How to Audit Supplier Eligibility for Google's EEA Local Search Units
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On September 18, 2026, Google documented that aggregator and supplier units now support local-business queries in the European Economic Area (EEA). The change affects multi-provider directories and direct businesses, but does not guarantee either unit will appear.
For a direct supplier, the immediate task is simple: make the real business entity easy to crawl and verify. For an aggregator, the bar is different: approval as a Vertical Search Service and a maintained Point of Interest feed are part of participation.
Quick answer
- Confirm whether you are a direct supplier or a multi-provider aggregator.
- Treat eligibility as a prerequisite, not a ranking guarantee.
- Keep name, address, phone, category, hours, and service scope accurate on visible pages.
- Do not create doorway-like city pages for locations that do not exist.
- Measure EEA results separately from markets where the feature is unavailable.
| Business model | Search unit | Core requirement | First audit task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct local provider | Supplier unit | Serve EEA users and provide the service directly | Verify crawlable business facts on the location or contact page |
| Directory or comparison service | Aggregator unit | Vertical Search Service approval, relevant content, policies, and feed integration | Review Point of Interest feed readiness |
| Marketplace selling third-party offers | Depends on the actual role and query | Do not assume the label from the storefront alone | Map who provides the service and who owns each listing |
| Online-only merchant with no local service | Usually outside the local-business use case | Do not invent a physical presence | Focus on applicable product-search requirements instead |
1. Classify the business before changing the site
Google defines the aggregator unit as a multi-provider feature for approved Vertical Search Services, including directories and comparison services. The supplier unit is for direct providers such as brick-and-mortar businesses and local service providers.
Direct supplier: The business listed on the page provides the product or service. A real showroom, repair shop, restaurant, or plumbing company can fit this model when it serves users in the EEA.
Aggregator: The site helps users compare or discover multiple independent providers. Google requires approved aggregators to provide relevant data. For local queries, its Actions Center documentation describes a Point of Interest feed containing core entity information such as business name, address, phone number, category, and photos.
Not applicable: An online merchant without a customer-facing location or local service should not manufacture local signals merely because a new Search feature exists. A registered office is not automatically a shop, pickup point, or service location.
Good classification: a directory maintains listings for independent providers, or a retailer identifies a genuine pickup point and its actual rules.
Bad classification: a merchant calls itself an aggregator because it carries several brands, or turns a non-public warehouse into a “store.”
2. Build one crawlable source of truth
Google's supplier-unit documentation says direct providers do not need to submit extra data beyond information accessible through web crawling. That makes visible page content the first audit target.
Choose the canonical location, contact, or service-area page. Confirm:
- Legal or public-facing business name.
- Street address when customers can visit, or a truthful service area when they cannot.
- Specific business category and services.
- Current opening, pickup, or support hours.
- Working phone number, email, or contact workflow.
- What a customer can do at that location.
- Language and market information needed by the EEA audience served.
Compare those facts with structured data, the footer, maps profiles, and maintained directories.
| Fact | Visible page | Structured data | External profile | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business name | Exact public name | Same entity name and stable ID | Same public name | Brand or legal team |
| Address or service area | Human-readable and current | Matches visible truth | Matches maintained listing | Operations |
| Category | Specific description | Appropriate type and category | Same primary business role | Merchandising or operations |
| Hours | Includes exceptions when relevant | Matches current schedule | Updated after changes | Location manager |
| Contact path | Tested phone or form | Same current detail | Same current detail | Support |
Structured data should describe visible facts. It should not introduce a location, opening hour, review, or service claim that a visitor cannot verify on the page.
3. Avoid thin location pages and inflated coverage
The September update does not turn city-name substitution into a content strategy.
A useful location page helps a person decide. It can include branch services, pickup instructions, contact details, genuine photos, hours, and delivery boundaries.
A weak page swaps a place name into an otherwise identical template. If ten pages all describe the same facility, phone number, staff, availability, and service area, the site has not created ten useful locations. It has created ten chances for contradiction.
Use a location page when:
- Customers can visit, collect, book, or receive a defined local service.
- The page has unique operational information.
- Someone is responsible for keeping it current.
Do not use one when:
- The location is only a mailing address.
- The business cannot fulfill the described local task there.
- The content exists solely to target a city keyword.
For a broader measurement workflow, see our guide to checking ecommerce SEO across countries. Regional Search features should be diagnosed with regional data, not a screenshot from a convenient laptop.
4. Prepare aggregator data for maintenance, not just launch
Google's aggregator-unit documentation says local participants need approval, relevant content, Search policy compliance, and a direct feed integration using the Local Point of Interest feed.
The feed needs ongoing controls for:
- Stable provider identifiers.
- Name, address, and phone validation.
- Specific category mapping.
- Image rights and image freshness.
- Closed, moved, or temporarily unavailable businesses.
- Correction requests from the direct provider.
- Last-verified date and source for each critical field.
Google's Actions Center overview says the POI feed powers the aggregator's own unit and includes core physical-location data plus metadata. Accurate maintenance is product quality, not a clerical afterthought.
5. Measure the EEA experience without overclaiming
Google says the supplier unit is available to EEA users when an aggregator unit appears. Not every local query will trigger it, and eligibility does not guarantee placement.
Record:
- Country and language.
- Query and local intent.
- Device and date.
- Search feature observed.
- Landing page shown.
- Search Console country, query, and page data for the same period.
Independent reporting from Search Engine Journal noted that Google has not published how often the units appear or which local aggregators have been approved. Treat changes as observations, not proof of a global ranking update.
Final checklist
- [ ] Confirm the business serves users in an EEA market.
- [ ] Classify the site as direct supplier, aggregator, or not applicable.
- [ ] Identify one canonical page for each real location or service area.
- [ ] Verify business name, address, phone, category, hours, and customer task.
- [ ] Align visible content, structured data, footer, and maintained profiles.
- [ ] Remove or consolidate unsupported city pages.
- [ ] Assign an owner and review date to each critical fact.
- [ ] If operating an aggregator, review approval and POI feed requirements.
- [ ] Record correction and closure workflows for directory listings.
- [ ] Monitor supported EEA markets separately.
- [ ] Avoid promising visibility or rankings.
FAQ
Is the supplier unit available worldwide?
No. Google's current documentation describes availability for users in the EEA when the corresponding aggregator unit appears.
Does a local business need to submit a special feed?
Google says a direct supplier does not need to provide information beyond what is available through web crawling, though supported feeds may enhance results.
Does LocalBusiness structured data guarantee appearance?
No. Structured data can clarify visible business information, but it does not guarantee eligibility, placement, or display of a Search feature.
Does a directory automatically qualify as an aggregator?
No. Google describes an approval process for Vertical Search Services and requires relevant content, quality standards, policy compliance, and applicable data integration.
Start with one real location and one accurate page. If a customer and a crawler agree on the business, place, and service, the useful part of the audit is complete.
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