Quick Answer: If your business isn’t on Google Maps, it’s usually one of two things. Either your Google Business Profile is missing, unverified or suspended, so you can’t appear at all, or you are there but too far down the list for anyone to see you. Search your exact business name to find out which, then follow the fixes below.
You search for what you do, in your own town, and up come three competitors. One of them started last year. You’re nowhere.
It’s a horrible feeling, and it costs real work, because people choose from that list. If you’re not on it, you don’t get considered.
You can usually narrow down the cause in a few minutes, starting with one quick test.
Are you missing from Google Maps, or just buried?
These are two different problems with two different fixes, so start here.
Open Google Maps on your phone and search for your exact business name, as it appears on your signage or van.
- You don’t appear at all: you’ve got a listing problem. Go to Fix 1.
- You appear for your name, but not for “plumber in Burnley” or “hairdresser near me”: your listing works, but Google is ranking others above you. Go to Fix 2.
It’s easy to assume you’re missing when you’re actually buried, so check before you spend a penny.
What decides who shows up on Google Maps?
Google says local results are mainly based on three things: relevance, distance and prominence.
- Relevance: how well your listing matches what the person searched for.
- Distance: how far you are from the person searching, or from the place they typed.
- Prominence: how well known you are, which includes your reviews and how many other websites link to you.
Google also says you can’t pay for a better local ranking. Ads can sit above those results, but they’re labelled and separate from the ranking. So anyone promising a guaranteed top spot is selling you something Google says doesn’t exist.
Fix 1: You’re not on Google Maps at all
Work down this list in order.
Check you’ve got a profile, and that it’s verified
Your listing on Google Maps comes from a free Google Business Profile. Go to business.google.com while signed in to the account you think manages it.
If nothing’s there, search Google Maps for your business first, in case a listing already exists. If it doesn’t, add one. If your profile is there but says it’s unverified, finish that step, because Google needs you to verify before you show on Search and Maps. It might ask for a video call, a phone or email code, or a postcard. Google says most postcards arrive within 14 days and that video reviews take up to 5 business days.
Check Google hasn’t suspended it
If your profile has a suspension notice, don’t create a new one. Google specifically says not to. Appeal through its appeals tool instead, with evidence such as a utility bill or business registration. You only get to appeal once, so gather everything before you send it.
Check someone else doesn’t control it
Google may have a listing for your business that an old web designer, a former partner or a previous owner set up. If it’s verified under someone else’s account, request access to it. The current owner gets 3 days to respond, and if they don’t, you may be able to claim it yourself.
Check you don’t have duplicates
Google allows one profile per business. If an old or accidental second listing is out there, report it through Google Maps or remove it, rather than running two.
Check your address is allowed
This one catches people out. Google doesn’t accept virtual offices or remote PO boxes as business addresses.
If you go to your customers rather than them coming to you, you’re a service-area business. Remove your address and list the areas you cover instead. Going to customers doesn’t stop you being listed, and if you work from home, it keeps your address off the internet.
Fix 2: You’re on Google Maps, but nobody can see you
Your listing exists, but you’re number 14 and people stop looking well before that.
Choose the right main category
This is the first thing I check. Google says your categories affect your local ranking, and it wants you to be specific: “Nail salon” rather than “Salon”.
Google’s own test is a good one: your category should finish the sentence “This business is a…”. Pick the closest honest match for your main category, rather than copying what nearby businesses have chosen. You can add others, but Google says to use as few as possible. Don’t add categories just to catch extra searches.
For the full walkthrough, see how to set up a Google Business Profile properly.
Fill in the whole profile
Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up. So fill in all of it: services, opening hours, phone number, website, description and real photos of your work.
It’s easy to set a profile up once and never touch it again. Finishing yours is a job you can do this week.
Get more reviews, and keep them coming
Google says more reviews and good ratings can help your local ranking. It’s also what the person searching looks at when choosing between you and the business above you.
Look at the three businesses ahead of you. If they’ve got 40 reviews and you’ve got 4, you’ve found your job for the next few months. Ask every customer, straight after the work is done, and send them a direct link so it takes them seconds. Reply to the reviews you get as well, which Google also recommends.
Have a proper website behind the listing
I’d always have a proper website behind a listing. It shows Google and your customers what you do and where, and other websites linking to it builds the prominence I mentioned earlier.
Say clearly what you offer, in plain language. If you want to know what that should cost, I’ve written up what a small business website costs in the UK.
Don’t stuff your business name
You’ll see competitors called “Smith Plumbing Emergency Boiler Repair Burnley”. It’s tempting to copy them, but Google says adding unnecessary information to your name could get your profile suspended. Use your real name and leave the rest to your category and services.
Why can’t I see my business from a different town?
Because distance counts. If you’re based in Colne and someone in Skipton searches “electrician near me”, they’ll mostly see electricians near Skipton, even if you work there every week.
You can’t fully beat this. What you can do is list the areas you really cover on your profile, so customers can see you work there, and talk about real jobs in those places on your website. Keep the list honest: Google allows up to 20 service areas, within about 2 hours’ drive.
Get found near your base first, then build outwards.
How long does it take to show up on Google Maps?
It depends on the problem:
- Verifying a new profile: often days. Google says most postcards arrive within 14 days.
- Fixing a wrong category or an empty profile: make the changes today, then check again over the next few weeks.
- Beating a competitor with far more reviews: months, because you’ve got to earn them one customer at a time.
Nobody can honestly give you a fixed date for ranking. Be wary of anyone who does.
How do I check if it’s working?
Don’t keep searching for yourself and judging it from that. Your results change depending on where you’re stood.
Instead, open your Google Business Profile once a month and look at the performance numbers: calls, website clicks and direction requests. If those are going up, the work is paying off, wherever you appear on any one search.
Want this sorted without doing it yourself?
If you’ve read this and thought “I haven’t got time for that”, that’s what Digimill is for. I work with local businesses across Lancashire and Yorkshire, and I set up your Google listing properly as part of a complete online setup, with a website behind it and reviews collected as you go. You get on with the job.
Tell me about your business and I’ll build you a free preview of what your site could look like within 3 days, with nothing to pay unless you go ahead.