Tips for Getting Your Business Showing on Google Maps and Search

[Millicentdigit]

To improve how a business appears on Google Search and Maps and attract more local customers, it’s important to have a properly set up and optimised Google Business Profile.

This can involve ensuring the listing is correctly created, going through the verification process, keeping the information accurate and up to date, and making sure the profile is fully optimised for visibility.

 

[DontAsk]

And? How about telling us what properly setup and optimized looks like?

 

[Millicentdigit]

And? How about telling us what properly setup and optimized looks like?

Mainly things like having the correct business categories, complete services/products, consistent contact details, proper location targeting, updated opening hours, good quality photos, review management, and making sure the profile is fully verified and active.

A lot of businesses create the profile but leave half of it incomplete, which usually affects visibility and rankings on Maps/Search.

 

[fisicx]

In other words, they just need to follow the instructions Google provides in their documentation.

How would you deal with the current AI driven review purge?

Or the constant banning of new profiles?

Or the tsunami of fake profiles and reviews swamping legitimate businesses?

 

[Millicentdigit]

In other words, they just need to follow the instructions Google provides in their documentation.

How would you deal with the current AI driven review purge?

Or the constant banning of new profiles?

Or the tsunami of fake profiles and reviews swamping legitimate businesses?

Google’s documentation covers the fundamentals, but a lot of the current issues are tied to how aggressive the automated systems have become.

The review purges, profile suspensions, verification failures, and fake listings are affecting plenty of legitimate businesses at the moment. Even small inconsistencies in setup details can sometimes trigger flags or delays.

That’s really the difference between simply creating a profile and making sure it’s set up cleanly from the start.

 

[fisicx]

So….

What are your hints and tips to solve those problems?

How would you combat a fake review?

 

[Millicentdigit]

So….

What are your hints and tips to solve those problems?

How would you combat a fake review?

There’s no perfect fix for fake reviews now because most of it is automated by Google.

Best thing you can do is flag the review correctly, respond professionally in public, and provide evidence if the person was never a customer.

For suspensions and verification issues, it’s usually about keeping everything consistent and avoiding over-optimizing the profile.

 

[DontAsk]

You are not really giving us much.

 

[fisicx]

ChatGTP is more helpful.

 

[Millicentdigit]

Fair point.

For fake reviews specifically, I normally recommend:

- replying calmly without sounding defensive
- mentioning you can’t find any customer record for them
- reporting it under “conflict of interest” or “not based on real experience”
- gathering screenshots/evidence before reporting because reviews sometimes disappear and reappear

For new profile suspensions, the biggest causes I see are keyword stuffing in the business name, virtual addresses, inconsistent business info online, and rushing verification with incomplete details.