Field guide · November 7, 2026

Your Google Service Area: 20 Cities, Two Hours, and the Rest Is Noise

Google Business Profile allows up to 20 service areas, set by city, postal code, or another named area, and says the overall boundary should stay within about two hours of driving from your base. Service areas tell customers where you go. They do not cancel out distance in rankings.

Every electrician with a service-area profile has had the same idea: list 20 cities, rank in 20 cities. It does not work that way, and Google's own help page says so in plain language. You can set up to 20 service areas based on the cities, postal codes, or other areas you serve, and the boundaries of your overall area should not be more than about two hours of driving time from where your business is based. That is the whole rule. There is no radius setting anymore, and there is no ranking reward for filling all 20 slots.

The misunderstanding is thinking the service area list is a ranking lever. It is a disclosure. It tells the customer where you will drive. Rankings still run mostly on relevance, distance, and prominence, and distance is measured from the searcher, not from your list.

The three rules, exactly as Google states them

First, the cap: 20 areas, no more. Each one is a city, a postal code, or another area Google suggests. Pick from Google's suggestions so the name matches what Maps already knows; a free-typed place name that Maps does not recognize does not help you.

Second, no radius. Google used to let service-area businesses draw a radius around their base. That option is gone. If an old radius is still on a profile, Google says it cannot be edited that way anymore, and it has to be replaced with named areas.

Third, the two-hour guidance. The overall boundary should stay within about two hours of driving from the business base, though Google allows that a larger area may be appropriate for some businesses. Treat that as guidance, not a hard cutoff, and not a promise: staying inside two hours does not guarantee you rank anywhere in the list.

Why listing 20 cities does not rank you in 20 cities

Distance is still a ranking factor, and it is measured from the person searching. A homeowner in a town 45 minutes away is searching from 45 minutes away, and no service-area entry changes that. The list tells Google where you are willing to work. It does not move your business closer to the searcher.

What the list does do is set expectations. A customer who sees their town listed knows you will come. A customer who does not see it, and calls anyway, costs you a phone call that ends in a no. The list is worth getting right for that reason alone, just not for the reason most people fill it in.

How to pick the 20

Start with the jobs you actually did in the last 90 days, not the towns you wish you served. Pull the addresses, count them by city, and list the ones with real volume first. Then add the towns people type when they search, the neighboring suburbs and the places your competitors already cover, until you hit the real coverage edge.

Then stop. A list padded with towns you have never worked in does two bad things: it invites calls you will turn down, and it makes the profile look like every other electrician's list, which is exactly what it is. Twenty is a ceiling, not a target. Ten honest towns beat twenty aspirational ones.

One last check: approved service-area edits can take up to 48 hours to show on the profile. If you change the list and nothing moves the next morning, that is normal. Wait the two days before deciding the edit failed.

Frequently asked questions

How many service areas can I list on Google Business Profile?

Up to 20, set by city, postal code, or another named area. Google does not allow a radius anymore. Twenty is the maximum, not a target, and most electricians serve fewer than 20 towns in practice.

Does listing a city help me rank there?

Not on its own. Local rankings run mainly on relevance, distance, and prominence, and distance is measured from the searcher. The service area list tells customers where you go. It does not move your business closer to anyone searching.

How far out can my service area go?

Google says the overall boundary should not extend more than about two hours of driving time from where the business is based, though a larger area may be appropriate for some businesses. Use the towns you actually serve, inside that guidance.

Why did my service area edit not show up yet?

Approved edits can take up to 48 hours to appear on the profile. Wait the full two days before assuming the edit failed or re-entering it.