What your business needs to show up on Google Maps
When someone searches "plumber near me" or "bakery in Westbury," Google shows a map with three businesses at the top. This guide covers what it takes to get into that list, and how to stay there.
Showing up on Google Maps has nothing to do with buying ads. It comes down to a listing Google offers every business at no cost, called a Business Profile, and how well you keep it. If yours is half filled in, or you didn’t know you had one, that is good news: there is room to stand out.
Start by claiming your listing
Your business may already be on Google Maps without you ever adding it. Google sometimes creates a listing on its own, using information it finds elsewhere. If that is the case, you will see your business name next to a link that says something like “Own this business?”
Search for your business on Google Maps from a computer. If it is there, claim it. If it is not, create it at Google Business Profile, signed in with the Google account you use for work.
Google will ask you to prove the business is yours. That can be a phone call, a text message, a short video of your storefront or a postcard with a code. Until you finish that step, the listing is not fully yours, and your changes may not show.
The details Google wants to see
Google wants to show businesses that are real, open and trustworthy. Everything you enter should match your sign, your website and your social accounts, word for word.
- Business name. Your real name, the one on the sign. Don’t add words like “best” or your town unless they are part of the name. Google can suspend a listing for that.
- Address. If customers come to you, the full address. If you go to them, like a plumber or an electrician, you can hide the address and set the area you cover instead.
- Phone. A number someone actually answers. If you run the business on WhatsApp or text, use that number.
- Hours. Your real hours, holidays included. A customer who drives over and finds you closed will not come back, and may leave a bad review on the way out.
- Primary category. The single most important field. Pick the one that describes what you sell most, not everything you do. You can add secondary categories after.
- Website. If you have one, add it. A listing that points to your own site earns more trust than one that ends on a social profile.
Photos: what people look at first
Before they call, people look at photos. They want to see the place, what you sell and whether it looks cared for. A listing with no photos, or with dark, rushed ones, gets skipped.
Add a photo of your storefront so people recognize it when they arrive. Then the inside, your products or finished work, and your team if you are comfortable with it. Use daylight and hold the phone sideways. You don’t need a photographer to start, just a little care.
Keep adding them. A new photo every few weeks tells Google the business is active.
Reviews: ask for them, answer all of them
Reviews carry a lot of weight, with Google and with the person deciding between you and the shop down the street. Waiting for them to arrive is not enough. A happy customer often doesn’t leave one, simply because nobody asked.
Ask at the right moment: when a customer thanks you, when you finish a job, when someone picks up an order. Google gives you a direct review link you can send by text. Send it with one short, friendly line.
Answer every review, good and bad. For a good one, a short thank-you with their name. For a bad one, a calm reply that explains what happened and how you made it right. People reading don’t judge the complaint. They judge your answer.
Never buy reviews, and never ask family to post as if they were customers. Google catches it, and can push your listing down or remove it.
How Google decides who to show
Google says it ranks local results on three things:
- Relevance. How well your listing matches what the person searched for. That is why your category and description matter.
- Distance. How close you are to the person searching, or to the place they typed. You can’t change this one.
- Prominence. How well known and trusted your business looks. Reviews, photos, having a real website and other sites mentioning you all count here.
Distance is fixed. The other two are up to you, and they build a little every month.
What to do this week
If you are not sure where to begin, this list is enough:
- Find your business on Google Maps and claim the listing.
- Check your name, address, phone and hours. Make them match your sign and your website.
- Choose your primary category carefully.
- Upload ten good photos.
- Text your review link to five customers you know were happy.
- Reply to the reviews you already have.
None of this costs money. It takes one afternoon, then a few minutes a week to keep up.
Your listing and your website work together
Your Google listing brings the customer to your door. Your website is what they look at before deciding to walk in. When both say the same thing, and both look good, Google trusts your business more. So does the customer.