Straight, honest answers to the questions local business owners ask about Google, reviews and AI — each one to the point, with a guide if you want the full story.
Yes. Creating, verifying and managing a Google Business Profile is completely free. You only pay if you separately choose to run Google Ads, which is optional and unrelated to your free listing.
How to list your business on GoogleThe usual causes are an unverified profile, a suspension, a duplicate listing that's been filtered, an address or category problem, a brand-new listing, or simply ranking too low. Always check signed out in an incognito window, because Google shows the profile to its owner even when customers can't see it.
7 reasons you're not on MapsA profile won't show to customers until it's verified. Once verification is complete, a new profile usually appears within a few days. If you've just created it and it isn't verified yet, that's why it isn't showing.
Google names three: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how close you are to the searcher), and prominence (how established you are, driven largely by reviews and a complete, consistent profile). You can influence relevance and prominence, but not distance.
How to rank higher on MapsSign in to the Google account that manages the profile — a suspended profile is flagged as suspended in your dashboard, and it disappears from Maps and Search for customers. If you suspect it, check both your dashboard and how the listing looks signed out.
Fixing a suspended profileThey're the same thing — Google renamed 'Google My Business' to 'Google Business Profile' in 2022. If you see either name, it refers to your free business listing that appears on Google Maps and in local Search.
Google ranks on relevance, distance and prominence. A competitor can outrank you if their profile is more complete and better-categorised, they have stronger and more recent reviews, or they're closer to the searcher. The first two you can close the gap on; the third you can't.
How to rank higher on MapsNo — one business location should have one profile. Duplicate listings confuse Google, split your reviews, and can get filtered or suspended. If a duplicate exists, claim and merge or remove it rather than running two.
It can help. A clear, relevant website adds to the 'prominence' signals Google uses, and keeping your name, address and phone number consistent between your site and your profile matters. But your Google Business Profile itself — categories, reviews, completeness — does most of the heavy lifting for local ranking.
There's no fixed number — reviews are one signal among several, and quality, recency and your responses matter as much as quantity. A steady stream of genuine reviews and a healthy rating help far more than a one-off burst, which can look suspicious.
How to get more reviewsNo. Offering any reward for reviews — discounts, freebies, prize draws — breaks Google's policies and can get your reviews removed or your profile flagged. You're allowed to ask any customer for an honest review; you just can't pay for it.
No. Buying reviews breaks Google's policies and UK consumer law, the fakes are increasingly detected and removed (dragging your rating down), and you risk your whole profile being suspended. Asking real customers with an easy review link is slower but permanent.
Why buying reviews backfiresYou can flag a review that breaks Google's policies — fake, off-topic, spam, hateful, or from a conflict of interest — by reporting it on your profile and selecting the rule it breaks. Google won't remove a genuine negative review just for being critical; for those, reply professionally instead.
How to remove a fake reviewYes — when asked for a local recommendation, AI assistants like ChatGPT can name specific businesses. Which ones they name depends on the same trust signals as local search: a complete, well-reviewed profile and consistent information across the web. No one controls what they say.
Check your AI visibilityAI assistants lean on the trust signals available about a business — reviews, a complete and well-categorised profile, and consistent details across the web. There's no way to pay or force your way in; the businesses that look most established and trustworthy tend to get named.
There's no button and no guarantee — be wary of anyone selling one. What genuinely helps is the unglamorous work: an accurate, complete Google Business Profile, steady genuine reviews, and consistent information about your business everywhere it appears online.
Check your AI visibilitySEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is about ranking in traditional search results. AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) are about being understood and cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews. They overlap heavily — good, honest, well-structured content helps with all three.
There's no switch to flip. AI Overviews draw on the same trust signals as local search — a complete, well-reviewed Google Business Profile and consistent, accurate information about your business across the web. Being genuinely one of the best, clearest options for a search is what gets you cited.
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