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Google Business Profile

You do not show up on the map

Seven reasons a business is missing from Google Maps. Six of them you can check yourself in about ten minutes.

Email me Call me starting at $425

Palm Beach Gardens, and across Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast. Anywhere by video.

In short

A Google Business Profile is the listing that places a business on Google Maps and in local near me results. It is a separate system from a website. A business can rank on the map with no website at all, and can have a well built website that never appears on the map. Google states that local results are ranked on three things: relevance, distance and prominence. The profile's category is what decides which searches a business is eligible for in the first place.

Where to look first

It could be any of these

Work down the list on your phone. Where the fix belongs somewhere else, the link goes there instead of here.

You have no profile, or Google built one and nobody claimed itSearch your business name in Google Maps. If it is missing, you cannot appear. If it is there but says Own this business?, Google built it from public data and nobody has checked a single detail on it.Setup and claiming, below
It exists but was never verifiedOpen it while signed in. An unverified profile shows limited information and does not compete in the map results.Verification, below
The primary category is wrongCheck yours, then check what the three businesses above you use. The category decides which searches you are eligible for at all. Wrong one and you are invisible for the work that is yours.Category, below
No service area, or one so wide it means nothingIf you travel to customers, the area is what puts you in results. Set to the whole state, it competes for none of them properly.Service area, below
Two listings competing with each otherSearch your business name plus your town. If two versions come back, Google is splitting your reviews and signals between them.Duplicate cleanup, included
Your details disagree with your websiteCompare the name, address and phone on the profile against your website, word for word, including Suite against Ste. Google cannot tell whether you are one business or three.Matching, included
Fewer reviews than whoever is above youCount the reviews on the top three for the search you want. Compare to yours. Google states prominence is partly based on review count.A system that asks for reviews
Starting price

$425 is where this one starts

Not a fixed price. What it actually costs depends on the list on the right, and you get that number in writing after a short call, before anything begins.

The starting price covers

Profile created, verified, category, services, area, hours, photos, first three posts, handover

What adds to it
  • More than one location
  • A mess to untangle
  • Duplicates to merge
  • A suspended profile to appeal
  • Directory listings
What it is

When someone searches for a service near them, Google shows a map with three businesses on it before it shows any websites. That map is built from Google Business Profiles.

Yours is a listing you own on Google. Name, category, services, area, hours, phone, photos and reviews. It is what appears when someone searches your business by name, and it is the only way onto the map.

If you have never claimed it, either it does not exist, so you cannot appear, or Google built a basic one from public data and it is showing details nobody has checked.

Why it matters

Near me searches are the highest intent searches a local business gets.

Plumber near me is not research. It is someone with a problem right now, choosing between three names. The profile is the entry requirement. No profile, not eligible.

Category. It decides which searches you are eligible for at all. Filed under the wrong one, you are invisible for the work that is yours.

Correct details. Wrong hours and someone drives to a closed door. An old number and they call, get nothing, and call the next name on the list. You never find out that happened.

Consistency. Google compares your profile against your website and everywhere else you appear. When they disagree it cannot tell whether you are one business or three, so it shows someone whose details are clear.

Google publishes how this worksTheir words on prominence: "This factor's also based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have." And in the same document: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." Nobody can sell you a position, including me.
Scope

What is included, and what is not

Included
  • Create and verify the profile
  • Category chosen and explained, with the reasoning written down
  • Every service and product entered, so you appear for the specific thing
  • Service area set
  • Hours, contact details and description written
  • Your real photos uploaded and sized properly
  • First three Google posts published
  • Duplicate listings found and cleaned up
  • Name, address and phone matched to your website exactly
  • A short handover so you can post and update it yourself
Not included
  • Directory listings on Apple Maps, Bing and Yelp. Available as an add-on, quoted after the profile is done
  • Answering reviews on an ongoing basis, which is separate
  • Photography. The photos need to be yours and real
  • Verification delays. Google sometimes verifies by postcard, video or phone, and how long that takes is outside anyone's control
  • Any guarantee of a map position
What moves the price
  • More than one location
  • An existing profile that is a mess
  • Duplicates to merge
  • A suspended profile to appeal
  • Starting clean with nothing to untangle, which reduces it
Working together

How this one runs

More on how working together works.

Questions
Do I need this if I already have a website?

Yes. Your website competes in the links below the map. Your profile is the only way onto the map itself.

How long until it works?

Verification is the slow part and it is out of anyone's hands. Sometimes days, sometimes a few weeks. After that the profile is live immediately, and where it ranks builds over the following weeks.

Can I do this myself?

Yes. It is free to set up. The parts that go wrong are the category, the service area, duplicate listings, and matching your details to everywhere else you appear. Those are the parts that decide whether it works.

What if I do not want my home address public?

You can hide it and set a service area instead. That is normal for anyone who travels to their customers.

What happens if I stop working with you?

The profile is yours. It is registered to your Google account, not mine, and you keep it whatever happens.

Do you guarantee I will be in the top three?

No. Google says in writing that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. What I can do is make sure nothing is missing, wrong, or contradicting itself when Google looks.

Related
Tell me about it

Send me the details

Four lines. Your answers arrive with the page you were reading, so I know what this is about before I call.

What is this about?

Pick at least one. More than one is fine.

or call ___ ___ ____

Got it.

I will look you up before I reply, so the first call is about your situation and not about basics.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In person across Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast. Anywhere by video.

I will search for your business

Seven searches on Google, Maps and an AI assistant. Screenshots, dated. No charge and no call needed.

Where else should I look?

Fill in the ones you have. Handle or link, either is fine.

No newsletter, no list. You get the screenshots either way.

Got it.

I will run the searches and send you what comes back, with the dates on them. If anything looks urgent I will say so.

Get a quote

Four lines. I read every one myself.

What is this about?

Pick at least one. More than one is fine.

I reply within one business day.

Got it.

I will look you up before I reply, so the first call is about your situation and not about basics.