Answers / Getting Found on Google

How Do I Get My Business on Google?

Your business shows up on Google through one free listing: your Google Business Profile. Everything else builds on it.

Do these in order

1. Create or claim your Google Business Profile. Search your business name on Google Maps first. If a listing already exists, claim it instead of making a new one. Two listings for one business split your visibility.
2. Verify it. Google will not show an unverified profile reliably. Verification can be a video, a phone call, a text or a postcard, depending on what Google offers you.
3. Pick the right primary category. This is the single setting Google leans on most to decide which searches you appear for. Pick the one that matches what customers call you, not the broadest one.
4. Fill in services, hours, service area and photos. Every empty field is a question Google cannot answer about you.
5. Make your website say the same thing. Same business name, address and phone, and pages for the services you list on the profile.
6. Keep it active. Post updates, add photos and reply to reviews. Profiles that go quiet tend to slip.

Getting on Google vs. showing up on Google

Being listed and being found are two different things. A brand-new profile is on Google, but it may only appear when someone searches your exact name. Showing up when someone searches for the service you sell, like "plumber near me", depends on your category, how complete and consistent your information is, your reviews, and how far the searcher is from you.

Where AI assistants fit in

ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's own AI answers read much of the same information: your Business Profile, your website and the directories that list you. A clean, verified profile is the first step for both.

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