Why isn't my business showing up on Google?
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. This free check measures the parts you can see for your own business and town: whether Google finds your listing and what it calls it, where its website link goes, whether you're in the three-business map box, how your reviews compare, whether ChatGPT names you, and whether your site covers the basics. It takes about 30 seconds.
What you'll see
Your business, the way a customer's search sees it
- Whether Google finds your listing, and the town and category it gives you
- Where your listing's website link actually lands
- Whether you're in the three-business map box for your service in your town
- Your reviews against the businesses in that box
- Whether ChatGPT names you when asked who to call
- How many website basics are missing
Checking
Running the searches
Google, Maps, ChatGPT and your website. This usually takes 20 to 40 seconds.
Why we built this
People ask Google some version of "why isn't my business showing up" every day, and the top answers are help-forum threads about someone else's business. This check answers it for yours, with your own listing, your own town and your own website, in words that don't need a marketing background.
How this is checked
The check runs live searches as a signed-out searcher in your town would see them: your Google Business Profile, the Maps list and the three-business map box for your service and town. It asks ChatGPT, with web search on, two plain questions about who to call. It loads your website the way a browser does, follows any redirects, and checks eight basics a local business site needs.
- Relevance, distance and popularity are what Google says local results are mainly based on. It describes how well-known a business is as based partly on how many reviews it has and how many websites link to it.
- Your Maps position and review gap are measured against the businesses Google actually showed for your search. Their names stay in the full audit.
- ChatGPT is asked twice because its answers change from run to run.
Results are a snapshot from one set of searches on one day. Your own searches are personalized and usually look better than a customer's. AI answers vary between runs. Nothing here guarantees a ranking, and the check does not change anything on your listing or site.
How to check why your business isn't showing up
- Enter your business. Type your business name, town, state and main service the way a customer would search for it.
- Add your website and email. Add your website and email, then run the check. It takes about 30 seconds.
- Read each result. Green is in good shape, amber is worth watching, and red needs attention. Each result comes from your own listing, your town and your website.
- Make the free fix. Make the one free fix the check suggests. Run it again in a few weeks, or get the full audit for the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't my business showing up on Google?
Usually because Google can't confidently match your business to the search. Your Google Business Profile may be missing, unverified, or listed under a different town or category; its website link may be broken or point somewhere else; or nearby businesses look more relevant and more established. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and this check shows where your listing stands on the parts it can measure.
Why isn't my business showing up on Google Maps?
The three-business map box above the regular results comes from the same three things: relevance to the search, distance from the searcher, and how well-known the business is. Google says that last part is based partly on how many reviews you have and how many websites link to you. A business can have a strong listing and still sit sixth in Maps if others nearby look more established. The check shows your Maps position and how your review count compares with the map box, without naming the others.
How do I get my business on Google?
Create or claim a free Google Business Profile at business.google.com, verify it, and fill in your category, address or service area, hours and website. Then make sure the website link goes to a page you control. If this check can't find your listing, start there.
My business shows up when I search for it. Why not for my customers?
Your own searches are personalized. Google knows where you are and what you've clicked before, so your business looks better placed to you than to a stranger. This check runs a clean, signed-out search set to your town. To see it the way a customer does, open a private browser window and search for your service and town.
How do I get ChatGPT to recommend my business?
ChatGPT's web answers draw on what it can find about you online: your Google listing, your website, directories and reviews. This check asks ChatGPT twice who to call for your service in your town and tells you whether you were named. Who it named instead, which sources it trusted, and what to change are in the full audit.
Does the free check cost anything?
No. It's free and takes about 30 seconds. It asks for your email before showing results, and Trey may follow up once about the full audit. Your email is not shared.
What does the $800 audit add?
The full audit names the businesses ahead of you and what they have that you don't, compares your Google listing with the map leaders line by line, shows what customers search and what a click costs, lists what to stop spending on, and writes the fixes out. You get a work order any web developer can build from, a 30-minute review with Trey, and a referral to a vetted implementer.
Related tools
Want the whole picture and the fixes?
The full audit names who is ahead of you and why, writes out every fix, and hands you a work order any web developer can build from. It includes a 30-minute review with Trey and a referral to a vetted implementer.