Why is my business not showing on Google Maps?

The short answer

When a business doesn't show up on Google, it is almost always one of these:

1. It does show, just not for that search. You searched a category, like "plumber", and other businesses rank above you.
2. The profile isn't verified yet, or verification is still pending.
3. The profile is new, or you just changed something big like the name, address or category, and Google is still reviewing it.
4. The profile is suspended for breaking Google's guidelines.
5. There are duplicate listings splitting your reviews and confusing Google.
6. You're a service-area business with a hidden address and you're looking for a pin that isn't meant to be there.

The rest of this guide shows how to tell which one it is and what to do about each.

First, check whether it is really missing

Before you change anything, find out which problem you have. "Not showing" can mean the profile is invisible to everyone, or that it exists but doesn't rank. The fixes are completely different.

1. Open a private (incognito) browser window, so your own history and account don't affect the results.
2. Search Google for your exact business name plus your town, for example "Bean There Coffee Austin".
3. Do the same in the Google Maps app, ideally from a phone that isn't yours.

Then read the result:

• Your profile appears for its name. Good news: the profile is live. Your problem is ranking for general searches. Skip to you show up, just not for the searches you want.
• Nothing appears, even for your exact name. The profile is usually unverified, under review after an edit, or suspended. Work through the next sections in order.
• Two or more listings appear. You have duplicates. See duplicate listings.

Your profile isn't verified, or verification is pending

An unverified profile may not appear in search at all, and you can't manage it properly. Sign in with the Google account that created the profile and search your business name: if your profile shows a prompt to verify, it isn't verified yet.

Google decides which verification methods your business can use, such as a video recording, a phone call, a text or an email. Follow the one offered. A video usually needs to show the business sign or branded equipment, the place where you work, and proof that you manage it, like unlocking the door or opening the till.

After you submit, a review can take a few days. Don't create a second profile while you wait; that creates a duplicate and can slow everything down.

Your profile is suspended

Google says it may "suspend or disable Business Profiles that don't follow our guidelines". When that happens, you can no longer edit the profile, and customers may not be able to see it at all. You will usually see a notice when you sign in to manage the profile.

Common reasons include:

• Keywords or a location added to the business name ("Bean There Coffee Best Latte Austin")
• An address you don't actually work from, such as a virtual office or a mailbox
• A service-area business showing its home address
• Several profiles for the same business at the same address

To get it back: read Google's guidelines for representing your business, fix anything on the profile that breaks them, and then submit an appeal through Google's appeals tool, with documents such as a business registration, licence or utility bill if you have them. Google's help page on suspended profiles explains the steps. And don't create a new profile for the same business while the appeal is under review.

It's new, or you just made big edits

A brand-new profile usually appears for its own name soon after verification, but it won't compete for general searches straight away. Google has very little to go on until you have reviews, photos and a complete profile.

Edits go through review too. Changing the name, address or primary category can send the profile back for checks, and sometimes for re-verification. Until the edit is approved, Google may show the old details, or show the profile less. Make big changes one at a time, and only when they reflect a real change in the business.

Duplicate listings

Duplicates appear when someone creates a second profile, when a business moves and the old listing stays, or when Google builds a listing from public data. They split your reviews and confuse Google about which listing to show, so often neither ranks well.

• If you manage both, keep the one with more reviews and ask Google support to remove or merge the other.
• If you don't manage the duplicate, open it on Google Maps and use Suggest an edit to report it as a duplicate or as closed, if it is an old location.
• Never delete the profile that has your reviews: deleted reviews don't come back.

You hide your address (service-area businesses)

If you visit customers rather than having them come to you, like a plumber, a cleaner or a mobile hairdresser, Google says you should hide your address and list the areas you serve instead. That's correct, but it changes what you see: there is no pin on the map at your address, and you show up for searches in and around your service area, not at a fixed point.

So if you search from your home address and expect a pin there, you won't find one. Search for your business name instead, or for your service from somewhere inside your service area. And keep the service area realistic: you will rank best close to where your business is actually based, whatever areas you list.

You show up, just not for the searches you want

This is the most common case. Your profile is fine, but when someone searches "dentist" or "coffee near me", other businesses come first. Google says local results are based mainly on three things (from its help page on local ranking):

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
• Distance: how far you are from the searcher, or from the place they searched.
• Prominence: how well known you are, based on things like links to your website and how many reviews you have. Google adds that "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking".

You can't move your business closer to every customer, but you can work on relevance and prominence:

Your primary category is wrong or too broad

The primary category is one of the strongest relevance signals you control. A cosmetic dentist listed only as "Dentist", or a pizza place listed as "Restaurant", competes for the wrong searches. Pick the most specific category that describes your main business, then add secondary categories for the other things you do.

You have fewer reviews than the businesses above you

Look at the three businesses that rank first for your main search, and compare their review counts and ratings with yours. If they have 150 reviews and you have 12, that gap is a big part of the answer. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews covers how to close it, and the free review link and QR code generator makes asking easy.

Your profile is incomplete

Fill in everything that applies: hours (including holiday hours), phone, website, a description, services or products, attributes and plenty of real photos. A complete profile gives Google more to match against searches, and gives customers more reasons to pick you.

Your profile looks inactive

Regular new photos, posts and replies to reviews show customers the business is active. Replying to every review also signals that you value feedback; our guide on how to respond to Google reviews shows what to write.

What not to do

Some shortcuts work for a while and then cost you the whole profile:

• Keywords in the business name. Google's guidelines don't allow keywords or taglines in the name: "TD Bank" is fine, "TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank" is not. Use the name on your sign.
• Fake or virtual addresses. Google says a business that rents a mailing address but doesn't operate there isn't eligible for a profile at that address.
• Extra profiles for the same business to cover more of the map.
• Buying reviews or offering anything in return for them. Google removes them and can restrict your profile.

How to see where you rank across your area

Because distance matters so much, one search tells you very little. You might be first on your own street and nowhere two kilometres away. To see the real picture, check your rank for your main search from a grid of points around your business.

You can do a rough version by hand: ask friends in different parts of town to search and send you a screenshot, or search Google Maps after moving the map to different neighbourhoods. It's slow, but it shows where you're strong and where you disappear.

Mekomi's ranking diagnosis does it for you: it checks your rank on a grid across your area every week, compares your profile with the businesses that outrank you (categories, reviews, photos and completeness) and turns the gaps into a short list of what to fix first.