Short answers to the Google Maps questions local owners ask

Your business is on Google.

So why can't customers find it on the map?

Google's own help pages point to four reasons.

One: it isn't verified.

Only verified businesses can show their info on Maps.

Two: it's suspended.

A profile that breaks the guidelines won't show until it's fixed.

Three: it's new.

Rankings for a new business can take up to a month to appear.

Four: it's there, just not for that customer.

Google says local results come down mainly to relevance, distance and prominence.

Distance is measured from the person searching.

So across town, they see a different list than you do.

Google says complete, accurate details make you more likely to show up.

So before you change anything, find out which of the four it is.

You searched your business on Google Maps and came up first.

That's the one search that doesn't count.

Google's own help page says local results come down mainly to three things: relevance, distance and popularity.

Distance is measured from the person searching.

From where they're standing, not the middle of town.

So from your own counter, you're the closest business there is.

Three miles away, a customer's search is ranked from their spot, not yours.

Same for every street in between.

And you can't buy a better spot in that ranking.

Google says there's no way to pay for one.

What it does say helps: complete, accurate details.

More reviews.

Good ratings.

So next time you check, ask who's holding the phone.

If a call says it's Google and asks for money, a password, or your verification code... it isn't Google.

Business Profiles are free.

Hang up.

Staged call: We are with Google listing.

Staged call: Your profile is not being seen, and your prices need to be verified.

Staged call: Please press one, so our agent can verify you and your business.

That's how the scam call we keep getting starts.

A robot, claiming to be Google.

Google says pressing buttons can lead to more of these calls.

So here's what happens when you press one.

Hold music.

Four to seven seconds, so it feels like a real office.

Staged call: Hi, this is Daniel.

Staged call: Can you hear me okay?

Then a person.

Except the name and the voice change every call.

Staged call: Hi, this is Sarah.

Staged call: Can you hear me okay?

Staged call: Hey, it's Mike.

Staged call: Can you hear me?

They sound like recordings.

Answer, and it goes quiet, then hangs up.

Say nothing, and you get a few hellos.

Staged call: Hello?

Staged call: ... Hello?

We don't know what they do with your answer.

But the FCC has warned about callers recording a yes as a voice signature.

So when a robot says your Google listing needs verifying, don't press one.

Just hang up.

Staged call: Hi, this is Sarah from the business listing department.

Staged call: Can you hear me okay?

Staged call: Great.

Staged call: Your Google listing will be marked permanently closed today, unless you press one.

That wasn't Google.

And it wasn't a person.

We made that call ourselves.

Every voice in it is AI, even the office.

We got eight of these calls in four hours.

Called the numbers back?

Disconnected.

Here's what Google says.

Business Profiles are free.

Google will never ask for payment, credit card details or passwords on its calls.

The FCC warns some callers record your yes as a voice signature.

So don't say yes.

Don't press a key.

Just hang up.

Then open your profile yourself, and check who has access.

So the next time a friendly voice asks if you can hear them...

One of ChatGPT's picks for pest control in Palm Coast had three reviews.

We asked it eight questions, roofers to pest control.

It named thirty-seven businesses.

So where did that three-review pick come from?

Yelp.

Five map picks came from Yelp's feed, every one a claimed listing.

Their reviews: three, four, ten, thirteen, forty-one.

The other map picks?

A median of one hundred forty-nine.

And five had no website of their own.

One test, one day.

Would it name you?

Suspended on Google?

A new listing isn't a reset.

It feels like starting fresh.

But Google's suspension guidance says you shouldn't create another Business Profile for the same business.

New listing.

Same business.

Appeal the original.

Say one call a week goes to the business above you.

Your average job, times fifty-two.

That's the cost of good enough.

And it compounds.

Google says more reviews can help your local ranking.

Every month they collect and you don't, that gap grows.

Or build what a serious business has: a full profile, a clear site, steady reviews, the right listings.

Set up once, kept up monthly.

Done for you.

Can't find your business on Google?

You're running jobs.

Let Max do the checking.

Where you show up across your service area.

Who's above you.

What's missing from your profile.

Can customers actually book or call you?

Your Free Visibility Check: two pages, done by hand.

Yours to keep.

Want us to check yours?

Message us.