Practical advice

Why isn’t my business showing on Google?

Can’t find your business on Google? Start with a few practical checks for your Business Profile and website, and see what affects local results.

Start by checking what’s missing. Is it your business listing on Google Maps, your website in the search results, or both? They’re connected, but they need different checks. A website can appear in search without a Business Profile, and a verified profile doesn’t guarantee a high position for every search.

Find your business by name first

Search for your exact business name and town in Google Search and Maps. Then sign in to the Google account you use for your Business Profile and check for verification requests, pending changes or a suspension notice. If your business appears by name but not for a search such as “plumber near me”, focus on local visibility rather than assuming the listing is missing.

Google’s guide to finding your business ↗

Check your Business Profile

First, make sure your business is eligible. Google generally requires in-person contact with customers, either at your premises or where you serve them. Online-only businesses aren’t eligible. There are exceptions and additional rules, so check the guidance for your business type before creating a listing.

Google’s eligibility guidance ↗

For an eligible business, complete the verification Google asks for and check these basics:

• Use your real business name, without adding extra services or town names to try to rank.

• Choose a category that accurately describes your main business.

• Check your phone number, website, customer-facing hours and location or service area.

• If you travel to customers and don’t receive them at your address, hide that address and use the appropriate service-area setup.

Correct the existing profile where possible. Creating another listing for the same business can cause problems.

Google’s business representation guidelines ↗

Understand why local results vary

Google explains local ranking through three main factors: relevance, distance and prominence. In everyday terms: how well your business matches the search, how close it is to the person searching, and how well known it is. Reviews and links from other websites can contribute to prominence.

Keep your information accurate, add useful photos and respond helpfully to reviews. Those are sensible habits. They don’t remove the effect of distance or guarantee first place. Google says you can’t request or pay for a better local ranking.

Google’s local ranking guidance ↗

Check the website separately

Open Google Search Console and use URL Inspection for your homepage and important service pages. It can show whether Google has added a page to its index so it can appear in search, and help identify access or indexing problems.

Ask whoever manages the website to check that important pages are public, load properly and haven’t been left with a setting that blocks search engines. A leftover “noindex” instruction, a password or a broken page can need attention. Fixing the technical basics makes a page eligible; Google still doesn’t guarantee indexing.

Google’s technical requirements ↗

After fixing a page, you can request indexing in Search Console. Crawling may take days or weeks, and repeated requests won’t speed it up. A sitemap can help Google discover your pages.

Google’s recrawling guidance ↗

Take one useful next step

Start with the profile status and one important website page. Write down what you find before paying for changes. If you’re unsure where the problem sits, talk to OctoWeb about your business and what customers are trying to find. We can discuss which checks are worth doing first.