Google Maps is rigged! Or is it?

Is Google Maps Rigged? (Nah. But Your Online Presence Might Be Playing Hide-and-Seek.)

If you’ve ever Googled “Charleston photographer” and wondered why your name is nowhere to be found — like not even on page six where only bored insomniacs ever scroll — you’ve probably had that moment of hmm… is Google Maps rigged?

Good news. Google isn’t rigged.

Bad news. Your Google Business Profile might be giving NPC energy.

Let’s sort it out before you start dramatically whispering into the marsh breeze, “Why doesn’t Google love me?” (oh come on that was funny)

1. Your Google Business Profile Is Your Digital Front Porch (So Sweep It.)

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is basically the meeting point of Charleston charm and algorithm hunger. If you don’t feed it, it wanders off like a tourist who heard there was free praline somewhere.

Make sure you’ve got:

• Updated business name

• Charleston SC photographer or Charleston photography studio added as categories

• Your portrait photos uploaded

• Your studio hours

• A description that doesn’t sound like it was written in a Victorian ghost trance

This is how Google answers the questions it never stops asking:

Are you real? Do you live in Charleston? Are you still working? Should I recommend you or should I push people to that guy in Mount Pleasant with six blurry photos and three reviews from his aunts? Is there information consistent across their social media and websites? 

 By the way that last question is the one that you have to get right. If your information doesn't match across all of those, Google will not verify you let alone show you to people who are searching for your service.

2. But I Work From Home! Do I Have to Post My Address?

Absolutely not. Nobody needs strangers knocking on your Folly Beach-side door yelling “Are you the Charleston family photographer??”

If you’re like most photographers in Charleston who work from home, you’ve got two options.

Service Area Business

This option lets you show up in Charleston searches without showing your private residence. You just tell Google the areas you serve — Charleston, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, Summerville — and Google nods like “Cool, cool, I’ll tell the people.”

Choosing to list your physical address 

Not allowed: If your home is not a customer-facing location, Google does not allow your residential address to be shown publicly. Showing a home address without a storefront can lead to your profile being suspended.

Allowed: If your home functions as a real, customer-facing business with permanent signage and regular hours, Google may allow the address to be displayed. Otherwise, home-based businesses should hide their address and list a service area instead.

Problem solved. Porch protected.

3. Post On Your GBP Like It’s Baby Instagram

Charleston is a visual town. Tourists take pictures of literally everything — cobblestone streets, window boxes, pelicans, that one giant pineapple fountain that lives rent-free in everyone’s camera roll.

Google also wants visuals.

Add fresh photos, behind-the-scenes shots of your Charleston photography sessions, updated services, quick announcements, anything.

You’re not feeding the beast — you’re giving it a cute snack so it remembers you exist.

4. Reviews Are Your Secret Weapon (Beg Politely.)

Google reviews matter.

Like… map-ranking, soul-lifting, booking-boosting matter.

As a Charleston photographer or creative, you absolutely want those glowing five stars saying things like “Best portrait photographer in Charleston!” or “Stunning fine art portraits you can actually hang in your historic downtown home.”

And yes, people will happily write reviews if you ask nicely and don’t sound like you’re holding them hostage with Lightroom presets.

5. Consistency, My Friend. That’s the Whole Game.

You can’t post on your Google profile once in 2021 and expect Google to carry you like it carries Rainbow Row on stock-photo websites.

Show up.

Post updates.

Add new pictures from your Charleston sessions.

Respond to reviews like a functioning human being.

Google loves activity. It’s basically a nosy Charleston neighbor peeking over the porch rail to see if you’re still alive.

6. The Real Tea

Most Charleston photographers aren’t being shadow-banned, suppressed, rigged out of the game, or any of the dramatic things TikTok says.

They’re just invisible.

Not “mysterious artist” invisible.

More like “I forgot to turn the porch light on and now nobody knows where my house is” invisible.

You don’t need paid ads.

You don’t need conspiracy theories.

You just need a polished, active, Charleston-flavored online presence- and if I'm being honest it helps if all of your friends hit up your Google business profile organically. It tells Google that you are interesting enough for people to visit on the internet.

Moral of the Story

Google isn’t rigged.

It’s just petty.

But if you give it a beautiful Google Business Profile, consistent activity, juicy local Charleston keywords, real reviews, and something vaguely resembling effort — Google will absolutely show you off like you’re the crown jewel of the Lowcountry.

And honestly? You kind of are.