Why is my business not showing on Google?

Google Search and Google Maps list your business in two different ways, so start by checking which one is missing.

• Your website isn’t in the normal results. Search site:yourdomain.co.uk on Google. If nothing comes back, Google hasn’t indexed your site. Go to the website checklist.
• Your business isn’t in the map results. Search your exact business name plus your town. If your profile doesn’t appear, go to the Google Business Profile checklist. If it appears for your name but not for “plumber near me”, go to the ranking section.

Many businesses have both problems at once. Fix the website first if it has no pages indexed, because your profile links to it and it helps Google understand what you do.

If your site isn’t indexed, nothing else matters yet. Check these in order.

1. Set up Google Search Console. Google doesn’t charge for it. Add your domain and verify it. It tells you which pages are indexed and why others aren’t.
2. Inspect your home page. Use the URL Inspection tool on your home page URL. It shows whether the page is on Google and whether it can be indexed. You can request indexing there, but Google says a request doesn’t mean the page will be added, and indexing can take a day or much longer.
3. Look for a noindex tag. A noindex robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag header tells Google to drop the page from results. Builders and developers often switch it on while a site is being built and forget to switch it off at launch.
4. Check robots.txt. If robots.txt blocks your pages, Google can’t crawl them.
5. Submit a sitemap. Most builders create one for you. Add its address in Search Console.
6. Give a new domain time. A brand new domain with no links pointing to it can take a while to be crawled. Linking to it from your Google Business Profile and social pages helps Google find it.

Most Maps problems come down to verification, a suspension or a profile that breaks Google’s guidelines.

1. Is the profile verified? Verification proves you own the business and lets you edit it. Google offers phone or text, email, a video call or a postcard, depending on your business, and says reviews of verification take up to 5 business days.
2. Is it suspended or restricted? Google suspends profiles that don’t follow its guidelines. Your dashboard will say so. You can appeal with evidence such as a business registration or a utility bill, and Google asks you not to create a new profile while the appeal is open.
3. Is your address allowed? Google wants a real location. PO boxes and virtual offices aren’t accepted unless the office is staffed during business hours with signage.
4. Do you visit customers? If you travel to customers and don’t serve them at your address, you’re a service-area business. Google says you should hide your address and set the areas you serve instead. A plumber working from home is Google’s own example.
5. Is your name right? Use your real business name as it appears on your signage and paperwork. Adding keywords or towns to the name breaks the guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
6. Is the main category right? Pick the fewest categories that describe your core business. Google’s test is that the category finishes the sentence “This business IS a…”, not “This business HAS a…”.

If your profile is live but you only appear for your own name, you’re being outranked. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence.

• Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. A complete profile with the right category, services and description matches more searches.
• Distance is how far you are from the person searching. You can’t change this, which is why someone across town can outrank you there and you outrank them here.
• Prominence is how well known you are. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and links and mentions across the web count too.

Google also says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone who promises you the top spot on Maps is promising something Google itself won’t.

Reviews are the part you have most control over. The guide to getting more Google reviews covers how to ask within Google’s rules.

Your business name, address and phone number should match everywhere they appear: your website, your Google profile, Facebook, Yell, Checkatrade and any other directory.

Mismatches are common after a move, a new phone number or a rebrand. Old listings with the old details confuse customers and make it harder for Google to be sure which details are right. Search your business name and your old phone number, list every place they appear, and update or remove the old ones.

Put the same details in the footer of your website, and make sure the phone number is a tap-to-call link on mobile.

Most of the checks above you can do yourself in an afternoon. Start with Search Console and your profile’s status, because those two answer most cases.

If you’d rather hand it over, the Local Search Fix is a fixed £800. I fill in your Google Business Profile properly, make the key fixes on your website, add schema markup so Google can read your business details, and set up review requests that ask every customer. It’s paid £400 to start and £400 at launch, typically 1 to 2 weeks. No one can promise a ranking, and I won’t.

Want to see where you stand first? Take the Scorecard. The Enquiry Leak Scorecard is 12 questions and takes about 3 minutes. You don’t need to give an email to see your score.

• URL Inspection tool, Google Search Console Help, accessed 30 September 2026
• Block Search indexing with noindex, Google Search Central, accessed 30 September 2026
• Verify your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help, accessed 30 September 2026
• Fix suspended or disabled profiles, Google Business Profile Help, accessed 30 September 2026
• Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help, accessed 30 September 2026
• Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help, accessed 30 September 2026