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Do Services in Google Business Profiles Impact Ranking?
TLDR:
- Pre-defined services in Google Business Profiles (GBP) began appearing in 2019, with some industries, like plumbers, having ready-made options and others relying on custom services.
- We tested the impact of adding services on rankings in 2019 and found no effect.
- A 2022 retest showed a significant impact on rankings when services like “DUI injury litigation” and “vampire facial” were added to client profiles.
- The ranking improvement was verified across various industries and markets but varied in impact depending on the niche and region.
- Adding services appears to affect both explicit and implicit keyword rankings, with more dramatic effects on explicit keywords.
- Ranking changes typically occur within 24-72 hours of adding the service.
In August 2019, we started noticing pre-defined services show up as an option in the Google Business Profile dashboard.
Certain categories have several items listed like plumbers (see image below).
Others do not and allow you to create your own (we call these custom services).
Why Listen To Us? Sterling Sky, Inc. is home to industry-leading local SEO authorities. We’re a data-driven team of experts that write or have been quoted in authoritative publications such as Search Engine Land (1), Moz (2), BrightLocal (3) and more. Our certified team members teach what we learn at multiple SEO and Local SEO conferences (4) each year. We have more experts on the Google Business Profile product on staff than any other Local SEO Agency. We test common and uncommon best practices constantly, and share our research-based results for free.
In order to see the list of pre-defined services, you need to click first on the services tab in the Google Business Profile dashboard and then “add another service.”
Back in 2019, we tested to see if adding these pre-defined services to a Google Business Profile (called Google My Business profile at the time) listing increased ranking for keywords related to the service. At that time, we determined it did not. However, as part of our efforts to refine our Local SEO services, we decided to retest this in 2022, and the results were very different.
For this test, we added the service “DUI injury litigation” for a lawyer in New Jersey. In our previous testing, we did not see an impact on rankings, but in the image below, you can see this time it did have a measurable impact on rankings.
So, we had to see if we could do this again. So, we went to a dermatology client and added the service “vampire facial (5).” Again, in the image below, you will see it had a major impact on ranking.
We have been able to recreate this with various clients in various industries. However, the ranking impact seems to vary based on the industry and market.
What Google Business Profile Fields Impact Ranking?
Based on industry standards and data-backed testing, the Google Business Profile (GBP) fields with the most significant impact on local ranking are:
- Business Name (Title): Includes relevant, core keywords for the business.
- Primary Category: Establishes relevance for the business’s core offering.
- Physical Address/Proximity: Proximity to the searcher is a major proximity ranking factor.
- Customer Reviews: Consistent volume, high ratings, and keywords within reviews.
- Services: Adding specific, granular services helps trigger rankings for both explicit and implicit keywords.
- Website Link: Links to a well-optimized, authoritative website.
- Operating Hours: Accurate hours and holiday updates influence trust and ranking signals.
- Attributes: Relevant, accurate attributes (e.g., “wheelchair accessible,” “black-owned”) improve visibility.
- Products: Adding specific products helps capture queries in the product grid.
While foundational fields like Name, Category, and Address are standard, our research specifically highlights how Services—often under-optimized—can be a powerful, under-utilized lever for ranking in competitive local markets.
Should You Add Services On Google Business Profile?
Yes, you absolutely should. Adding services to your Google Business Profile is a foundational step for local SEO. Not only does it provide potential customers with immediate information about your offerings, but our internal testing confirms that it can positively influence your rankings for both explicit and implicit keywords.
Why You Should Add Services:
- Direct Ranking Impact: Our tests show that adding services—specifically pre-defined services—can improve your rankings for relevant keywords within 24–72 hours.
- Increased Search Visibility: Explicitly listing your services helps Google match your business with users searching for those specific terms, increasing your chances of appearing in the Local Pack.
- Improved Conversion Rates: Providing a clear, detailed list of your services (and potentially pricing) helps potential customers make faster, more informed decisions, leading to higher engagement.
- Search Intent Alignment: By categorizing and listing your services, you communicate clearly to search engines exactly what problems your business solves.
