Local visibility
Why you're not showing up on Google Maps
For most local businesses the Google Business Profile is worth more than the website — it's what appears when someone searches your trade and your town, and it's where the phone calls come from. It's also free, frequently neglected, and full of settings that quietly decide whether you appear at all.
Rather just ask someone? Talk to usIn short
The usual causes are an unverified or suspended profile, the wrong primary category, a service area set too wide, business details that don't match across the web, or a duplicate listing splitting your signals. Proximity to the searcher also matters more than anything you control — which is why you rank in your own suburb and not the next one.
- What decides local ranking?
- Google describes local ranking as relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search — categories and services do most of that work. Distance is how far you are from the searcher, and you cannot change it. Prominence is how well known you are: reviews, mentions, links and general web presence. Because distance carries real weight, 'we rank in Kyneton but not Bendigo' is usually the system working as designed rather than something broken.
What actually works
Verification is the first thing to check
An unverified profile is largely invisible. Verification has moved to video in many categories, which is more fiddly than the old postcard but usually resolves in days. Nothing else on this list matters until it's done.
Your primary category does most of the work
It's the single strongest relevance lever. 'Electrician' and 'Electrical supply store' produce completely different results. Look at who currently ranks for your search and check what they've picked.
Service area, set honestly
If you visit customers you can hide your address and set a service area. Setting it to half the state doesn't extend your reach — it dilutes relevance. Cover where you genuinely work.
Your details must match everywhere
Name, address and phone number, character for character, across your website, directories, social profiles and old listings. 'Suite 2/14 High St' and 'Unit 2, 14 High Street' can read as two businesses. Inconsistency is a common invisible cause.
Duplicates split you in half
An old listing from a previous owner, a franchise import or an auto-generated entry will compete with your real profile. Search your business name and address in Maps and claim or remove anything stale.
Reviews are ranking and conversion at once
Recency and volume both count, and so does replying. A steady trickle beats a burst — twenty reviews arriving in a week looks exactly like what it usually is. Ask every satisfied customer, as a habit rather than a campaign.
Photos, hours and posts signal an active business
Real photographs of real work, hours kept current including public holidays, and the occasional post. It's low-effort and it separates a live business from an abandoned listing.
If you're suspended, don't panic-edit
Suspensions usually follow a big change — a new address, a keyword-stuffed name, a category jump. Put it back to what it was, then appeal with evidence: signage, a rates notice, an insurance certificate.
The profile audit
Twenty minutes, once a quarter. Most of what we find in a local audit is on this list.
- Profile verified, and not suspended
- Primary category matches what people actually search
- Secondary categories added for genuine additional services
- Address or service area set honestly
- Name, address and phone identical to your website and every directory
- No duplicate or unclaimed listings for the same business
- Hours current, including public holidays
- At least ten real photographs, added over time
- Every review replied to, good and bad
- Services and description filled in with plain language
- Website link points somewhere relevant, not just the homepage
When this isn't your problem
If you're a purely online business with customers everywhere, the profile matters much less and you should put the effort into content and search instead. This is worth real attention when someone within driving distance is deciding who to call — which is most trades, clinics, cafés and local services.
Want us to look at it?
Send us your site and what you're trying to improve. We'll tell you what we'd do first — including when the honest answer is that you don't need us.
Common questions
Most often a suspension following a recent edit, an accidentally unverified profile, or a duplicate listing taking precedence. Sign in and check the profile status first — the reason is usually stated there, and the fix is usually reverting whatever changed.
Fixes to verification, categories and duplicates can show within days. Building prominence — reviews, mentions, links — is a three to six month exercise. In a competitive city category it takes longer, and proximity will still cap how far out you appear.
No. Service-area businesses can hide the address and list the areas they cover. You do need a real address for verification, and it must be somewhere you're genuinely based — virtual offices and mailboxes are a common cause of suspension.
Not for the organic three-pack. You can buy Local Services Ads or promoted pins, which appear above it and are labelled as ads. Anyone offering guaranteed organic map rankings is describing something they can't control.
Ask at the moment the work is finished and the customer is happy, in person or in the follow-up message, with a direct link. Steady and genuine beats a campaign. Don't offer incentives — it breaches Google's policies and the reviews read false anyway.
Also worth a look
- How to Rank Locally in Your Own Town
- How to Show Up in ChatGPT and AI Search Results
- Your Website Gets Traffic But No Enquiries
- Weighing up who should build it, and what it should cost?
Last reviewed . Figures are indicative Australian ranges, not quotes.