If you have ever searched for your own business on Google Maps and found nothing, or found a competitor sitting where you should be, you are not alone. It is one of the most common things aestheticians come to me with. The good news: it is almost always fixable, and usually faster than you would think.
There is one thing worth ruling out first, though. If your profile has never been verified, or it was showing up perfectly well and has suddenly vanished, that is a different problem with a different fix. Why isn’t my business showing up on Google Maps? covers both of those cases.
Assuming your profile is live and verified, here are the three things missing from most of them, and how to put each one right.
1. Your profile is incomplete
Google rewards profiles that are filled in properly. Most aren’t. If your services, opening hours, photos, or description are missing, Google has less reason to show you to someone searching nearby.
Go through every field and complete it: the treatments you offer, your exact hours, your phone number, and a short description of what you do. It feels small, but a complete profile is one of the clearest signals you can send that your business is real, active, and worth showing.
One thing to be careful about as you fill in your services: list them the way a client would search for them, not the way you would describe them professionally. The words your clients actually type into Google covers how to get that right.
2. You have picked the wrong main category
Your primary category tells Google what you are. Choose the wrong one and you can disappear from the searches that matter most.
A lot of aestheticians default to something vague when there is a far more specific, more accurate option available. Spend a few minutes looking at what categories exist and pick the one that genuinely describes your main treatment. You can add secondary categories too, so you are not limited to just one.
3. You have no recent activity
A profile that was set up once and never touched again looks dormant. Adding a photo now and then, keeping your hours up to date, and replying to reviews all tell Google your business is still very much open.
You do not need to post every day. Small, regular signs of life are enough to keep you looking current, and a steady rhythm beats posting in bursts every time.
Replying to reviews counts here too, which means you need reviews coming in to reply to. If asking for them makes you cringe, there is a kinder way to do it.
Where to start
If you only do one thing this week, complete every empty field on your profile. It is the quickest win, and it sets the foundation for everything else.
If you would rather not wade through it yourself, this is exactly what my Google Business Profile service is for: I set the whole thing up or fix what is there, so you show up for the people searching nearby. Message me on WhatsApp and I will take a look at where you stand.