How to Get Your Business Found on Google: 7 Practical Tips
If people are searching for what you do and your business isn’t showing up, you’re losing work to competitors who may be less experienced, less local and less qualified than you.
The good news is that most of the things stopping you from appearing on Google are fixable. None of them require a big budget. They do require doing the right things properly.
Here’s what actually works.
1. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
This is the single most important thing a local business can do. Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is what makes you appear in Google Maps and the local results that show up when someone searches “[your service] near me” or “[your service] [your town].”
If you haven’t claimed your profile, you’re invisible in local search. If you’ve claimed it but left it half-finished, you’re nearly invisible.
What to do:
- Claim your profile at business.google.com if you haven’t already
- Fill in every section: business name, address, phone, website, hours, category, description
- Add photos: real ones, not stock. Your premises, your team, your work
- Choose the right primary category: this has more influence than most people realise
- Post updates regularly: even once a month signals that the profile is active
A complete, active profile dramatically improves your chances of appearing in the Local Pack, which is the map results that dominate the top of Google for local searches. I wrote a full guide to the Local Pack if you want to go deeper.
2. Make sure your website mentions where you are
A surprising number of business websites don’t clearly state where they operate. If Google can’t work out where your business is based and who you serve, it can’t match you to local searches.
This doesn’t mean cramming your location into every sentence. It means being clear and natural about it.
What to do:
- Include your town or city in your page titles and headings where it makes sense. For example, “Accountants in Guildford” rather than just “Accountants”
- Add your address to the footer of every page
- Include your location in your About page and Contact page copy
- If you serve multiple areas, a short paragraph naming those areas on your service pages helps
None of this needs to feel forced. It just needs to be there.
3. Get your name, address and phone number consistent everywhere
Google cross-references information about your business across the web. If your business name, address and phone number (known as NAP) are different across different directories and listings, it creates confusion and Google responds by trusting you less.
This catches a lot of businesses out. You might have moved premises, changed phone number or rebranded, and the old details are still sitting on a dozen different directory sites.
What to do:
- Search your business name on Google and check what comes up: Yell, Yelp, Thomson Local, FreeIndex, Checkatrade, industry directories
- Make sure the name, address and phone number match exactly on every listing
- Update anything that’s out of date
- If you’re not listed anywhere at all, start with the main UK directories: Yell, Google Business Profile and your local council’s business directory
4. Ask your happy clients for Google reviews
Reviews are one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide how prominently to show a local business. Not just the star rating, i.e. the number of reviews, how recent they are and whether the business responds to them all matter.
Most businesses don’t ask. The ones who do consistently outperform the ones who don’t.
What to do:
- Send a direct link to your Google review page to clients after a job is done well
- Ask in person or by email, not in a way that feels pressured, just a straightforward “I’d really appreciate it if you had a moment to leave a Google review”
- Respond to every review, positive or critical: a short, professional response shows you’re active and engaged
- Don’t offer incentives for reviews: Google prohibits it and it can get your profile penalised
One well-written recent review is worth more than ten old ones. Keep asking.
5. Make sure your website is fast and works properly on mobile
Google uses your website’s performance as a ranking factor. A slow site or one that’s difficult to use on a phone will rank lower than a fast, mobile-friendly one and will lose visitors even when it does show up.
More than 60% of searches happen on mobile. If your site is clunky on a phone, you’re losing enquiries even when Google sends people to you.
What to do:
- Test your site speed at PageSpeed Insights (free, from Google). Anything below 50 on mobile is a problem
- Check your site on your own phone and ask someone else to do the same: does it load quickly, is the text readable, are buttons easy to tap?
- Make sure your phone number is click-to-call on mobile
- If your site is more than a few years old and was built on a cheap template, it may need rebuilding rather than patching
Speed and mobile-friendliness are table stakes now. They won’t make you rank on their own but ignoring them will hold you back.
6. Write content that answers the questions your clients actually search for
Blog posts, service pages and FAQs that answer real questions from real potential clients give Google more content to index and more chances to show your business to the right people.
The key is writing for the question someone types into Google, not for the way you’d describe your own service internally.
What to do:
- Think about the questions you get asked before someone hires you “how much does X cost”, “what’s the difference between X and Y”, “do I need X” and answer them properly in blog posts or FAQs
- Make sure each of your main services has its own page with clear, specific copy, not one page that mentions everything
- Include your location naturally where it’s relevant: “working with businesses in Kingston and across South West London” rather than just “working with businesses”
- Don’t publish content just to have something there. Thin, vague posts do nothing. A well-written post that genuinely helps someone is worth ten filler articles.
7. Don’t ignore what’s already there
Before you do anything new, look at what you have. Most businesses have a Google Business Profile that’s incomplete, a website that doesn’t clearly state what they do and where, and a handful of online listings with outdated information.
Fixing those things costs nothing except time and will often have a bigger impact than starting new activity.
What to do:
- Google yourself and look at the results as a stranger would. Does what comes up reflect what you actually do?
- Check that your website loads, that all the links work and that the key information (what you do, where you are, how to contact you) is immediately clear
- Look at your Google Business Profile and fill in anything that’s missing
- Check whether you have reviews, and whether you’ve responded to them
Most local businesses are losing visibility not because they haven’t done enough new things, but because the basics aren’t done properly. Start there.
Need help with your website’s visibility?
If you’re based in London or Surrey and your business isn’t showing up the way it should, the issue is usually a combination of things: your website, your Google Business Profile and how they work together.
I work with established owner-led businesses in Kingston and across London to fix exactly this. I build professional WordPress websites designed to rank in local search and I offer ongoing support so you’re not left to manage it alone.
Book a free consultation and tell me about your business.
FAQ
How long does it take to get found on Google? It depends on what you’re fixing. Some changes like completing your Google Business Profile can show results within a few weeks. Building up content and reviews takes longer, typically three to six months before you see consistent improvement.
Do I need to pay for Google Ads to show up? No. The tips in this post are all about organic and local search appearing in the results Google shows for free. Paid ads can complement this but they’re not necessary to get found locally.
What’s the difference between Google Search and Google Maps results? Google Search shows a mix of organic website results and a local section (the Local Pack) with a map. Google Maps results come from your Google Business Profile. Ideally you want to appear in both and they influence each other a strong website helps your Maps ranking and a strong profile helps your overall visibility.
My business is already on Google but I’m not getting enquiries. Why? Visibility and conversion are different problems. You might be showing up but your profile or website isn’t giving people a clear reason to contact you. Check your reviews, your photos, your website speed and whether your site makes it easy to get in touch.
Do I need a website or is a Google Business Profile enough? A Google Business Profile alone gives you limited visibility. A well-built website that supports your profile with proper service pages, location mentions and fast loading significantly increases how often and how prominently Google shows you.