You set up your Business Profile, picked a category, added your hours, and moved on. Then a customer asks whether you do a particular job, you open your listing on your phone, and the Services section is empty. Maybe a competitor's profile shows a long, tidy list while yours shows nothing, or Google has added a few entries you do not remember writing. The fix for Google Business Profile services is smaller than it looks, and most of it fits in one sitting. You open one editor, remove what is wrong, add what is missing, and make sure the list matches your website. The only real decision is which section applies to you, because Services and Products are two different features.
Key Takeaways
Services is for what you do, and the Products section is intended primarily for local stores that sell physical goods, so a service business should not use Products.
Add them only when you can state them accurately, and never put a price or phone number inside a custom service name.
Google offers suggestions by business type, and nothing is final until you review it.
Google says a service may be highlighted when someone searches for that offering, but it does not promise a ranking, traffic or sales.
Fill In Your Services Section in Ten Minutes
Do this with the managing Google account, on a laptop if you can, because the list is easier to compare against your website there. You will need your current service pages open in another tab. The goal is not a perfect catalog. It is a short, accurate list that matches what you really sell today.
- Open your profile: Search for your business name while signed in to the managing account and open the Business Profile.
- Select "Edit services": Review each category and every service name already there.
- Delete what you no longer offer: Select the service, choose "Delete service," and save.
- Compare what is left with your website: Fix names that are vague, outdated or different from your service pages.
- Add the most important missing services: Pick from Google's suggestions first, and add a custom service only when the exact offering is not listed.
- Add a short description and price where you can state them accurately: Skip them where you cannot.
- Select "Save": Then check the profile again later to see how it displays in Search and Maps.
Google's step-by-step page for managing services uses the same sequence. Google says customers may see a relevant service highlighted when they search for an offering, and they can view the full list under "Services" in Google Maps.
Pick the Section That Fits Your Business
Google treats Services and Products as separate features, and the section you can use depends on what you do. Feature availability also varies by country, business category and account, so what you see in your own editor is what applies to you. If a button is missing, your category or region may not include that feature.
Services is for what you do
The Services editor is available to businesses in certain categories, especially service businesses. It lets an eligible business group what it does into categories and give each one a name, a description and a price. Plumbers, consultants, contractors, agencies and similar businesses belong here, and so does anyone selling time, labor or skill. If you do a job for customers, it goes in as a service.
Products is for physical goods
Google's Product Editor guidance says the Products section is intended primarily for local stores selling physical goods. Eligible retailers can add products by hand through "Edit products," or automatically through Merchant Center, a compatible point-of-sale system or approved inventory partners. The steps are to open the profile, select "Edit products," complete the fields and select "Publish."
An empty Products section is not a penalty for a service business. It simply may not apply to you. Do not list consulting, repairs or installations as products to fill a more eye-catching card. Use the Services editor for those.
Products carry stricter rules. Product entries must follow Google's Shopping ads policy, and Google says violations can lead to removal of an entire uploaded catalog, not only the offending item. Regulated items such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, financial services, pharmaceuticals, unapproved supplements and health or medical devices are restricted or excluded. If you sell any of those, check the policy before you add anything.
Write Service Names Google Will Accept
A service entry should name one real offering, in words a customer would use. "Emergency furnace repair" is a good entry. "Best furnace repair near me cheap" is a string of keywords, and it reads like spam to a customer and to Google. Google requires Business Profile content to represent the business accurately and to be relevant and useful, as its guidelines for representing your business say.
Custom service names have a short list of things they must not contain:
- Profanity or gibberish: Entries with either may be rejected.
- Personal information: A name, an address or anything private does not belong in a service name.
- Prices: Put the price in the price field instead.
- Phone numbers: The profile already has a place for your number.
A custom service that breaks these rules may be automatically rejected. If an entry vanishes or never appears, check the name against the list before anything else.
The same guidelines say a service business's menu should list the complete set of services available at the business, not a small sample of popular ones. So, give each real offering its own entry. Do not stretch one service into five near-copies to look bigger.
Use whatever limits your editor shows and keep names short and specific. A name that fits on one line on a phone is easier for a customer to read.
Keep Suggested Services You Actually Offer
Google's Services editor offers suggested services that fit your business type. For a plumber, the examples Google gives are "Install faucet" and "Repair toilet." You can select suggestions, add a custom service, group services into categories, and add prices or descriptions.
That means a service on your listing may have come from Google's suggestions, or from edits made to the profile, rather than from words you typed. Some of it may be right. Some of it may describe a job you stopped doing or never did. Because customers read what is on the profile, treat the list as yours to check.
- To accept a suggestion: Select it in "Edit services" and save.
- To change one: Select the service, edit its details and save.
- To remove one: Select the service and choose "Delete service."
