Why isn't my business showing up on Google Maps?

When someone searches "plumber near me" or "Anchorage dentist," the map with three businesses under it comes from Google Business Profiles. If you're not there, it's usually one of a few things, and most of them you can fix yourself.

Your profile isn't claimed or verified

Google sometimes makes a listing for a business on its own. Until you claim it and verify it, you can't edit it. Search your business name on Google Maps. If you see "Own this business?", that's your first job.

Verifying can take a few days. Google may ask for a short video of your shop, your sign, or your work truck.

The wrong main category

Your main category tells Google which searches you belong in. A roofer listed as "Contractor" will lose to one listed as "Roofing contractor." Pick the most specific one that fits, then add a few secondary categories for the other things you do.

You go to customers, but Google doesn't know where

If you work at your customers' place (plumbing, cleaning, snow removal), you can hide your address and set a service area instead. List the towns you actually work in, like Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla, and Palmer. Listing every town in the state doesn't help.

Check these on your profile

Open your profile and go down the list.

1. Claimed and verified, under an email you control
2. The most specific main category that fits
3. Your real business name, with no extra keywords added
4. Hours filled in, including holiday hours
5. A phone number someone actually answers
6. Your website linked, with the same name, address, and phone as the profile
7. Real photos: your work, your crew or staff, your place
8. Recent reviews, with a reply from you on each one

Don't stuff your name

It's tempting to change "Smith Plumbing" to "Smith Plumbing Anchorage Water Heater Repair." Google's rules don't allow it, competitors report it, and a suspended profile is much worse than a lower spot.

Reviews keep you there

Once your profile is right, the businesses that show up first usually have steady, recent reviews. Not fifty at once, but a few every month. The easiest way is to ask every customer the same day, with a link that goes straight to the review form.