Why doesn't my business show up on Google Maps? The causes and the fixes

You open Google Maps on your phone, type the name of your shop, and nothing. The tire shop down the road comes up, a place two towns over comes up, but not you. And you know you're on Google: someone made the listing a while back, or you did it yourself.

It's usually one of five things, and most of them you can fix from your phone. Below, each one comes with how to tell if it's yours and what to do. If you don't have a profile yet, start with the complete Google Business Profile guide and come back here if something looks off.

First: are you missing by name, or missing when people search for what you sell?

Those are two different problems with two different fixes.

Do this test on your phone, in Google Maps. Search your business's name and your town. That's how Google itself says to find a profile: your business's name and city.

• If you don't show up even by name, the problem is your profile. Keep going with the causes below.
• If you show up by name but not when someone searches "barber in Bayamón," your profile exists and works. That's a different issue, covered further down.

Your profile isn't verified

Start here. Google is clear about it: only verified businesses can show their business info on Maps and Search.

How to tell: go to business.google.com with the business's Google account. If you see a button or a notice asking you to verify, that's it.

What to do: finish verification with whatever method Google offers you. It can be a video, a phone call, a text message, an email or a postcard. After you verify, Google reviews the information, which can take up to 5 business days. If you get the postcard, most codes arrive within 14 days and they expire after 30, so don't leave it sitting on the counter.

You changed something and Google is reviewing it

You changed the name, the address or the category, and suddenly you're gone. Google says changes can take up to 3 days to appear. If the business is new, Google says its rankings can take up to a month to appear in search results.

What to do: wait those days before touching anything else. Changing the same thing several times in a row doesn't speed it up. Make your changes together, once, and wait.

There are two listings for your business

This happens a lot when someone made a new listing without seeing there was already one, or when a customer added your business to Maps before you did. Google doesn't know which one to show, and sometimes it shows the old one, with the phone number you don't use anymore.

How to tell: search your name on Google Maps, and also try variations: with and without "LLC," your old name, your phone number.

What to do: keep the verified listing. If the extra one is in your account and you made it by mistake, Google explains how to remove it, and warns that removing a profile also deletes its content and managers, so make sure you remove the right one. If both already show on Maps and they're the same business, Google says to request a merge by reporting it from Google Maps. If you moved, don't make a new listing: change the address on the one you have.

Your profile is suspended

If a profile breaks Google's rules, it becomes disabled or suspended and won't show to other users until you resolve the issue. Usual suspects: extra words added to the name (your sign says one thing, the profile says that plus "best barber in town"), or an address where you don't actually serve customers.

What to do: fix what's wrong first. Then appeal from Google's appeals tool, signed in with the business account. The tool shows you the reason, and you can add proof such as your business registration, a license, or a utility bill. Two warnings from Google: don't create a new profile for the same business while your appeal is under review, and if you open the evidence form, submit it within 60 minutes. Have your papers ready before you start.

The address or the pin is off

Puerto Rico addresses make this easy to get wrong: addresses with an urbanización (a neighborhood development), a street and a house number, or "Road 2 km 14.5." If the pin landed on the wrong road, a customer searching near you may not see you, and the one who does find you ends up somewhere else.

How to tell: open your listing on Maps and look at where the pin sits. Is it on your door?

What to do: go to "Edit profile," then the address, and move the pin to your entrance. If you work out in the field, like a contractor or a mechanic who goes to the customer, hide your home address and list the towns you serve. The step-by-step setup guide shows how to write urbanización, barrio and kilometer markers.

You show up by name but not when people search for what you sell

Here your profile is fine. Other businesses are competing for the same search. Google explains that local results weigh three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and prominence (how well known your business is). It also says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. If someone promises you the top spot on Maps, be careful.

What you do control starts with the right main category: an auto repair shop isn't an "auto parts store." After that come a complete profile, reviews you reply to, and a website that says the same thing as your profile. The complete guide covers each one.

Keep distance in mind: if someone in Ponce searches "barber," it's normal for Ponce barbers to come up first, even if your barbershop in Bayamón is great. That's not something to fix. It's how it works.

What Esensee does

In the Starter (from $499 one-time plus a monthly plan) and Business (from $1,200 one-time plus a monthly plan) plans, we create or claim your Google Business Profile, start the verification with you (some methods, like a video, need you there), check the pin and connect the profile to your website. If your hours change or you move, you text us and we update it.

If you'd rather do it yourself, the complete Google Business Profile guide has everything else. If you want someone here to take a look, book a free 30-minute call, in English or Spanish, or see plans and prices.

Questions

How long until my business shows up on Google Maps after I verify?

Google says the review can take up to 5 business days. If the business is new, Google says its rankings can take up to a month to appear in search results.

Can I pay Google to show up first on Maps?

Not in the regular Maps results. Google says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

My business is on Google, but I didn't put it there. What do I do?

Anyone can add a place to Maps, even a customer. Find it and tap "Claim this business." If someone else already claimed it, you can request access. The steps are in the complete guide.

Why do I show up one day and not the next?

What shows on Maps depends on where the person searching is and what they type. Someone in another town, or using other words, sees other results. Always run the test with your name and your town.