How do businesses in Waterloo get found on Google Maps and in ChatGPT?

How does Google Maps decide who to show?

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance is how well your Business Profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the searcher. Prominence is how well known you are, and it includes how many websites link to you and how many reviews you have.

Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Be careful with any offer that says otherwise.

What should I do to show up on Google Maps?

1. Verify your business. Google says this tells it you are authorized to represent the business.
2. Fill in your profile completely: address (if customers visit you), hours, category, and other details.
3. Choose your category with care. It tells Google what you do.
4. Add photos and videos of your work and your business.
5. Ask real customers for reviews, and reply to the reviews you get.
6. Keep every detail current. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up.

If you ask customers for reviews by email or text, follow CASL. Get consent first. Never buy reviews or write fake ones. The Competition Bureau treats fake reviews as misleading advertising.

What if I work at customers’ homes and have no shop?

Set up your profile as a service-area business. Google says that if you do not serve customers at your address, you should remove the address from your profile. You can list up to 20 service areas by city or postal code. Google says the whole area should not be more than about 2 hours of driving time from your base. Edits can take up to 48 hours to show.

A service-area business can only have one profile for the whole area. Do not make a separate profile for each town.

How do I get found in ChatGPT?

Do not expect ChatGPT to copy the Google Maps list. Our August 2026 study asked ChatGPT, with web search on, one question for each town and trade: who is the best business of that type in the town. We also ran the same search on Google Maps.

In Waterloo, ChatGPT named the Maps leader anywhere in its answer for 7 of 10 trades. The Maps leader was in its top three for 4 of 10 trades. It was the first pick for 2 of 10 trades.

For Waterloo, ChatGPT named 137 businesses, and 87 of them came from outside the town. So being local does not mean ChatGPT will name you.

Where does ChatGPT get its answers?

Mostly from third-party sites, not from business websites. In Waterloo, ChatGPT cited third-party sites 46 times and business websites 4 times. Across all 390 questions, only 6.6% of citations went to a business’s own site.

The most cited third-party sites in our study were HomeStars (27.3% of third-party citations), Birdeye reviews (13.9%), ProScore (10.2%), ThreeBestRated (9.2%), and BBB (6.5%).

What should I do for ChatGPT?

1. Search for your trade and town in ChatGPT with web search on. Note which sites it cites.
2. Check that your business is listed on those sites, with the same name, address, and phone number as your Google profile.
3. Ask happy customers to review you on those sites as well as on Google.
4. Keep your own website clear about what you do and where you work.

Reviews matter in both places. In Waterloo, the median ChatGPT first pick had 158 reviews. The most reviewed business in an answer had a median of 276 reviews. Our study asked one question per town and trade, so treat these as a snapshot, not a rule.

How do I check whether an agency is honest?

Ask the agency to show you your verified profile, your category, and the sites where you are listed. Ask how it gets reviews and whether it follows CASL. Walk away from anyone who promises a ranking.

Where Georgian Bay SEO fits

Georgian Bay SEO runs this site, and it works with businesses in Waterloo. Judge any agency, including us, by the checks given earlier on this page.