Best Practices for Maximizing Your Services Section:
- Start with Google’s suggested service categories for your industry. These are prioritized by the algorithm.
- Leverage Custom Services: Once pre-defined options are exhausted, add custom services to fill gaps, specifically targeting long-tail keywords that your customers use.
- Keep Descriptions Concise but Keyword-Rich: When adding custom services, include a brief description that naturally incorporates the terms your customers are searching for.
- Regularly Audit: Google’s service options can change or disappear. We recommend checking your service list quarterly to ensure your offerings are still relevant and active.
TL;DR:
- Services impact ranking.
- They seem to impact both explicit and implicit keywords.
- Explicit keyword ranking impact is more dramatic.
- The ranking impact seems to vary based on the industry and market.
- The ranking impact can take 24-72 hours to take effect.
Resources: 1. Search Engine Land 2. Moz 3. Bright Local 4. Local SEO Conferences 5. Vampire Facial
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Interesting to note that Google didn’t used to show the Services menu in the SERP. Within the past few months, they’ve been showing it on mobile.
I’d recommend adding services because (1) you never know when Google’s going to use them as a ranking factor in the future, (2) users can see them in the SERP, (3) you can repurpose those descriptions to create Showcase pages on LinkedIn (for free), which I’ve seen rank for keywords in organic.
Good to know 🙂
I’ve long wanted to see some testing on this. I’d be interested to know though, whether security cameras were already mentioned on the first client’s website. We know that content there is connected to GMB.
Also, ‘security cameras’ is semantically related to ‘security systems’, so perhaps Google would associate the business with this keyword regardless of whether it was mentioned on the website or GMB.
What would be really interesting (and I wish I had the perfect client to test this with) would be to add an unrelated service that isn’t mentioned anywhere else. For example, if you added ‘cooking classes’ to a restaurant listing.
They definitely had both on their site as content. I have definitely tried the unrelated thing before on other tests so it’s a great idea!
Interesting to note that Google didn’t used to show the Services menu in the SERP. Within the past few months, they’ve been showing it on mobile.
I’d recommend adding services because (1) you never know when Google’s going to use them as a ranking factor in the future, (2) users can see them in the SERP, (3) you can repurpose those descriptions to create Showcase pages on LinkedIn (for free), which I’ve seen rank for keywords in organic.
Good to know 🙂
I’ve long wanted to see some testing on this. I’d be interested to know though, whether security cameras were already mentioned on the first client’s website. We know that content there is connected to GMB.
Also, ‘security cameras’ is semantically related to ‘security systems’, so perhaps Google would associate the business with this keyword regardless of whether it was mentioned on the website or GMB.
What would be really interesting (and I wish I had the perfect client to test this with) would be to add an unrelated service that isn’t mentioned anywhere else. For example, if you added ‘cooking classes’ to a restaurant listing.
They definitely had both on their site as content. I have definitely tried the unrelated thing before on other tests so it’s a great idea!
Really interesting to know and the testing idea was very informative.
Really interesting to know and the testing idea was very informative.
It would be so interesting to see if and what impact the latest “Vicinity” Update has on the services…
So far we are not seeing any correlation with services and ranking, despite the update.
It would be so interesting to see if and what impact the latest “Vicinity” Update has on the services…
So far we are not seeing any correlation with services and ranking, despite the update.
Good to know. Probably adding new posts from the website on GMB also doesn’t have an impact on SERP.
We have a study on that here: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/do-google-posts-impact-ranking/
Good to know. Probably adding new posts from the website on GMB also doesn’t have an impact on SERP.
We have a study on that here: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/do-google-posts-impact-ranking/
Thank you for the nice post. As per our experience and experiment, we have seen a mild ranking impact (2-5%) in ranking for the keywords used in services in GMB. Businesses using the services, products and offers are getting slight competitive advantages in local ranking.
Thank you for the nice post. As per our experience and experiment, we have seen a mild ranking impact (2-5%) in ranking for the keywords used in services in GMB. Businesses using the services, products and offers are getting slight competitive advantages in local ranking.
Did you add just the service or the service with a service description?
Hi Sam, we did not add the service description.
