How to show up on Google Maps: a guide to your Google Business Profile
When someone searches “near me”, Google shows the map first. Here's how to get on it, step by step and for free.
Patrick Uribe · Granada · · 7 min read
To show up on Google Maps you need a verified, complete and active Google Business Profile: the right category, opening hours, real photos, answered reviews and the same details as on your website. It's free and, for a local business, it often brings in more calls than the website itself.
Search for “florist” or “physiotherapy” on your phone while you're in town. The first thing you see isn't websites: it's a map with three businesses, their stars, their opening hours and a button to call. That block is called the local pack, and for many businesses it's the most important shop window they have.
The good news is that it's free. The bad news is that many profiles are only half finished. This is the guide I follow with my clients.
1. Claim and verify your profile
Go to Google Business Profile with your business's Google account and look up your company. If it already exists (Google sometimes creates it on its own from reviews), claim it; if not, create it. Google will ask you to verify the business is yours, usually with a video or a code.
Use a business account, not an employee's personal one: if that person leaves, you'd lose access.
2. Choose the right main category
It's the detail that most affects which searches you show up for. Be specific: “Physiotherapist” rather than “Health centre”; “Florist” rather than “Shop”. Then add secondary categories for the other services you offer.
3. The same details everywhere
Name, address and phone number must be exactly the same on your profile, your website and the directories you appear in. If one place says “St” and another “Street”, that's fine; if the phone number or the name changes, Google isn't sure which is correct and shows you less.
4. Complete your profile 100%
- Opening hours, including public holidays. Nothing puts people off more than turning up to find you closed.
- Description of what you do, for whom and where, written naturally.
- Services or products, with guide prices if you can.
- Link to your website, to the most useful page, not always the home page.
- Attributes: wheelchair access, appointments, card payment, Wi-Fi…
5. Real photos, and lots of them
Shopfront (so people can find you when they arrive), interior, team, products and finished work. Real photos build more trust than stock images, and a profile with recent photos looks alive. Upload a new one every month.
6. Ask for reviews and reply to every one
Reviews carry a lot of weight in who shows up first and, above all, in who gets chosen. Ask for them right after a job well done, using the direct link your profile gives you. And reply to every one, including the negative ones, politely: anyone reading your reviews is watching how you treat people.
Never buy reviews or write them yourself: Google detects them, deletes them and can penalise your profile.
7. Keep it active
Post updates, offers or events from the profile itself, answer the questions people ask and update your hours during holidays. A profile that moves tells people the business is alive.
Google profile and website: better together
The profile puts you on the map; the website convinces people who want to know more before calling you. The two reinforce each other: a website with your address, your opening hours and local business structured data helps Google trust your profile, and vice versa.
If you like, I'll review your profile and your website together in a free audit, or optimise it for you: photos, text, categories and a strategy for getting reviews. If you don't have a website yet, start with a simple one through my web design service.
FAQ
How much does it cost to appear on Google Maps?
Nothing: a Google Business Profile is free. What may cost money is having someone optimise and maintain it for you.
How long does it take for my business to appear on Google Maps?
After verification, the profile usually appears within a few days. Climbing above the competition takes longer and depends on the category, reviews and activity.
Do I need a website to appear on Google Maps?
It isn't required, but it helps: a website with the same details as the profile strengthens Google's trust and convinces people who want to know more before calling you.
How do I get more Google reviews?
Ask for them right after good service, using the direct link your profile gives you, and reply to every one. Never buy or make them up.