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Local SEO that goes deeper than blog-fluff.

Local SEO playbooks, Maps-ranking case studies, and the marketing tactics that actually move the needle for small businesses.

Two nearly identical shopfront listings side by side on a laptop screen
Profile lifecycle

Duplicate Google Business Profile? How to find it, merge it, and keep the reviews

A second listing splits your reviews, and Google may show it instead of the one you manage. Here’s how to find every duplicate Google Business Profile, pick the one to keep, and get the other merged or removed without losing reviews.

Shubham Kakkad
Created September 2, 202611 min
Storefront with closed sign
Suspensions

Google Business Profile suspended? The complete reinstatement guide

Step-by-step recovery for a suspended Google Business Profile. What documents Google actually accepts, the exact appeal flow, and what to do if the first appeal gets denied.

Shubham Kakkad
Created September 2, 20267 min
Shop owner recording a verification video of their storefront on a phone
Verification

Google Business Profile verification: every method, how long each takes, and what to do when it fails

How to verify a business on Google: the methods Google offers (video, live call, phone, email, postcard, Search Console, bulk), how long each typically takes, how to tell whether your profile is verified, and where to go when a code never arrives or a video is rejected.

Shubham Kakkad
Created September 2, 202619 min
An open shop with customers inside, seen through the front window
Profile lifecycle

Google says your business is permanently closed, but you’re open? How to fix it in 10 minutes

A red “Permanently closed” label on an open business is a data edit, not a penalty, and you can reverse it from your own profile in about 10 minutes. Here’s the exact path, what to do if Google flips it back, and how long calls take to return.

Shubham Kakkad
Created September 2, 202610 min
Two business partners handing over keys across a shop counter
Access

How to transfer ownership of a Google Business Profile (and when to request access instead)

Access to a Google Business Profile follows the Google account, not the business. Here is the People and access path to transfer primary ownership, the roughly one-week waiting period nobody plans for, how to add and remove managers, and when to file a request for access instead.

Shubham Kakkad
Updated September 11, 202611 min
Owner searching for their own business on Google Maps and finding nothing
Profile lifecycle

Why is my business not showing up on Google? The 20-minute diagnostic

Eight reasons a Google Business Profile does not appear on Search or Maps, ordered by how often each one is the cause. In our cases the large majority are unverified, suspended, or silently removed. About 20 minutes to check.

Shubham Kakkad
Created September 2, 202613 min
Business owner researching Google Business Profile categories and business types before creating a listing
Profile lifecycle

No Google Business category fits? Choose before you verify

How to pick your Google Business Profile business type and primary category when nothing fits, and avoid failed verification or a deceptive-content suspension.

Rohan Thakare
Updated September 2, 202610 min
Hotel exterior and pool, the kind of property whose Google hotel class star rating gets assigned automatically
Bugs

Hotel star rating wrong on Google? Who sets it, and the fix

Google assigns hotel class ratings from official classifiers, booking-site data, and machine learning. You can't edit the stars yourself. Here's the fix path.

Rohan Thakare
Updated September 2, 202610 min
Storefront with closed for business sign
Profile lifecycle

Closing a business? How to mark a Google Business Profile permanently closed (the right way)

Removing a profile from your Google account doesn't remove it from Maps. Here's the correct sequence for closing a business profile so it stops showing up in Search and Maps.

Shubham Kakkad
Updated September 11, 20267 min

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