Google has updated its Business Profile rules for service-area businesses that sell age-restricted products.
Now, businesses selling alcohol, cannabis, weapons, and similar items must have a physical storefront to maintain their Google Business Profile.
We were alerted to this update by Stefan Somborac on X:
Google actually uses the phrase “Businesses associated with…” not “Businesses selling…”, which significantly broadens how this new change can be applied.
2/3 pic.twitter.com/FD31fUmm94
— Stefan Somborac (@StefanSomborac) November 27, 2024
Changes To Service-Area Business Guidelines
Google has updated its guidelines to prevent businesses that sell age-restricted products from operating only as service-area businesses.
The updated guidelines state:
“Businesses associated with products or services that require the customer to be a certain minimum age, like alcohol, cannabis, or weapons, aren’t permitted as service-area businesses without a storefront.”
This is a notable change in how Google handles business listings for delivery and mobile services.