My business sat on Google for years without me. Customers could find a listing with my name on it, and they left reviews I had no way to answer, because I had never claimed it. When I finally did, Google rejected my first verification video.
So I understand if this feels like one more thing on your list. Here's the good news: the first fix is free, you can do it from your phone, and I've already made the mistakes for you.
Key takeaway. More people now ask AI tools who to hire, and those tools lean heavily on Google Business Profiles and Yelp. Claim your listings first, give your main service one clear page, and make sure everything says the same thing. That foundation helps you on Google and in AI answers.
How finding a local business has changed
It used to work like this: someone searched Google, clicked a link and landed on your website. That still happens. But now a lot of people also ask ChatGPT or Google's AI answers who to hire.
The change has been fast. In BrightLocal's 2026 consumer survey, AI use for local recommendations rose from 6% to 45% in a year.
Those tools don't make up their answers from nothing. They read sources. BrightLocal studied 1.9 million citations (each one is a time an AI tool pointed to a source) in 2026. Google Business Profiles were the top source for local businesses, at 28.63%. ChatGPT cited Yelp in 80% of its local answers.
Here's what surprised me most: BrightLocal's 2025 survey found only 35% of small businesses have a Google Business Profile. If you claim yours, you're already ahead of most of your neighbors.
Step one: get on the map
A Google Business Profile is your free listing on Google Search and Maps. It holds your name, hours, services, photos and reviews.
Start by searching Google Maps for your business name. Google lets anyone add a place to Maps, so a listing may already exist with your name on it. If it does, open it and tap About, then Claim this business, then Manage now. If it doesn't, start at business.google.com/add.
Next comes the part that trips people up. Google may ask for a short video showing that your business is real. It has to be filmed live, inside the app. As Google puts it, "pre-recorded videos aren't allowed." I found that out the hard way, after filming mine on my phone's camera first.
What you film depends on the kind of business you run:
| Your business | Where you are | That you exist | That you run it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storefront or hybrid (customers come to you, you have a permanent sign, and with hybrid you also go to them) | Street signs, building numbers, nearby businesses | Your business name on a sign, wall or window | Opening a cash register, kitchen or storage room |
| Service-area, from home (you go to customers, and you have no permanent sign) | Landmarks and signs in your neighborhood | The tools, equipment or products you use | Performing a service, or a permit, invoice or utility bill with your business name |
| Mobile or pop-up (you bring the work to your clients) | Street signs or landmarks at your business address | Your tools and kit | Unlocking a branded van, or documents with your business name |
A note on eligibility: Google rules out online-only businesses, and "an ongoing service, class, or meeting at a location that you don't own or have the authority to represent." So check that first if you teach or pop up in someone else's space.
What got my video rejected
I filmed my first video by myself, in one continuous take. That meant holding the phone while I opened the doors, pressed the elevator button and stood there filming the elevator wait. When I finally reached my studio, I showed my business card, license and packaging, laid out neatly on my jeweler's bench. It looked tidy, and it was rejected.
For the second one, the bench was set for a real soldering job. The torch was lit, a piece was in progress, and my tools and stones were in use. That one passed.
Google's wording explains why. It asks you to prove you run the business by "performing a service." Show the business working, not the paperwork.
Three more things I wish I'd known:
- Bring a helper. Holding the phone, walking in and then working on camera in one unbroken take is very hard. So my husband came in for the second video and held the elevator doors. One person films, and one is the business.
- Protect private details. Google says not to show "other people's faces" or "bank account, tax, or ID numbers."
- Check back yourself. Google says review can take up to 5 business days. I never got an email when mine was approved. I found out by looking.
Step two: one clear page for your main service
Once you're on the map, people and AI tools will look at your website to learn more. A single page that lists everything you do makes that hard.
My advice: give each thing you sell its own clear page, and start with your best seller. For example, a caterer would have one page for weddings and another for corporate lunches. Each page should say what it is, who it's for, where you offer it and how to book.
Google's own guide backs this up in simpler terms. It says to organize your site "in a logical way," and that "a good title is unique to the page." It also says, "Don't drop everything and start reorganizing your site right now." So fix one page and see how that feels.
Step three: make everything match
Claim your free Yelp listing at biz.yelp.com too. Then check that your business name, address, phone number and services read the same on Google, Yelp and your website.
Then start asking for reviews, carefully, because the rules differ. Google lets you ask, but never with incentives and never only your happy customers. Yelp's guidelines say businesses should "never ask customers to write reviews." And since October 21, 2024, a federal rule has banned fake reviews and paying for positive ones.
If you sell wellness products or offer licensed services, your words have rules too. The FDA's own example: a massage oil "intended for a therapeutic use, such as relieving muscle pain, it's a drug." Describe what you offer, and check your licensing board's advertising rules before you write your website.
What to do this week
- Search Google Maps for your business name.
- Claim or create your Google Business Profile.
- Film your verification video, with your business in action.
- Claim your free Yelp listing.
- Pick your best-selling service, and give it one clear page.
Not sure where to start? The free Local Visibility Roadmap takes one question and gives you the three moves that matter most for where you are.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
- BrightLocal, AI citation study 2026
- BrightLocal, SMB Marketing Report 2025
- Google, Verify your business with a video recording
- Google, Add or claim your Business Profile
- Google, Business eligibility and ownership guidelines
- Google Maps, Add a missing place
- Google Maps, User contributed content policy
- Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide
- Yelp Content Guidelines
- FTC rule on consumer reviews, 16 CFR Part 465
- FDA, Is it a cosmetic, a drug, or both?
- Andrea Li, my own Google Business Profile verification, October 2026
Continue Learning
- Who is actually losing Google traffic?: why small sites are doing better than the headlines suggest.
- Does AI visibility matter without AI traffic?: an honest look at what AI answers are worth today.
- Everything from my FoundHERS talk: the search to try, the video shot lists and every source.
- Get your free Local Visibility Roadmap: one question, then the three moves that matter most for you.
- Subscribe to the Red Pin Geek Substack (free): a short, plain-language note on staying findable.
- Work with me on your business (Local Visibility Snapshot $97 / Local Foundation, starting at $2,000): I look at what a stranger sees, then fix what matters most.
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