Why isn't my business showing on Google Maps?

You search for your own business on Google Maps and get your competitor instead. It's a horrible feeling. The good news is that Google's own help pages explain most of the reasons, and most of them can be fixed.

First, check whether you're really missing

Missing and buried look the same from your phone, but they're different problems. Search for your exact business name plus your suburb or city. If you show up for that, you exist. You're just not ranking for the broader searches, which is a ranking problem (skip down to that section).

If you can't find your own profile to manage it, Google says you must sign in to the Google Account associated with it. A surprising number of "missing" profiles are really "set up years ago on someone else's login". Worth checking before anything else. If a former staff member or an old web designer set it up, ask them for access before you go any further.

Is your business eligible for a profile?

Not every business can have a Google Business Profile. Google's guidelines say a business qualifies if it either has a physical location that customers can visit, or travels to customers where they are.

So an online-only business with no shopfront and no home visits isn't what Maps is for. And a rented mailing address you don't operate from, which Google calls a virtual office, isn't eligible either. If that's you, no amount of fiddling will get you on the map.

Is your Google Business Profile verified?

This is the most common cause for new businesses. Google's help page on finding your business on Google is direct about it: Only verified businesses can show their business info on Maps and Search.

Verification also lets you edit your info and reply to customers. Until you're verified, you can't do either.

How to fix it

• Sign in to your profile and start verification. Google picks the method for you, and you can't change it.
• The options can include a phone call or text, email, a live video call or a postcard. Google recommends video if you're eligible.
• Postcard codes usually arrive within 14 days and expire after 30 days, so don't let it sit in the letterbox.
• Once you've finished the steps, Google says its review can take up to 5 business days.

Full steps are on Google's verification page.

Has your profile been suspended or disabled?

If your profile breaks Google's guidelines, Google says it becomes disabled or suspended and won't show to other users on Google. You'll get a notification in the Google Account you use to manage the profile, so check that inbox first.

The usual culprits are things Google's guidelines rule out:

• Extra words in your business name. Your name should reflect your business's real-world name, with no taglines, phone numbers or other extra details tacked on.
• An ineligible address. Virtual offices and P.O. boxes at remote locations aren't acceptable.
• A service-area business showing its address. If you travel to customers, Google says you should hide your business address from customers.

How to fix it

Fix whatever breaks the guidelines first, then appeal through Google's appeals tool. Google lists evidence you can attach, such as official business registration, a business licence, tax certificates or utility bills, and says to check the name and address match the profile. Appeals can only be submitted once, so get it right before you hit send (Google's steps).

We go through the whole process in our post on a suspended Google Business Profile.

Is it too new, or did you just change something?

Sometimes nothing is wrong. Google just hasn't caught up. According to Google:

• Rankings for new businesses can take up to a month to appear in search results.
• After you edit your info, changes can take up to three days to appear.

So if you verified last week, or moved your address yesterday, give it time before you assume the worst. Refreshing Google Maps every ten minutes doesn't speed it up. We've checked.

Is your business info incomplete or wrong?

Google's advice is to make sure your business info is correct, complete and up to date. A profile with the wrong category, no hours and an old phone number gives Google very little to match to a search.

Check your categories, hours, address or service area, phone number and website link. Google's ranking page says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.

You're there, just not near the top

If your business shows up when you search its name but not for "electrician near me", you're not missing. You're being outranked. Google's page on local ranking says Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity. It explains the three factors like this:

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched.
• Distance: how far you are from the person searching.
• Prominence: how well-known you are, based on things like how many websites link to you and how many reviews you have.

Distance explains a lot. A search from the other side of town may genuinely show different businesses than a search from your car park. That's not a fault, it's the system working as designed, if not in your favour.

How to rank higher on Google Maps

Google's own tips line up with the factors above. In short:

1. Verify your profile. Google says it makes you more likely to show up in search results.
2. Complete every detail: categories, hours, attributes, services.
3. Get more reviews, and reply to them. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking.
4. Add real photos and videos of your work and premises.
5. Build a website that backs it up, with pages for the services and areas you want to be found for.
6. Earn links from real websites, like local organisations and industry bodies.

And one thing Google says you can't do: There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. For the full list, work through our local SEO checklist.

What not to do

When a profile vanishes, the tempting move is to make a fresh one. Don't. On suspended profiles, Google is plain: Do not create a new Business Profile for the same business.

Also skip anyone promising to "get you back on Maps in 24 hours" or to guarantee a top-three spot. Google decides both. What a good agency can do is find the cause, fix it properly and keep you inside the rules.

If you'd like us to work out what's going on, that's part of our local SEO service.

FAQ

Why can't I find my business on Google Maps?

The usual causes are an unverified profile, a suspended or disabled profile, a profile that's too new or was just edited, or a profile that's there but ranking low. Search your exact business name and suburb first to see which it is.

How long does it take for a new business to show on Google Maps?

Google says rankings for new businesses can take up to a month to appear in search results. Verification review can take up to 5 business days after you finish the steps.

Can I see why my profile was suspended?

Google says you'll get a notification in the Google Account you use to manage the profile. Its appeals tool also shows the reason for each decision.

Should I make a new profile if mine disappears?

No. Google says not to create a new Business Profile for the same business. Fix the cause and appeal instead.

Sources

1. Google Business Profile Help: Find your business on Google
2. Google Business Profile Help: Verify your business on Google
3. Google Business Profile Help: Fix suspended or disabled profiles
4. Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
5. Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google