“I can't find my business on Maps” covers five very different problems. Diagnose before you fix, because the work for each one is unrelated.
1. It was never verified
An unverified profile can exist and still not appear. Sign in and check for a Verify now prompt in the dashboard. Verification is by postcard, phone, email or video depending on your category, and video is now common for trades.
Video verification means recording a single unbroken clip showing your signage, your tools or stock, and then yourself accessing something only the owner could. Have it ready before you start, because you can't pause.
2. It's suspended
Check the dashboard for a suspended banner. If it's there, nothing else on this page matters until it's resolved, and editing the profile while suspended makes it worse.
3. It's being filtered as a duplicate
If two listings exist for the same business, Google shows one and suppresses the other. This happens constantly when a business moves, rebrands, or someone creates a new profile instead of claiming the old one.
Search your business name, your old name, your phone number and your address separately on Maps. If you find a second listing, claim it and request a merge rather than deleting either one. Deleting the wrong one loses the reviews.
4. You're outside the search radius
This is the most common one and it isn't a fault. Maps results are heavily distance-weighted. If you're searching from a suburb 20km from your address, you may genuinely not be eligible to appear there.
5. You're just being outranked
The profile is fine, verified, unique and in range, and three competitors are simply ahead of you. This is the normal case and it's the one worth working on.
Check the three above you. Count their reviews and look at their primary category. Nine times out of ten they have more reviews, a more recent one, and a more specific category. That's the gap, and it's closeable.
The order to work in
- Verified? If not, verify.
- Suspended? Fix the cause, then appeal.
- Duplicate? Claim and merge.
- Searching from too far away? Test properly before concluding anything.
- None of the above? You're outranked. Fix the category, then start getting reviews consistently.
Rather not do this yourself? Our Google Business Profile management handles the profile, the posts and the reviews every week, for one monthly fee.