 5: Local mentions in each town

Community sponsorships, local news coverage, neighborhood groups and town-specific directories create mentions tied to the places you serve. Prioritize the towns where you most want work.

Step 6: Measure town by town

Your pick rate in your base city can be very different from the towns around it. Test questions for each priority town separately. Pickgap lets you set the city each business is checked from and lists the neighborhoods in its questions.

Questions

Should I show my home address on Google if I work from home?: No. If customers don't visit, hide the address and set service areas instead. Google's guidelines require this for service-area businesses.
Can I get a Google profile in a town where I don't have an office?: Not a separate one. Google profiles must have a real location or base. Cover other towns through your service areas, website and reviews.