Why doesn’t my business show up on Google?

You search for your own business and it isn't there. Or it's on page three, under a business that closed in 2019. Here are the usual reasons, most likely first, and what to do about each.

1. Your Google Business Profile isn't claimed or verified

This is the big one. The box with your name, map pin, hours and reviews comes from a Google Business Profile, not from your website. If you haven't created one, or haven't finished verifying it, you won't be in the map results at all.

Fix: go to Google Business Profile, search for your business, and claim it (or create it). Finish the verification Google asks for. It can take a few days.

2. Google hasn't found your website yet

Search for site:yourdomain.com. If nothing comes back, Google doesn't know your site exists.

Fix: add your site in Google Search Console and submit its sitemap. A brand-new site can take a few weeks to show up even when everything's right.

3. You're searching from too far away

Local results depend on where the searcher is. If you're across town, you may not see yourself, while your customers next door do.

Fix: search the way a customer would, from where they'd be, for what they'd type ("plumber near me", not your business name).

4. Your category is wrong or too vague

Your profile's primary category tells Google what you are. "Contractor" competes with everyone. "Bathroom remodeler" competes with the people who actually do what you do.

Fix: pick the most specific primary category that's true, then add secondary ones.

5. Your name, address and phone don't match everywhere

If your website, your profile and the directories you're listed on disagree about your address or phone number, Google is less sure you're one business.

Fix: pick one exact version and use it everywhere.

6. You have few reviews, or none recently

Reviews are one of the things Google weighs for local results, and people read them before they call.

Fix: ask for them. How to get more Google reviews has the how.

7. Your website doesn't say what you do, or where

If your home page says "Quality you can trust" and nothing about plumbing or Denver, Google has to guess.

Fix: say what you do and where, in plain words, near the top of the page. "Emergency plumber in Denver, 7 days a week" beats any slogan.

Where to start

Do 1 and 2 today. They're the ones that keep you out entirely. The rest are what move you up once you're in.