Products can arrive without anyone typing them in as well. Merchant Center, a point-of-sale system or an inventory partner can feed them, so a retailer should check those sources when an entry looks stale or wrong. For a Services problem, you do not need to touch Merchant Center at all.
Google's help page on this is the place to look when an entry changes or does not show up. If you edited something and the change is not appearing, our post on Google Business Profile edits not showing covers what to check next.
Add Prices Only When You Can Stand Behind Them
A price is not required for every service. Google lists descriptions and prices as optional details, so an empty price box does not make the entry incomplete. A price can help, because a visitor sees a starting point and can decide whether to call. But a price that is wrong or out of date is worse than none, because the customer arrives expecting it.
Choose the format that matches how you actually sell:
| How you sell | What to enter | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed price | The exact price | Letting it go stale after a rate change |
| A starting price | A "from" figure you will honor | A teaser price you rarely charge |
| A range | The low and high ends | A range so wide it says nothing |
| By quote | A description of how quoting works, with no price | A made-up number |
Descriptions work the same way. A sentence or two that says what the service includes, who it is for and any real limit is enough. You do not need to write a paragraph for every entry, and you do not need a photo for a service. Services take a name, a category, a description and a price. Product photos belong to Product Editor and to eligible retailers.
Make Your Profile and Website Say the Same Thing
Customers move between your profile and your site, and a mismatch makes them wonder which one is right. Use the real name of the service as it appears on your website where that name is accurate. If your site says a service is available only in certain situations, the profile entry should not suggest it is available to everyone.
A quick check helps. Put your Services list next to your site's service pages and look for three things:
- A service on the profile that has no page: Either add the page or reconsider the entry.
- A page with no matching entry: Add the service to your profile if you really offer it.
- Different names for the same thing: Pick the clearer name and use it in both places.
The FTC's general advertising principles say claims must be truthful and not misleading, and the same habit applies to your profile. If you are not sure your categories are right, read our post on choosing Google Business Profile categories first, because the category decides which features you see. Changing a category just to get a feature is not a harmless shortcut, since it changes how your business is described.
Know What Filling In These Sections Will and Will Not Do
A complete, accurate Services list gives a customer a clear answer to three questions: does this business do what I need, is it described correctly, and what should I do next? A customer may see a relevant service highlighted, understand the scope, compare a starting price and then go on to your website, your phone or a booking link.
That is the benefit Google describes. It does not describe a guaranteed ranking, traffic, lead or sales result from completing the section, so nobody should sell you one. Treat the work as housekeeping that removes confusion for customers. It is worth doing, but it is not a campaign.
Services or Products? Check your setup
Pick an answer to begin.
1. You run a plumbing company and the Services section is empty. Where do you add the jobs you do?
2. Which of these may a custom service name contain?
3. What does Google say about completing the Services section?
Frequently Asked Questions About google business profile services
Can I list services as products on my Business Profile?
Use the Services editor for services. Product Editor is intended primarily for local stores selling physical goods, and availability varies by region and profile.
Can I add a price to a service?
Yes. Service details can include a price and a description. Enter the price in the price field, not in the custom service name.
Why did Google add a service to my profile?
Google offers suggested services that fit the business type, and a profile can also change through edits. Open "Edit services," review each entry, and delete or edit anything that is wrong.
How do I remove a service?
Open "Edit services," select the service, choose "Delete service" and save.
Why was my custom service rejected?
Custom names with profanity, gibberish, personal information, prices or phone numbers may be rejected. Rewrite the name as one real offering and put the price in the price field.
Will adding services improve my rankings?
Google describes a service possibly being highlighted for a relevant search. It does not promise a ranking, traffic or sales result.
Final Thoughts
Fill in the Services section if you provide services, and use Products only if you are an eligible store selling physical goods. Delete what is outdated, add the services that matter most, keep names short and specific, and add a price or description only when you can state it accurately. Check the list against your website so the two agree.
Done once, this takes about ten minutes and leaves your profile easier for a customer to trust. Then a quick review every so often keeps it accurate, because suggested services, edits and product feeds can change what shows.
If you have several locations, a long list of services, entries that keep getting rejected or product feeds to manage, Web Leveling can help. Our Google Business Profile management work covers the audit, the cleanup, the match with your website and the upkeep after that. If one owner can finish the job in an afternoon, you do not need us. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Tell us what your profile shows today, and we will help you sort what to change.
Terms
Business Profile words in this post
Tap a term to see what it means.
Business Profile. A business's free listing on Google Search and Maps, formerly called Google My Business.
Services editor. The part of the profile where an eligible business adds services, descriptions and prices.
Product Editor. The tool for eligible local stores to add physical goods to their profile.
Suggested service. A service Google offers for your business type that you can accept, edit or ignore.
Custom service. A service you type in yourself when the exact offering is not suggested.
Merchant Center. A Google tool that can feed product data to a profile automatically.
