In brief.
Set up your free Google Business Profile, keep your details the same everywhere, ask happy customers for reviews, and have a website that says plainly what you do and where. Paying Google doesn’t move you up the free results, and nobody can promise you the top spot.
Two places customers see you
Search for a plumber or a hair salon near you, and Google usually shows two kinds of result. Businesses on a map, each with its Google Business Profile: hours, reviews, photos, and a call button. And below them, a list of websites.
Your Business Profile puts you on the map. Your website puts you in the list, and gives anyone who taps through from your profile the full picture.
Start with your Google Business Profile
It’s free, and for most local businesses it’s the biggest single step. Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results. Check that:
- You’ve claimed and verified the profile, so Google knows you’re allowed to manage it.
- Your business category matches what you actually do.
- Your hours, phone number, and service area are right, including holiday hours.
- It has recent photos of your work.
- Your website address is on it.
How Google picks which businesses to show
Google says local results depend mainly on three things: relevance, how well your profile matches the search; distance, how far you are from the person searching; and prominence, how well known your business is.
You can’t move closer to every customer. You can make your profile and website match what people search for, and build up the signs that people know your business, starting with reviews.
Ask for reviews, the right way
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. The simplest way to get them is to ask: when a job goes well, send the customer the link to review you on Google.
Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely. Never pay for a review or offer a discount or a freebie in exchange for one. Google’s rules forbid it, and it removes reviews like that.
What your website adds
Your profile holds the basics. Your website is where a customer decides whether to call, and Google reads the words on it to work out what you do. Google’s advice is to think about the words people would search with. In practice, your website should have:
- What you do, in the words customers use: “furnace repair”, not “home comfort solutions”.
- The towns or area you serve.
- Each main service, with enough detail to answer the first questions people ask.
- Your business name, phone number, and address or service area, matching your Business Profile.
- Real photos of your work.
- Pages that load quickly and read well on a phone.
Keep your details the same everywhere
Use the same business name, phone number, and address or service area on your website, your Business Profile, Facebook, and any directory that lists you. Google asks for your business name as you use it on your storefront, website, and stationery.
When the details disagree, customers end up calling an old number or driving to an old address.
What to ignore
- Anyone who promises you the top spot. Google’s own advice is that nobody can promise a top ranking, and to find someone else if they do.
- Emails out of the blue offering to get you to the top of Google. Google warns about these too.
- Paying Google for a better free ranking. Google doesn’t accept payment to rank pages higher. Ads are separate, and they stop when you stop paying.
- Stuffing pages with keywords or lists of town names. Write for customers, and the words they search for will be there.
- Buying reviews or links.
How long it takes
A brand-new website won’t appear straight away, because Google has to find it first. To check, search Google for site: followed by your web address, like site:yourbusiness.com. If pages from your website come up, Google has found it.
Changes take time to show, too. Google says some take effect in a few hours and others take several months. Its free Search Console tool shows which searches your website appears for, if you’d like to keep an eye on it.
How this works on my plan
If you go ahead, here’s what the website side covers:
- Your website says what you do and where, in plain words Google can read, and reads well on a phone.
- When something changes, like your hours or a photo, email me. It’s one of the up to three small changes included each month.
- The plan is $0 setup and $50 a month, including hosting.
- Your Google Business Profile is separate from the website, and free. Keep it in your own name, and add your website’s address to it.
- Nobody can promise you a place in Google’s results, and I don’t.
No website yet?
You can set up your Business Profile today. When you want a website to go with it, send me your business name and a sentence about your services, and I’ll design a free homepage preview.
A few practical questions.
Do I need a website to show up on Google Maps?
No. A Business Profile can appear on the map without one. A website gives customers more to go on before they call, and gives your profile somewhere to link.
Can every business have a Business Profile?
No. Google’s rules say the business needs a location customers can visit, or has to travel to its customers. A business that works at customers’ homes, like a plumber, can hide its address.
Will paying for Google Ads help my free listing?
No. Google says it doesn’t accept payment to rank pages higher. Ads appear in their own marked spots, separate from the free results.
Do I need to hire someone for SEO?
Not to start. The steps on this page are the basics, and you can do most of them yourself. If you do hire help, ask exactly what they’ll do, and walk away from anyone who promises a top spot.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business
- Google: Prohibited and restricted content (fake engagement)
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
- Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO?
- Google Search Central: How Search works