"My business is not showing up on Google" can mean three different things: the profile does not exist or is not verified, it exists but was suspended, or it is live but ranks below competitors for the searches you care about. Each has a different fix. Work down this list and you will find which one is yours.
- Search for your exact business name first. If you cannot find yourself even by name, the problem is the profile, not ranking.
- Unverified and suspended profiles do not behave like live ones. Check the status in your Business Profile.
- Service-area businesses show where they serve, and distance from the searcher still matters.
- Stuffed names, extra categories and virtual offices risk suspension.
- Ranking for searches like "plumber near me" comes from relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews feed prominence.
1. Can you find yourself by name?
On a phone, signed out or in a private window, search your exact business name and town. If your profile shows, the profile works and the issue is ranking for wider searches; skip to step 5. If it does not show even by name, keep going.
2. Is the profile verified and live?
Sign in and open your Business Profile. If it says Get verified, finish verification; Google's local ranking page lists verifying as the first thing that helps you show up. Our guide to verifying your Google Business Profile covers each method.
Google says approved service area edits may take up to 48 hours to show. If you changed your name, address or category recently, Google may re-review the profile before showing the changes.
3. Was it suspended?
Google suspends or disables profiles that break its guidelines. Common causes for contractors:
- A stuffed name. Google's guidelines say adding unnecessary information to your business name is not permitted and can get the profile suspended.
- A virtual office or a mailbox. Google's guidelines say a rented mailing address you do not operate from, a virtual office, is not eligible for a Business Profile.
- Duplicate profiles. Google's guidelines say not to create more than one profile for each location of your business.
- Categories used as keywords. Google asks you to use as few categories as possible to describe your core business.
If you were suspended, fix the cause first, then appeal through Google's appeal tool with evidence such as your business registration, license or a utility bill with the business name and address. If you add evidence to a suspension appeal, Google says you must submit it within 60 minutes of opening the form. Google says not to create a new profile for the same business while an appeal is under review.
4. Is your service area set up right?
Google says a service-area business should hide its address from customers. Google lets a service-area business set up to 20 service areas, by city, postal code or other area. Google no longer lets you set a service area as a radius around your business. Google says a service area should not extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where the business is based.
Remember that the map is about the searcher's location. Google's help page on local ranking says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence (it also calls the last one popularity): how well your profile matches the search, how far you are from the searcher and how well known your business is. A plumber based in the next county will rarely show at the top for someone searching in your town, even with a perfect profile. Searching from your own driveway is not a fair test; check from the towns you serve.
5. You show up by name, but not for searches like yours
That is a ranking problem, and it is the most common one. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. What you control:
- Relevance. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results. Fill in services, hours, attributes and a description in plain words.
- Prominence. Google says prominence is based partly on how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have. Ask every customer for a review, and reply to them.
- Photos. Add photos of your own work, crew and trucks; Google's ranking page lists photos among the things that help.
- Your website. Pages for each service and town, with the same name, phone and hours as the profile.
Our marketing guides by trade and the SEO guides for each trade go deeper.
6. Check it the way a customer would
Koira's free AI report shows your search results, listings, reviews and site next to competitors near you, so you can see which of the causes above applies. The free local SEO checker and Google Business Profile checker look at the same things one at a time.
Where Koira fits
Koira keeps your Google and Bing listings matching your site (listings), builds a page for every town and service you work (contractor SEO) and asks every paying customer for a review (reviews). Those are the slow, steady parts of showing up on the map.
Questions contractors ask
Why is my business not showing on Google Maps?
Most often the profile is unverified, suspended, set up with the wrong service area, or live but outranked. Search your exact name first to tell which.
Why does my business show on my phone but not for customers?
Distance is one of Google's main ranking factors. You see your business near you; customers in other towns may see closer competitors first.
Can I pay Google to show up on the map?
Not in the regular results. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Local Services Ads are a separate paid placement.
How long do Google Business Profile changes take?
Google says approved service area edits may take up to 48 hours to show. Other edits can take longer if Google reviews them.
Will a new profile fix a suspended one?
No. Google says not to create a new profile for the same business while an appeal is under review.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, checked October 9, 2026
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google, checked October 9, 2026
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage your service areas, checked October 9, 2026
- Google Business Profile Help: Fix suspended or disabled profiles, checked October 9, 2026
- Google Business Profile Help: Verify your business on Google, checked October 9, 2026
