How to show up in Google Maps (and get chosen when you do)

Your Business Profile holds the information Google uses to show you in Maps and Search. If it’s unverified, suspended, incomplete or has the wrong primary category, you’ll struggle to appear. Your primary category is the single most important local pack factor.

Distance is one of Google’s three core local ranking factors. You’ll rank well near your premises and less well further out. If you check rankings from your desk, you’re only seeing one point on the map.

Whether a business is open at the time of the search is a top-five local pack factor. If your hours are wrong or incomplete, you’ll disappear whenever Google thinks you’re shut.

If there’s no dedicated location page, or the details on it don’t match your profile, Google has less reason to trust and rank you.

Reviews, links, citations and mentions all build prominence. If competitors have more of them, and fresher ones, they’ll usually win. Many businesses underinvest here, which makes it an opportunity.

Search for your business name in Google Search or Maps and claim it, or use the Business Profile dashboard. Google’s guide on how to find your business on Google walks through it. Verification methods vary by business, with video verification common. Businesses with 10 or more locations may be eligible for bulk verification (see local SEO for multiple locations)

Complete every relevant section and make sure it matches your website. Google’s guide to completing your Business Profile is a useful reference, and Google says customers are 70% more likely to visit businesses with a complete profile.

• Categories: choose the most accurate primary category, then add relevant extras.

• Services: add predefined services first, then custom services.

• Hours: set regular, special and holiday hours, and keep them updated.

• Photos and video: real, current images of your premises, team, products and work.

• Attributes: everything that applies, from accessibility to payment options.

• Description: say clearly what you do and where. Don’t stuff it with keywords, which risks suspension.

• Products and offers: add them where relevant.

• Posts: share news, events and opening hours changes regularly. See Google’s guide to posts.

You can manage your profile directly from Google Search or the dashboard.

• The location in the URL, title tag, meta description and headings

• NAP that matches the profile exactly

• Opening hours and facilities

• Unique content and images

• Local FAQs

• A Google Maps embed and directions

• Internal links to relevant services

• LocalBusiness structured data

Seed your local keywords

A cafe might start with “cafe” and “coffee” and expand to:

• “cafe near me”

• “coffee near me”

• “cafe Southampton”

• “coffee shop Southampton city centre”

• “independent coffee shop near me”

• “coffee roasters Southampton”

• “cafe near me with wifi”

Use these to shape page content, headings and your profile’s services.

High Google ratings, review volume and recency are all strong local ranking signals. They matter commercially too: online reviews potentially influence as much as £23 billion of UK consumer spending a year. Customers expect a strong rating backed by plenty of recent reviews.

• Ask every customer, at the right moment, with a direct review link.

• Respond to every review and personalise your replies.

• Don’t set staff review quotas, ask customers to name staff, use in-store review kiosks or offer incentives. Google’s review policies prohibit all of these, and in the UK fake and concealed incentivised reviews are illegal under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

Make sure your name, address and phone number are identical across your website, Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, directories, social profiles and industry sites.

Then build prominence off-site:

• Earn local links to each location page

• Get listed on the directories that matter in your sector

• Earn local press coverage

• Engage with local communities, online and offline

1. Find your business in Google Maps.

2. Click Share.

3. Select Embed a map.

4. Choose a size, click Copy HTML and paste the code into your location page.

It won’t move rankings much, but it helps visitors find you and get directions.

Most of the time UK adults spend online is on a smartphone, and Google Maps is one of the most-used apps in the country. Your Maps presence needs to work in someone’s hand.

• Make sure click-to-call, directions and booking work from your profile

• Check location pages load fast and pass Core Web Vitals

• Keep address, hours and phone visible without scrolling

• Keep navigation and forms simple

Google Maps uses Gemini to answer people’s questions about places. You can’t write those answers, but you can shape what they draw on:

• Keep your profile complete and accurate, especially services, attributes and hours

• Answer common questions clearly on your location pages

• Encourage detailed, genuine reviews that describe the experience

• Keep photos current and relevant to your categories