UK guide
Why isn’t my business showing on Google?
The short answer
Usually one of four things: your Google Business Profile is missing, unverified or suspended; it is listed under the wrong category; your website gives Google too little to work with; or you are searching from a spot where competitors are closer. Most of these can be checked in ten minutes and fixed without paying for ads.
The likely causes
- 1
No verified Google Business Profile
Google’s map results come from Business Profiles, not websites. If your profile was never claimed, is waiting for verification or has been suspended, you will not appear in the map at all. Suspensions often follow a change of address, business name or phone number that Google could not confirm.
- 2
The wrong primary category
Google leans heavily on your primary category to decide which searches you are relevant for. A roofer listed as “Construction company”, or a decorator listed as “Contractor”, can be invisible for the searches that actually bring work.
- 3
A website that doesn’t say what you do or where
If your site is a single page with a logo, a phone number and no text, Google has nothing to connect you to “plumber in Leeds”. Each main service and the areas you cover need to be stated plainly in text, not just in images.
- 4
Distance, and how you are searching
Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. Searching from home or the yard shows you results close to that point. Customers a few postcodes away may see a completely different list.
- 5
Your site cannot be indexed
A leftover “noindex” tag from when the site was being built, a blocked robots.txt file, or a site that only loads its text through scripts can keep your pages out of Google entirely.
How to check it yourself
No tools to buy. Most of this takes a few minutes.
- 1
Search for your exact business name
On your phone, search your business name plus your town. If no profile panel appears on the right (or at the top on mobile), Google does not have a live profile for you.
- 2
Open your Business Profile dashboard
Sign in at business.google.com. Look for “Verify now”, “Suspended” or a pending-edit notice. Check which primary category you chose.
- 3
Ask Google which pages it knows
Search site:yourdomain.co.uk. If nothing comes back, your website is not indexed. Google Search Console will tell you why.
- 4
Search from where your customers are
Ask someone in the area you want work from to search “emergency plumber near me” and send you a screenshot.
What can realistically be improved
- Claiming, verifying or reinstating the Business Profile
- Choosing the right primary and secondary categories
- Writing clear service and area pages on your website
- Removing technical blocks that stop pages being indexed
- Making your name, address or service area and phone identical everywhere, including Yell, Checkatrade and TrustATrader
What nobody can promise
Nobody can move where a customer is standing. If you are based twenty miles from a searcher, closer businesses will usually appear first for “near me” searches, however good your profile is. Anyone who guarantees you position one is guessing.