Your Google Business Profile is probably incomplete. Here's how to fix that.

If someone types "plumber Duncan BC" or "electrician Nanaimo" or "[your trade] [your town]" into Google and you're not showing up, you don't exist — at least not for that search. And in 2026, that's most of how local customers find local businesses.

The local results that appear at the top of Google (the map with three business pins) are driven almost entirely by your Google Business Profile. It's free to set up. It's one of the most powerful tools available to a small business. And most of the local business owners I talk to have either never touched it, set it up years ago and forgotten about it, or don't realize that Google has automatically created a listing for them with wrong information on it.

Here's what to check, and how to fix the most common problems.

The five things to check right now

• 1
  Have you actually claimed your listing? Go to business.google.com and search for your business name. If there's a listing you haven't claimed, claim it. It usually takes a day or two to verify by postcard or phone. Until it's claimed, you can't edit the information and Google can update it with whatever it finds — which may not be accurate.
• 2
  Is your name, address, and phone number exactly right — and consistent everywhere? Google cross-references your Business Profile against everywhere else your business is mentioned online. If your address is "100 Main Street" on your website but "100 Main St." on your GBP, that inconsistency chips away at your local ranking. Pick one version and make it the same everywhere.
• 3
  Are your hours correct right now? Closed on Sundays? Taking a week off in August? If Google says you're open and someone shows up and you're not, that's a one-star review waiting to happen. Update your hours whenever they change — and use the special hours feature for holidays and closures.
• 4
  Do you have at least 10–15 real photos? Businesses with photos get significantly more clicks than those without. Your logo, your storefront, your team, your work in progress — all of it helps. Phone photos are fine as long as they're well-lit and actually show something useful to a potential customer.
• 5
  Are you actively asking for reviews? Reviews are probably the single biggest factor in whether you show up in the map results and whether people click through to you when you do. Most happy customers won't leave a review unless you ask. Make it a habit — send a follow-up text or email after the job with a direct link to your Google review page. Keep the ask short and genuine.

Why a good website amplifies all of this

Your Google Business Profile and your website work together. Google looks at your website to confirm your service area, your business category, and what you actually do. A well-built site with your location mentioned naturally in the content, proper page titles, and schema markup (code that tells Google exactly what kind of business you are) sends stronger signals than a site that doesn't have any of that.

This is part of why I include basic local SEO setup with every site I build — not as a premium add-on, but as a standard part of the job. If you're spending money on a new website, it should be set up properly for Google from day one. You can see what that looks like on the services page.

One more thing: respond to your reviews

Google pays attention to whether business owners respond to reviews — both positive and negative. A quick thank-you to a happy customer and a calm, professional response to a tough review shows Google (and potential customers reading along) that you're an active, engaged business.

You don't need to write an essay. A genuine two-sentence response is enough. The habit matters more than the length.

If you want to dig into any of this further or you're not sure where your local search presence stands, send me a message. I'm in Duncan, I work with businesses across Vancouver Island, and I'm happy to take a look and give you a plain-English read on where things sit.