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Author:
Erin Haywood
Getting your business onto Google Maps is simple enough. But if you want to show up when potential customers are actually searching, there's a bit more to it than just claiming a listing and calling it done.
Here's what you need to know, from the basics right through to running ads on Maps.
Step 1: Set Up Your Google Business Profile
The starting point is Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). This is the free tool that puts your business on Google Maps, able to show up when someone searches for your business or services in your service area/s.
Go to business.google.com and either claim an existing listing for your business or create a new one. You'll need to verify that you actually own or operate the business, which Google usually does by sending a postcard to your address or, in some cases, by phone or email.
Once you're in, fill out your profile properly. That means:
- Your business name, address, and phone number (optional) (see below if you don't want to display your address publicly!*)
- Your category and subcategories
- Your hours
- A description of what you do
- Photos, especially of your premises, team, or work.
A complete, well-maintained profile performs better than a sparse one. Google wants to show searchers accurate, useful information.
*If you're a freelancer or consultant who works from a home office and understandably doesn't want this address on the internet, you definitely don't have to! Simply select 'No' when asked if you want to provide a physical address, and instead add general areas where you serve your customers instead. You'll still provide your address to Google for verification purposes, but this won't be displayed publicly.
Step 2: Get Reviews
Here's something a lot of business owners don't realise: according to Google's own documentation, your business profile's visibility is highly influenced by three factors—relevance, distance, and prominence. Prominence is partly determined by how many reviews your business has and your overall rating. From what I've seen, this means a business with more reviews is more likely to show up when someone's browsing a wider map area, and more likely to appear in the local results panel that shows alongside Google search results—where only a small handful of businesses make the cut.
This means actively asking for reviews isn't just a nice-to-have; it's part of your visibility strategy.
A few practical ways to do this:
- Send a follow-up message to clients after you've completed a job and include a direct link to your Google review page
- Add the review link to your email signature
- Ask in person while the experience is still fresh.
The key thing is making it easy. Most people are happy to leave a review but won't go looking for where to do it. If you hand them the link, the friction basically disappears.
Responding to reviews also signals to Google (and to potential customers) that you're an active, engaged business. Respond to the good ones and the not-so-good ones, professionally and promptly. In fact, how you respond to the negative reviews shows a lot about you as a business. Reviews are highly subjective, anyway, but responding kindly and professionally goes a long way to letting anyone reading know that you are a great business who cares first and foremost about your customers.
Step 3: Get Sponsored Placement on Maps with Google Ads
Beyond the organic listing, you can also pay to appear as a sponsored result directly on Google Maps. You've probably seen these—they show up with a small "Sponsored" label when you search for a local service within Maps.
One important caveat: this works when you have a physical address listed on your Business Profile. If you're set up as a service-area business without a public address, the Location Asset is unlikely to show in practice — Google's location asset feature is built around physical store locations.
To get this placement, you need to be running Google Ads, have your account linked to your Google Business Profile, and enabled the 'Location Asset'.
Without the Location Asset, your ads won't be eligible for Maps placements. It's one of those things that's easy to miss if you've set up your Google Ads account without a full checklist.
To add a Location Asset:
- Ensure you have linked your Google Business Profile to Google Ads (Go to 'Tools' on the left-hand side, then 'Data manager'.)
- Then, navigate to Assets (under Campaignsl)
- Add a Location Asset and connect it to your Google Business Profile
Your Business Profile needs to be verified first, and the email you use for both accounts needs to have access to both.
Once it's connected, your ads become eligible to show on Maps when there's a relevant search in your area. You don't pay extra for Maps placements specifically; they come through your existing Campaigns.
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