Products Section vs Services Section

GBP has two separate catalogue features that are often confused with each other because their names are similar and their purpose overlaps. Understanding the distinction between them helps you use the right section for the right type of offering.

The Products section is designed for tangible goods that customers can purchase. Each product entry includes a product name, a photo, a description, a price or price range, and optionally a "Buy" or "Learn more" link. The Products section displays as a visually prominent carousel in your listing, and products can appear directly in Google Search results as shoppable items through Google's Shopping surfaces. It is most relevant for retail businesses, e-commerce with a local pickup option, artisan producers, and any business that sells physical items.

The Services section is designed for the work or expertise a business provides. Services are organised into categories (which you create) and individual service items. Each service has a name, a description, and an optional price. Unlike the Products section, the Services section does not display product photos — it is text-based. The Services section is relevant for virtually every service business: restaurants, salons, plumbers, accountants, gyms, medical practices, and legal firms all benefit from a detailed Services section.

Many service businesses use only the Services section. Many retail businesses use only the Products section. Businesses that both sell physical goods and provide related services — a computer repair shop that also sells hardware, for example — can and should use both.

Using the Services Section Effectively

The Services section is one of the most underutilised features of GBP despite being directly relevant to ranking for specific service queries. Google indexes the content of your Services section and uses it as a relevance signal when determining whether your listing should appear for specific searches. A dental practice that lists "teeth whitening," "dental implants," "orthodontic braces," and "emergency dental care" as individual services will appear for those specific queries in a way that a practice with only its category and description will not.

To add services, open your GBP dashboard and click "Edit Profile," then navigate to the "Services" tab. You will first create service categories — these are the groupings that organise your services into logical clusters. A restaurant might use categories like "Starters," "Main Course," "Desserts," and "Beverages." A law firm might use "Family Law," "Property Law," and "Business Law." Create categories that match how your customers think about your offerings.

Within each category, add individual service items. Each service should have a clear, searchable name — the name customers would use when searching for this service. A plumbing company should use "Emergency pipe repair," "Water heater installation," "Drain unblocking," and "Bathroom tap replacement" rather than internal jargon or overly abbreviated names. The service name is what gets indexed for search, so clarity and specificity both matter.

Add a description for each service — up to 300 characters. The description is your opportunity to add context, qualify the service, or highlight a differentiator. "Same-day emergency drain unblocking for residential and commercial properties in Chennai. Available 24/7 including weekends and public holidays" contains the service name, scope, location, and availability — all valuable information for a customer in decision-making mode.

Add pricing where appropriate. Fixed-price services benefit significantly from displaying their prices — it reduces time wasted on enquiries from customers who are not in your price range, and it increases confidence among customers who are. For variable-price services, you can enter a price range ("From ₹2,500") or leave the price field blank and rely on the description to set expectations.

Using the Products Section Effectively

The Products section is particularly powerful for businesses that want their specific products to appear in Google Search results, including Google Shopping. Products added to your GBP profile can surface in both local search results and organic Shopping surfaces, giving each product entry wider reach than the listing profile alone.

To add products, click "Edit products" in your GBP dashboard or navigate to the Products section under your profile editor. Click "Add product" and fill in the product name, category, price or price range, description, and photo. The photo is mandatory for GBP products — entries without photos are given less prominence in the product carousel.

Product names should be the names customers would search for, not internal SKU codes or abbreviated names. "Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 256GB Midnight Black" is a searchable product name; "SGS25U-256-BLK" is not. For handmade or unique products, use descriptive names that convey the product's nature: "Handmade vegetable-tanned leather bifold wallet — dark brown."

Product descriptions should be accurate and informative rather than promotional. Describe the product's key features, dimensions, materials, and intended use. Avoid superlatives ("the best," "world-class") and promotional claims ("buy now," "limited offer") — these may cause your product to be removed from Google Shopping surfaces.

The "Get order" link field allows you to link each product to a specific page on your website or e-commerce platform. If you have individual product pages, link directly to them. If you do not, link to the relevant category page. This link drives traffic from your GBP product listing directly to your purchase funnel.

Organising Products and Services by Category

Both sections benefit from thoughtful category organisation. Well-organised categories make your listing easier to browse and help Google understand the structure of your offerings. Poorly organised or missing categories make the sections harder to navigate and may reduce their impact on search relevance.

For services, create categories that mirror the way customers think about finding services rather than how your business is internally organised. A beauty salon might organise by body area: "Hair," "Nails," "Skin," "Eyebrows and Lashes." A gym might organise by service type: "Membership Plans," "Group Classes," "Personal Training," "Nutrition Coaching." Each category should contain between two and ten individual services — if a category has only one service, consider whether it should be merged with a related category; if it has more than fifteen, consider splitting it.

For products, categories are particularly important if you offer diverse product types. A hardware store might create categories for "Power Tools," "Hand Tools," "Plumbing Supplies," "Electrical Supplies," and "Safety Equipment." Organising by category rather than listing all products in a single uncategorised list makes the product section scannable and useful.

Keeping Products and Services Current

Products and services change over time, and your GBP listings should reflect your current actual offerings. An outdated services list that includes discontinued services will cause customer frustration and potentially trigger negative reviews when customers enquire about something you no longer provide. Review your Services and Products sections at least quarterly and update them to reflect any changes in your offerings.

Seasonal businesses should add and remove products and services to reflect their seasonal calendar. A restaurant with a seasonal menu, a garden centre with seasonal plant availability, or a tour operator with seasonally dependent tours should update their products and services at the start of each season. These updates also serve as a signal of ongoing listing activity, which supports the recency component of GBP's ranking signals.

When you add a new service or product, add it to your GBP listing on the day it launches — not weeks or months later. A new service that appears in your GBP listing immediately on launch benefits from the recency signal and ensures that customers searching for that service can find it immediately.

Products and Services for Service Area Businesses

Service area businesses that visit customers rather than hosting them have the same access to the Services section as storefront businesses, and should use it to the same degree of detail. For a plumbing SAB, a detailed services list covering every type of plumbing work offered is one of the highest-value optimisation actions available — it directly supports ranking for specific query types that general category assignments do not cover.

SABs should organise their services to reflect the types of jobs customers search for, not the trades or skill sets involved. A customer searching for help does not search "domestic water services" — they search "fix dripping tap," "water heater not working," or "blocked drain." Use the language customers actually use when naming services, not the professional terminology you use internally.

SABs that also sell physical products — a pest control company that sells insect repellent, or a cleaning company that sells cleaning kits — can add those products to the Products section. However, if the physical products are not a significant part of the business and are primarily used in the service delivery rather than sold separately, it may be more confusing than helpful to list them as purchasable products.

Frequently Asked Questions