"I'm not showing up on Google Maps" is one of the most common things small businesses say to me. The good news: it's almost always one of a handful of fixable causes. Here are the usual suspects, in roughly the order worth checking.

1. Your profile isn't verified

An unverified profile barely ranks. Check your verification status first — if it lapsed or was never completed, re-verify before anything else.

2. You're checking from the wrong location

Google personalises Maps by distance. If you search from home but your business is across town, you may not see yourself — that doesn't mean nearby customers can't. Test with a tool that simulates searches from your actual service area rather than trusting what you see on your own phone.

3. Your category is wrong or too vague

If your primary category doesn't match what people search, you won't surface. Make it as specific as your business genuinely is.

4. Your NAP is inconsistent

Different addresses or phone numbers across the web confuse Google and suppress your ranking. Audit your listings and make every one identical.

5. You have few or no reviews

In a competitive area, a profile with two reviews loses to one with fifty. If reviews are thin, that's your highest-leverage fix — start asking, this week.

6. The profile is thin

No photos, no description, no posts, no services listed. Google favours complete, active profiles. Fill everything in — my setup checklist covers exactly what.

7. You've been suspended

Policy violations — keyword-stuffed names, a fake address, a virtual office — can get a profile suspended. If yours vanished entirely, check for a suspension notice and follow the reinstatement process.

8. You're new

Brand-new profiles take time to earn trust. If you've just set up, keep doing the right things consistently; rankings build over weeks and months, not days.

If you've worked through these and still can't crack it, send me your details — I'll take a look and tell you what's actually going on. Fixing this is core to my local SEO work.