Why your Google Business Profile is not showing up
A Google Business Profile that does not show up is usually unverified, new, recently edited or suspended, and Google's help pages give a time for each wait: up to a month for a new business to appear in rankings, and up to three days for an edit to show. A profile that is live can still be missing from a search made in the wrong place.
Each sounding opens its section
- 01 1. Is the profile verified? 40 words
- 02 2. Is the profile new? 28 words
- 03 3. Was it edited recently? 39 words
- 04 4. Has it been suspended or disabled? 59 words
- 05 5. Where are you searching from? 63 words
- 06 6. Is the profile complete? 33 words
- 07 If the profile is live and still not found 36 words
- 08 Questions people ask 132 words
- 09 Free competitor gap report 99 words
- 10 More in this series 244 words
- Words
- 773
- Site 366–1,117 · median 749.5
- Sections (H2)
- 10
- Site 3–14 · median 9
- Internal links
- 28
- Site 1–36 · median 19
- File
- 73.0 kB
- HTML, uncompressed · of 83.6 kB budget · 0 scripts
1. Is the profile verified?
Google’s help centre states it without qualification: only verified businesses can show their business information on Maps and Search. An unverified profile exists in your account and nowhere else. Complete the verification Google asks for.
2. Is the profile new?
Google says rankings for new businesses can take up to a month to appear. A profile verified last week may simply be waiting.
3. Was it edited recently?
Changes can take up to three days to appear, by Google’s own figure. A change of name, address or category is also reviewed, and the profile may show its old details in the meantime.
4. Has it been suspended or disabled?
A profile that breaks Google’s guidelines is disabled or suspended and is not shown to anyone until the issue is resolved. The usual causes are keywords added to the business name, an address where the business has no staff, and duplicate profiles. Our guide to optimising a Google Business Profile covers each.
5. Where are you searching from?
Local results depend on where the searcher is. A search made from another town, or for a town the business does not sit in, can leave out a profile that is live and healthy. Test with the business name and its town together, and ask someone in the area you serve to search for what you do.
6. Is the profile complete?
Google advises making sure the business information is correct, complete and up to date to improve visibility. An empty profile gives Google little to match against a search.
If the profile is live and still not found
A profile that passes these checks has a ranking problem. Local position follows relevance, distance and prominence, and the local SEO checklist works through what moves each.
Questions people ask
How long does a new Google Business Profile take to show up?
Google says rankings for new businesses can take up to a month to appear in search results. Edits to an existing profile can take up to three days.
Why does my business show for its name and not for what it does?
The profile is live, and Google does not yet connect it with that search. The primary category, the services listed, the reviews and the website behind the profile are what make that connection.
Can a suspended Google Business Profile be restored?
Yes, once the cause is put right. Google says a profile that breaks its guidelines stays hidden until the issue is resolved, so correct what broke them and ask Google to review the profile.
Free competitor gap report
A live profile that customers still do not find is being outranked nearby. Name up to three local competitors and we measure your site against theirs, then send you what gives them the stronger local presence.
- Speed and technical health, side by side
- On-page SEO and site structure
- The content they are found for and you are not
- Who holds the searches that matter in your market
- A prioritised list of what to fix first
Request your free report by email
- Address
- contact@hadalmedusa.com
- Include
- your site; up to three competitors; where you compete
More in this series
- Why your website is not showing up on Google
- Why your Wix site is not showing up on Google
- Crawled, currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it
- Discovered, currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it
- Page with redirect: what it means in Search Console
- Why your Squarespace site is not showing up on Google
- Why your Shopify store is not showing up on Google
- Why your Shopify store is not getting traffic or sales
- Why your WordPress site is not showing up on Google
- Alternate page with proper canonical tag: what it means
- Duplicate without user-selected canonical: what it means and how to fix it
- Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user: what to do
- Excluded by noindex tag: what it means and how to fix it
- Blocked by robots.txt: what it means and how to fix it
- Soft 404 and Not found (404): what they mean and how to fix them
- Server error (5xx): what it means and how to fix it
- Redirect error in Search Console: what it means and how to fix it
- Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt: what it means and what to do
- Blocked due to access forbidden (403): what it means and how to fix it
- How to make your website show up on Google
- When a site is not showing on Google: the whole topic
- All guides
- On-site SEO: what the service includes