How to show up on Google Maps, for free

Set up your profile

1. Go to google.com/business and sign in with your Google account.
2. Type your business name and choose the category that fits best, such as Barber shop or Builder.
3. Add your address. If customers do not come to you (you go to them), remove the address and add the areas you cover instead.
4. Verify it. Google chooses the method: a phone call or text message, an email, a video call, or a postcard with a code.
5. Complete every section: opening hours, phone number, website, services and photographs of your real work.

Get the details right first time

• Your name: use the name on your sign and your paperwork. Google does not allow extra words in it, such as a tagline, your area or your services.
• Your category: pick the one main category that best describes your business. Add only a few more, for real departments or services.
• Your address: Google does not accept P.O. boxes, mailboxes or virtual offices. A co-working space counts only if you have signage there and see customers there during business hours.
• Your area: if you go to your customers, remove the address and add up to 20 areas you cover (towns, cities or postcodes, not a radius). Google says the whole area should be within about 2 hours' drive of your base.

How Google decides who comes first

Google states that local results are based mainly on three factors: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and prominence (how well-known your business is, from things like links to your website, reviews and ratings).

You cannot pay for a better position. Google states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

What helps you rank

• A complete profile, with the right category and up-to-date hours (holidays too).
• Real photographs and videos of your premises and your work.
• Reviews from satisfied customers, and a short reply to each one, positive or negative.
• A website with your name, area and services, linked from your profile.

Getting reviews the right way

Reviews help you rank and help people choose you, but Google has firm rules about how you ask for them.

• Ask every customer, not only the happy ones. Google does not allow businesses to selectively ask for positive reviews.
• Never offer anything in return: no discounts, freebies or payment for a review. Google removes reviews like these.
• Make it easy: Google lets you share a review link or a QR code from your profile. Put it on your receipts, your counter or a follow-up message.
• Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely. Other customers read your replies too.

How your website fits in

Your profile encourages people to look. Your website helps them decide: it shows your prices, your work and your reviews, and lets them book or request a quote. Every Nuvapage site shows your map, Business and Signature sites link to your Google reviews, and we will help you add the link to your profile.