I think this should really have been a completely separate article instead of rewriting and republishing the original article. It’s kind of pointless to say the test results changed when you specifically erased the original test off the Internet.
We felt that having inaccurate information on our blog would be more confusing. Previously, this had no impact on rankings. Thanks for your feedback.
You focus on the pre-defined terms in this test. Have you seen any impact (or not) from custom services?
We are currently testing custom services, but this test was strictly based on pre-defined services.
Did you add just the service or the service with a service description?
Hi Sam, we did not add the service description.
I think this should really have been a completely separate article instead of rewriting and republishing the original article. It’s kind of pointless to say the test results changed when you specifically erased the original test off the Internet.
We felt that having inaccurate information on our blog would be more confusing. Previously, this had no impact on rankings. Thanks for your feedback.
You focus on the pre-defined terms in this test. Have you seen any impact (or not) from custom services?
We are currently testing custom services, but this test was strictly based on pre-defined services.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your tests and feedback. Does the impact on the ranking the same between a custom service and a predefined one?
Thank you
We are currently testing custom services, but this one was strictly based on pre-defined services.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your tests and feedback. Does the impact on the ranking the same between a custom service and a predefined one?
Thank you
We are currently testing custom services, but this one was strictly based on pre-defined services.
Thanks for the great insight yet again. You’re going to open the floodgates of spam if you come back and say custom services rank. Google accepts anything and everything as a “service” and I don’t believe they have a limit on how many services you can add. “best dentist near me” is not a service but it will be if you come back and say custom services rank.
Thanks for the great insight yet again. You’re going to open the floodgates of spam if you come back and say custom services rank. Google accepts anything and everything as a “service” and I don’t believe they have a limit on how many services you can add. “best dentist near me” is not a service but it will be if you come back and say custom services rank.
Services are historically a pretty inconsistent feature. Google is constantly adding and removing them in my experience. Does this change toward ranking indicate any shift in how often Google updates them?
I tried to manage services previously and they honestly became a black hole in which I’d change them one day, two days later Google would change them, and it was this constant back-and-forth. So I stopped doing it due to that inefficiency. Any thoughts?
Hi Harmony, I don’t think this changes how Google handles the updates. I feel your pain by the way. We setup tasks to check the services on a quarterly basis and update them. Seems to be the sanest way to approach it.
Thanks for the tips and perspective Colan!
Services are historically a pretty inconsistent feature. Google is constantly adding and removing them in my experience. Does this change toward ranking indicate any shift in how often Google updates them?
I tried to manage services previously and they honestly became a black hole in which I’d change them one day, two days later Google would change them, and it was this constant back-and-forth. So I stopped doing it due to that inefficiency. Any thoughts?
Hi Harmony, I don’t think this changes how Google handles the updates. I feel your pain by the way. We setup tasks to check the services on a quarterly basis and update them. Seems to be the sanest way to approach it.
Thanks for the tips and perspective Colan!
We had a similar problem to Harmony.
Google just couldn’t understand what our client did and kept adding services they did not offer. I would edit and delete and add the ones they did back in. And Google would edit, delete and add the old ones back.
It was like whack a mole 🙁
We had a similar problem to Harmony.
Google just couldn’t understand what our client did and kept adding services they did not offer. I would edit and delete and add the ones they did back in. And Google would edit, delete and add the old ones back.
It was like whack a mole 🙁
VERY important to know about this change in findings – thanks Joy 🙂
VERY important to know about this change in findings – thanks Joy 🙂
Hi Joy,
This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing.
I have a quick question, it’s a bit off-topic but it’s still about GMB.
I erroneously added a link to the ‘Menu’ option in a Google My Business profile for a business that is not a restaurant, now I am trying to take out the link and leave it blank (since the business is not a restaurant) but I can’t save without a link. I keep getting ‘The link you’ve entered is invalid’.
Do you have any Idea how I can go about taking out this link and leaving the field blank?
Or perhaps deleting the entire ‘Munu’ option?
Thanks
HI Obinna, you should contact GBP support and ask them for assistance with that one.
Glad you enjoyed the article!
Hi Joy,
This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing.
