RESEARCH · 07

Products tab

Highest-visibility mobile real estate on the profile. What good looks like and the rules nobody knows exist.

In brief
  • Highest-visibility mobile real estate after photos. ~80% of GMB discovery is mobile.
  • Each card: photo, name, description, optional link.
  • For auto repair: package services as products ("BMW diagnostic," "30k service").
  • Card count sweet spot: 6-12. Fewer reads thin; more becomes a swipe wall.

Why this surface matters more than its name suggests

On mobile, the Products tab is the first major content surface a customer sees after photos. For shops where it is populated, it dominates the visible profile. For shops where it is empty, mobile users get a blank stretch of UI between the cover photo and the reviews section.

This matters because the majority of how customers find an auto repair shop on Google is mobile (industry estimates put it at roughly 80%). The Products tab is prime real estate the owner controls.

What a product card is

Each card has four parts:

  • A photo
  • A name
  • A description
  • An optional link

For auto repair, "products" rarely means physical products. The cards usually represent services packaged as products: "European oil change," "BMW diagnostic," "30,000-mile service." This is a legitimate use of the surface.

Google's relevant content rules

Google's content policies that apply to the Products tab and adjacent surfaces:

  • Links are not allowed in the business description. By extension, link fields in product cards should point at actual product or service pages, not unrelated marketing destinations.
  • Phone numbers in Posts are explicitly forbidden. Product descriptions are a different surface, but the same spirit applies: do not stuff contact information into product copy.
  • Photos must "represent reality." Stock photography in product cards reads as inauthentic and the cover-photo logic can flag low-quality images.

What good looks like

From our SGA and Konkin renovations, the pattern that works:

  • Each card is a search-indexable surface. The card name and description should map to a real query a customer might run.
  • Copy is sourced verbatim from the shop's own website. When the product card description matches the website service page word-for-word, Google's website-to-profile cross-check has no conflicting signal.
  • Photos are actually the shop. Real bays, real cars on lifts, real team members. Not stock automotive photography pulled from a media library.
  • Card count is between 6 and 12. Fewer and the tab looks thin. More and the carousel becomes a swipe wall and most cards never get seen.

What we audit for

  1. Tab is populated (not empty, not effectively empty)
  2. Card count is in the 6 to 12 range
  3. Each card maps to a real service the shop offers
  4. Card photos are owned by the shop, not stock
  5. Card descriptions match the website language for that service
  6. No phone numbers, no promo copy, no link redirects to off-topic pages
  7. Card naming is consistent (no mix of "BMW Oil Change" and "oil change for bmw")

Source

  • https://support.google.com/business/answer/9853471 · Google Business Profile Help: Add products to your Business Profile.
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