Why Does My Business Not Appear on Google Maps?

Now that you have invested time, energy and more than likely a good chunk of money into getting your business up and running, you are probably wondering why your business is not showing up in Google Maps. No worries. Sometimes this just happens. I will tell you why and how to make sure it starts showing up.

Why Isn’t My Business Showing Up on Google Maps?

If you are not finding your business on Google Maps, then there are a handful of reasons why it might not be showing up. So with the help of my favorite local South Carolina SEO experts over at Superstar SEO, we’ll take a look at some possible causes for your business not to be displaying on Google Maps.

• You never created a Google Business account and entered your business details.
• Your business has not been verified. (This is a security issue and easy to fix if the case. I will tell you how below.)
• You are not meeting the guidelines for your business to be shown. (I have a bit below to show you what these guidelines are according to Google.)
• You have recently made a change by adding or editing your business info.

This is just a list of the usual reasons why businesses don’t show on Google Maps. So if you think one of them may be the cause, then you can follow the steps below for a simple and effective solution.

Solutions to Appear on Google Maps

These solutions can be found in a step process located at support.google.com/business. I hope this breaks it down for you and gets straight to the point, so your business can be shown on Google Maps!

How to Get Your Business Verified

If the reason your business is not being shown due to not being verified, you can easily get it verified and be on your way to better promotion. If you don’t have a business account with Google, you can get one easily and its free. Here are the steps:

• Go to Google My Business.
  If you do not have an account, you can sign up for one there. You can click on START NOW on the right top corner and it will take you through the steps that you need to get your business account set up.

• Once Setup and Logged in, search for your business using the address and name.
  Google has steps that you should take if you are an organization, brand or artist other than simply typing in your address. You can take those steps here.

• If your business has already been verified, Google will tell you.
  To fix that you can try using a different email to set up the account or even request access to the account. You’re not all doom yet. Google can help you resolve that specific issue at this link, google.com.
• If your business is not showing up then you can click on the menu and then click “No, these are not my businesses” or “I’ve correctly entered the business”. Once that is done you will be brought to a page to enter your info. Make sure you put in all your info correctly.
• Click Submit and you will be all done.

Here Are Google’s Guidelines for Letting your Business In

If your business isn’t complying with all of the guidelines to have your business listed, then Google will not list your business on Google Maps. Check the guidelines below and make sure you meet them all.

• Your business cannot be under construction.
• You must not have your business in a rental, P.O. Box, or for-sale location. Leasing is okay.
• You must have the authorization to hold that business.
• You can only claim your own business.
• You must be verified.
• You must be the owner or obtain permission as a manager to manage the Google Business Account for the business.

You can find a complete list of guidelines and rules along with some exceptions at their website support.google/business.

What If You Recently Made a Change

This is a waiting game really. It will take a total of three days for it to appear. Google support says that you should still be able to see your business on Google Maps though while the change is being processed.

Why isn’t my Business Showing Up on the Map in the Regular Results.

For local search results, Google will show a map and the top 3 relevant locations closest to you. It picks the top 3, due to a number of factors, like the amount of the traffic it gets, how popular the company is, or the length of time it has been on the web. Google shows results based on what people find useful or what is most relevant to the searcher. If your website is new, the best you can do is promote, get social, advertise, and maybe hire an SEO person or company as well.

In time, it will grow higher in the search results. If you don’t want to wait, you can always pay to have an ad for your business listed on top of the search results.