I have a quick question, it’s a bit off-topic but it’s still about GMB.
I erroneously added a link to the ‘Menu’ option in a Google My Business profile for a business that is not a restaurant, now I am trying to take out the link and leave it blank (since the business is not a restaurant) but I can’t save without a link. I keep getting ‘The link you’ve entered is invalid’.
Do you have any Idea how I can go about taking out this link and leaving the field blank?
Or perhaps deleting the entire ‘Munu’ option?
Thanks
HI Obinna, you should contact GBP support and ask them for assistance with that one.
Glad you enjoyed the article!
Thanks for giving me this information. It is beneficial to me, so keep doing well.
Thanks for giving me this information. It is beneficial to me, so keep doing well.
Hi, thanks a lot for the valuable information. Great information for SEO optimization as well. I will definitely apply it, I’m sure it will work. Lots of love.
Hi, thanks a lot for the valuable information. Great information for SEO optimization as well. I will definitely apply it, I’m sure it will work. Lots of love.
Do custom services have the same impact as the predetermined services?
We are currently testing custom services, but this one was strictly based on pre-defined services.
Do custom services have the same impact as the predetermined services?
We are currently testing custom services, but this one was strictly based on pre-defined services.
Does the amount of services effect ranking for the overall service? I went a little crazy and added a ton of services (unique but semantically relevant) and it seems like my overall listing has dropped..
In my experience no, but you are more likely to hit the exact wording to throw in a justification. In my experience so far, having the exact wording of the service is more important (although google will often show a different one anyway, which may be 100% incorrect!).
Does the amount of services effect ranking for the overall service? I went a little crazy and added a ton of services (unique but semantically relevant) and it seems like my overall listing has dropped..
In my experience no, but you are more likely to hit the exact wording to throw in a justification. In my experience so far, having the exact wording of the service is more important (although google will often show a different one anyway, which may be 100% incorrect!).
Hi,
Is it paid services or free?
This feature is free.
Hi,
Is it paid services or free?
This feature is free.
I’ve been keeping track of some queries for *custom* services, and I’ve noticed something interesting.
These services seem to impact ranking, but *only* if Google has not already determined the vertical(s) that these services should be associated with. Once Google does, the service signal is drowned under the category signal and loses the majority of its usefulness.
That’s a really good point!
That’s really interesting! How would one figure out what services G doesnt already know the vertical for?
Basically I’ll judge based on how focused the verticals of the GBPs google is returning. That’s how we ended up even discovering the medical spa google vertical two years ago (the term is not common in Quebec, so until then we’d been stuffing them in “specialized clinic”), so we’ve been a lot more proactive since then. Unless they are really weird services, they don’t tend to stay unassigned very long tbh, though they may switch vertical.
I’ve been keeping track of some queries for *custom* services, and I’ve noticed something interesting.
These services seem to impact ranking, but *only* if Google has not already determined the vertical(s) that these services should be associated with. Once Google does, the service signal is drowned under the category signal and loses the majority of its usefulness.
That’s a really good point!
That’s really interesting! How would one figure out what services G doesnt already know the vertical for?
Basically I’ll judge based on how focused the verticals of the GBPs google is returning. That’s how we ended up even discovering the medical spa google vertical two years ago (the term is not common in Quebec, so until then we’d been stuffing them in “specialized clinic”), so we’ve been a lot more proactive since then. Unless they are really weird services, they don’t tend to stay unassigned very long tbh, though they may switch vertical.
Awesome! Looking forward to seeing the test results for the custom services.
We tested custom services and found they do impact rankings. While not as much as pre-defined services, there is a ranking benefit. Here is the full article: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/do-custom-google-business-profile-services-impact-ranking/
Awesome! Looking forward to seeing the test results for the custom services.
We tested custom services and found they do impact rankings. While not as much as pre-defined services, there is a ranking benefit. Here is the full article: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/do-custom-google-business-profile-services-impact-ranking/
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Excellent article. The explanation about how adding services in Google Business Profile can influence both explicit and implicit keyword rankings is very insightful. This confirms what many of us working in local SEO have been observing in practice. Thank you for sharing such valuable research.