Service-Area Business (GBP)
What it actually means
Google Business Profile distinguishes two business types: storefront (customers come to you — physical address visible) and service-area (you go to customers, or you serve customers remotely — physical address can be hidden). Service-area businesses can list service regions instead of street address. Critically, service-area listings have a different verification path that often skips the video-verification gauntlet required for storefronts.
Software studios, online-only consultancies, and home-based service businesses should ALWAYS register as service-area, not storefront. Registering as storefront with a residential address triggers video verification (Google requires you to film your "premises") which is awkward and often fails for home-based operators. Service-area + hide-address is the standard configuration for digital-only businesses.