Local SEO: how to show up on Google Maps

To show up on Google Maps and in the local business results on Google Search, a company needs a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) that is verified, complete and consistent with its website. That profile is the listing that shows your address, phone number, hours, photos and reviews when someone searches for "dentist near me" or "air conditioning repair in Vitória".

Google ranks these results mainly on three factors it describes itself: relevance (how well the profile matches the search), distance (how close the business is to the person searching or to the place they searched for) and prominence (how well known the business is, which includes reviews, mentions and the strength of its website). You can't control distance. Relevance and prominence you can.

In practice, local SEO comes down to four fronts: a well-configured profile, identical business details everywhere, reviews that get answered and a website that confirms what the profile says. The website fundamentals, which apply to any company, are in the guide to SEO for business websites.

Create and verify your Google Business Profile

The profile is free and is created with a Google account. Use a company account, not an employee's personal account, and add other people as managers. If the person who created the profile leaves, the company doesn't lose access.

Before creating one, search Maps to see whether your business already has a profile. Customers, and Google itself, sometimes create listings automatically. If so, claim the existing profile instead of creating a new one. Duplicate profiles split your reviews and confuse search results.

Google requires verification to confirm that the business exists and that you represent it. The methods vary and change over time: video, phone call, email, postcard or others. Follow whatever the platform asks for at the moment and check the current rules in Google's help center.

Choose the right categories

The primary category is one of the factors that most influence which searches your profile appears in. Choose the one that describes the business itself, not a single service. A dental practice should be "Dentist" or "Dental clinic", not "Teeth whitening service".

Secondary categories add detail. Use only the ones that match what the company really does. Adding too many categories to show up in more searches tends to dilute relevance and can attract customers you don't serve.

After the categories, fill in the rest:

• a straightforward description of what the company does and for whom;
• services or products, using the names customers use;
• business hours, including holidays;
• a link to your website, ideally to the most relevant page.

Same name, address and phone number everywhere

Local SEO people talk a lot about NAP: name, address and phone number. The idea is simple: those three details must be identical on your Google profile, your website, social media, directories and anywhere else the business appears.

Inconsistencies, like an old phone number in a directory, "St." in one place and "Street" with a different number in another, or the address from before you moved, create doubt about which information is correct. For the customer, that means calling the wrong number. For Google, it's a weak signal.

A useful exercise:

1. Decide on the official version of your name, address and phone number.
2. Search Google for your company name and note where it appears.
3. Fix every place that differs, starting with the ones you control: website, profile and social media.
4. Repeat the review whenever you change address or phone number.

On your website, put these details in text, not inside an image, ideally in the footer and on the contact page. A developer can also mark them up with structured data, code invisible to visitors that helps Google understand that this is the company's address and phone number.

Reviews and replies

Reviews affect your position on Maps and, above all, the decision of people comparing options. Quantity, frequency and content all matter. A business with recent reviews inspires more confidence than one with a few old ones.

To get more reviews from real customers:

• ask right after a job is completed, while the experience is fresh;
• send the direct review link, which the profile provides;
• build the request into your process, such as a standard message after delivery;
• ask every customer, not only the ones you know are happy.

Reply to every review, positive ones included. With negative reviews, respond calmly, acknowledge the problem when there is one, explain what was done and invite the person to sort it out through a direct channel. Future customers read the reply, not just the person who complained. Never expose a customer's personal information in a reply.

Photos and posts

Real photos help customers recognize the place and understand the service. Post photos of the storefront, the entrance, the interior, the team and completed work.

The profile also lets you publish updates, offers and events. They show the profile is active and give customers useful information, like a new service or special hours. They don't need to be daily. What matters is that the profile doesn't look abandoned.

Your website as the foundation of local SEO

The profile points to your website, and the website confirms the profile. It needs consistent contact details, fast loading on mobile and a clear statement of what the company does and where it operates. The guide to what a business website needs covers that structure.

A page for each city or region

When a company serves several cities or has several locations, a page for each one can make sense. It should have genuinely specific content: the location's address and contact details, the services available there, the area it covers, photos of the place and practical information like parking or response times.

What doesn't work is creating dozens of identical pages with only the city name swapped. Google treats that kind of content as low quality, and the result is usually the opposite of what you wanted. If there's nothing different to say about a city, a single page listing the areas you serve is better.

For paid campaigns targeted by region, a landing page per campaign is another option, with a different purpose from city pages.

Businesses without a physical location

Service providers who go to the customer, such as electricians, consultants, cleaning companies or technicians, can have a profile without showing an address. In that case, you set a service area with the cities or regions where the business works.

Google asks for the service area to be reasonable and consistent with how far the business actually travels. If you also serve customers on site, for example in an office that receives clients, the address can be shown along with the service area. Check Google's current guidelines for your type of business.

Virtual offices and mailing addresses are generally not accepted as a physical location. Using an address where the business doesn't serve customers can get the profile suspended.

What not to do

Shortcuts in local SEO tend to end in a suspended profile, which is far worse than a weak one.

• Fake reviews. Buying reviews, asking friends and employees to review as if they were customers or offering a discount in exchange for a review violates Google's policies. Suspicious reviews can be removed and the profile can be penalized.
• Keywords in the name. The profile name must be the company's real name, as it appears on the sign and in official documents. "Silva Law" is correct. "Silva Law Cheap Employment Lawyer Downtown" is not, and it can be edited by others or lead to suspension.
• Duplicate profiles for the same location, in an attempt to take up more space.
• Fake addresses in cities where the business has no physical presence.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to show up on Google Maps?

After verification, the profile can appear fairly soon for searches using the company name. Ranking well for generic searches, like the type of service plus the city, depends on local competition and usually takes longer. There is no guaranteed timeline.

Do I need a website if I already have a Business Profile?

The profile works on its own, but a website strengthens the relevance and prominence Google evaluates. It's also where customers find details that don't fit in the profile. And the website is yours: the profile follows the rules of a third-party platform, which can change.

Can I ask for reviews over WhatsApp or text message?

Yes, as long as you ask real customers, offer nothing in return and don't ask for a specific rating. Sending the profile's direct link after the job makes it easy. If you have a high volume, those messages can be automated as part of a WhatsApp Business API integration.

I moved. What should I do?

Update the address on the profile, which may require verifying again. Then update your website, social media and directories. Avoid creating a new profile, so you don't lose your review history.

If your company depends on local customers and wants a website that works together with its Google profile, PERVOX builds websites with a technical structure designed for SEO from day one, and works remotely with clients in English. Get in touch to talk about your situation.