Why Isn't My Business Showing Up on Google Maps?

You search for your business on Google Maps and it isn’t there, or it only appears when you type the exact name. It’s one of the most common problems local businesses run into, and the cause is usually on a short list.

Work through the checks below in order. The first few take minutes.

First, search the right way

Google Maps results change with where the searcher is. If you search from home, miles from your shop, you’ll see different results from a customer standing down the street.

Start by searching your exact business name. If you appear for your name, your profile exists and the question is ranking. If you don’t appear even for your name, start with the profile checks.

Profile problems

You don’t have a Google Business Profile. Maps listings come from Business Profiles. If nobody has created one for your business, or someone created one you can’t get into, you’ll need to create or claim it. Our Google Business Profile setup guide walks through both.

The profile isn’t verified. Unverified profiles may not show, or show with limits. Google offers several ways to verify, and which ones you get varies by business, so check what your profile asks for and finish it.

The profile is suspended. Google suspends profiles that appear to break its guidelines. Common causes include adding keywords or a city to the business name, using a virtual office or mailbox as the address, and listing an address where you don’t actually serve customers. If you see a suspension notice, fix the cause and ask Google to review it.

You visit customers and your address is hidden. If you travel to customers instead of having them come to you, Google asks you to hide your address and set a service area. That’s correct, but it means you won’t show as a pin the way a storefront does. You can still appear in local results for the area you serve.

It’s new, or you changed something big. New profiles and major edits, such as a new name or address, can take time to appear. Some edits go through review first.

There’s a duplicate. Two listings for the same business split your reviews and confuse Google. Search Maps for your address and phone number. If you find a duplicate, ask Google to remove or merge it through the Business Profile help pages.

Ranking problems

If your profile exists but sits low, Google’s own explanation of local results helps. It weighs three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the searcher or the place they named) and prominence (how well known the business is, online and off).

You can’t change distance. You can work on the other two.

Choose the right primary category. Google uses your categories to match your profile to searches. Pick the primary category that names your main business as precisely as the list allows, then add secondary categories only for services you actually offer.

Fill in everything. Hours, services, service area, description, photos and attributes. An empty profile gives Google little to match.

Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere. When your website, Google profile, Yelp page and other listings show different versions, it’s harder for search engines to be sure they’re all one business. Our guide to where to list your business online covers the listings that matter.

Earn reviews steadily. Reviews count toward prominence, and they persuade the people reading them. Google doesn’t allow paying for reviews or asking only happy customers. Our post on getting more Google reviews explains what’s allowed.

Link your profile to a good website. Your website is part of how Google understands your business. A site that states your services, location and contact details clearly, loads fast on phones and matches your profile supports everything above. Our local SEO guide covers the website side in more detail.

What to fix first

1. Search your exact business name. If you’re missing, find, claim and verify your profile.
2. Look for a suspension notice or a duplicate listing, and deal with it.
3. Make sure your business name has no added keywords and your address follows Google’s rules.
4. Set the right primary category and fill in every field.
5. Match your name, address and phone number across your website and listings.
6. Start asking every customer for a review.

Most missing businesses find the cause in the first three steps. The rest is steady work that shows results over months.

If your website is part of the problem, tell us about your business. A new site is $2,000, with every page you need, and most are ready in 1 week.