How to get your business on Google

1. Set up your Google Business Profile

This is the box that appears on the right of Google, or at the top on a phone, with your hours, reviews, photos and a map. It’s free, and for a local business it’s the single most useful thing you can do.

1. Search for “Google Business Profile” and sign in with a Google account.
2. Search for your business name. If it’s already listed, claim it. If not, add it.
3. Choose your main category carefully. Pick the one that best describes what you do, such as “Window cleaning service” or “Florist”.
4. If customers come to you, add your address. If you go to them, you can hide your address and list the areas you cover instead.
5. Verify it. Google will ask you to prove the business is yours, and the way it does this varies, so follow its steps.

Then fill in everything: opening hours, phone number, website, services, a short description in plain English and plenty of real photos of your work, your team and your van or premises.

2. Get reviews, and reply to them

Reviews help people choose you, and they help Google decide who to show. The trick is to ask at the right moment: just after a job has gone well.

• Your profile gives you a link that goes straight to the review box. Send it by text or WhatsApp.
• Ask every happy customer, not just your favourites. A steady trickle looks better than a sudden burst.
• Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly.
• Never pay for reviews, offer discounts for them or write your own. It’s against Google’s rules and can get reviews removed.

3. Keep your details the same everywhere

Your business name, address and phone number should read exactly the same on your website, your Google profile, Facebook and any directories you’re listed on, such as Yell or a trade site. Small differences, like an old phone number or a different spelling, can confuse Google about which listing is really you.

Use your real business name on your profile, too. Adding extra words like “Best Plumber Birmingham” is against Google’s guidelines and can get your listing suspended.

4. Have a proper website

A Google profile gets you on the map. A website gives Google something to read about what you do and where, and gives customers a reason to choose you over the next listing. A Facebook page helps, but it isn’t a replacement: you don’t control it, and it says very little to Google.

The website doesn’t need to be big. It needs to be clear, quick on a phone, and say plainly what you do and where you do it. Each page should have its own title and description, the words a customer would actually search for, and an easy way to get in touch. There’s more on that in what a small business website should include.

5. Add a page for each service and area

People search for a service and a place: “electrician Solihull”, “wedding florist Leicester”. One home page can’t answer every one of those well. A page for each main service, and for the main towns you cover, gives Google a clear match for each search.

The catch: each page has to be genuinely useful and different. Copying one page and swapping the town name is something Google looks out for and tends to ignore. Mention real jobs you’ve done there, the areas you cover and how you work locally. You can see how I do it for my own business on my pages for Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and Leicester.

6. Tell Google about your site

Google Search Console is a free tool from Google. Add your website, send it your sitemap (a list of your pages), and Google will tell you which pages it has found, any problems it has spotted and which searches people used to find you. It takes about ten minutes to set up, and it’s the best way to see what’s working.

7. Keep it alive

• Add new photos of your work to your profile every few weeks.
• Update your hours for bank holidays and Christmas.
• Answer the questions customers ask you on your website, as new pages or guides.
• Keep asking for reviews.

What not to spend money on

• “Guaranteed page one” calls and emails. Nobody can guarantee a position on Google. Google says so itself.
• Paying to be listed in dozens of directories. A few good, accurate listings beat lots of poor ones.
• Buying reviews or followers. It risks your profile and fools nobody for long.

How long does it take?

Once your profile is verified, it can start showing within days, though sometimes it takes longer. A new website and its pages usually take weeks to a few months to settle into the results. It’s steady work, not a switch.

Where I can help

Every website I build is set up for Google from the start: proper titles and descriptions, tidy headings, fast pages and search pages for your main services and towns, included in the price. I’ll also help you set up your Google Business Profile so you show up on Maps.