I'm Ayman, from Ayman Results, a small SEO agency in Western Sydney. "Why can't I find my business on Google?" is one of the most common messages I get. Usually it's from a tradie who's been in business for years, does great work, and has just watched a newer competitor show up above them.
The good news: it's almost always one of a handful of reasons, and most of them can be fixed. The bad news: searching your own business name on your phone and seeing it come up proves almost nothing. Customers don't search your name. They search "electrician near me".
The short version
- Google Maps and the normal search results are separate. Your Google Business Profile drives the map. Your website drives the results underneath.
- The most common map problems: the profile isn't verified, it's suspended, the category is wrong, or you're simply further away than your competitors.
- The most common search problems: Google hasn't indexed your site, the site is too thin, or it doesn't mention the service and suburb people search for.
- Check from a few locations, not just your phone at home. Rankings change from street to street.
Are you missing from Maps, or from search?
When someone searches "plumber Penrith", Google usually shows a map with three businesses near the top. That's the map pack, and it comes from Google Business Profiles. Underneath are the normal results: websites, directories, hipages and so on. Those come from websites.
You can show up in one and not the other. A tradie with a great profile and no website might be in the map but nowhere below it. A tradie with a decent website and a neglected profile might be the opposite. Figure out which one you're missing from, because the fixes are different.
Check properly first
Google personalises results by location. You might be number two at your front door and invisible five kilometres away. Before you change anything:
- Search your main service plus your area, like "roofer Blacktown", not your business name.
- Ask a mate in another suburb to search the same thing and screenshot it.
- Search in a private browser window, so your own history doesn't skew it.
- For your website, type site:yourwebsite.com.au into Google. If nothing comes up, Google hasn't indexed your site at all.
We do this properly with a geo-grid scan, which checks your position from dozens of points across your area and shows it as a heatmap. It's the first thing in our Google Maps ranking process.
Why you're missing from Google Maps
1. Your profile isn't verified
An unverified profile won't show properly, if at all. Log in to Google Business Profile and check. If it asks you to verify, do it. These days that's often a short video showing your signage, your van, your tools and proof you run the business.
2. Your profile is suspended
If your listing suddenly vanished, check for a suspension notice. Showing a home address, keyword-stuffed names and duplicate listings are common causes for tradies. I've written a separate guide on what to do if your Google Business Profile is suspended, because the order you do things in matters.
3. Your primary category is wrong
Your primary category is one of the strongest signals you have. If you're an electrician listed as "Electrical installation service", or a landscaper listed as "Gardener", you may be missing the searches you want. Check what the top 3 in your area use.
4. You're further away than the businesses above you
Distance is one of the three main things Google uses for local results. If you're based in Penrith, you'll naturally struggle to show for searches in Parramatta. You can't move your address, but you can build relevance and prominence so Google shows you further out.
5. Your profile is thin
No services listed, no photos for a year, three reviews from 2022. Google has very little reason to show you over an active competitor. Fill every field, list every service you do, and add real job photos weekly.
6. You're not getting reviews
Reviews feed prominence. A business with 120 recent reviews will beat one with 8 old ones almost every time. Here's how to get more Google reviews without being pushy.
7. Your service area is set too wide, or wrong
If you work from home, your address should be hidden and your service area set to the suburbs or regions you actually cover. Setting your service area to "Australia" won't help you rank further. It can look spammy. I cover this in Google Business Profile without a shopfront.
Why you're missing from search results
8. Google hasn't indexed your website
If site:yourwebsite.com.au shows nothing, Google doesn't know your site exists. Set up Google Search Console, which is free, add your site, and submit your sitemap. New websites can take a few weeks to be picked up. Also check your site isn't telling Google to stay away. Some website builders leave a "discourage search engines" setting switched on after launch.
9. Your website is too thin
Home, About, Gallery, Contact. Four pages. That's what most tradie websites I check look like, and it gives Google almost nothing to rank. A single "Services" page with a bullet list can't rank for 20 different searches. A page for each main service, and each main area, can.
10. Your site doesn't say what people search
If your home page heading says "Welcome to Smith & Co" and never mentions "plumber" or "Penrith", Google has to guess. Your title tag, your main heading and your page content should use the exact words customers type: your trade and your area.
11. Nobody links to you
Links from other websites are a big part of how Google judges trust. A brand-new site with no links will struggle against businesses that have been listed on directories, suppliers' sites and local pages for years. Start with the basics: your Google profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Yelp and the directories that already rank for your trade.
Try this week
- Search site:yourwebsite.com.au and count the results. Under 10 pages means you have very little for Google to rank.
- Open your Google Business Profile and check your primary category against the top 3 businesses for your main search.
What to fix first
If you're missing from both, work in this order. It's the order that tends to move things fastest:
| Order | Fix | Why first |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verify, or reinstate, your Google Business Profile | Nothing else matters if the profile can't show |
| 2 | Primary category, services and every field | The quickest relevance wins |
| 3 | Get the website indexed in Search Console | Google can't rank what it hasn't found |
| 4 | Service and area pages | Gives Google something to rank for each search |
| 5 | Reviews, photos and citations every week | Builds prominence over time |
From invisible to first place
STC Tank Cleaners wasn't showing in the search results at all, because it had no website. I built one around its services and the areas it covers, and worked on its Google Business Profile at the same time.
If you're in Western Sydney, here's how we handle SEO in Penrith and across Western Sydney. If your trade is roofing, painting or landscaping, see how we approach SEO for roofers, painters and landscapers.