If you want more customers, showing up on Google is essential. Whether you run a local business or an online service, being visible in search results helps you attract the right people at the right time.

In this guide, we walk you through exactly how to get your business on Google, step by step.

1. Create a Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile helps your business appear in Google Search and Google Maps. It is free and only takes a few minutes to set up.

Go to the Google Business Profile page, sign in with a Google account you will keep, and search for your business name. If a listing already exists, claim it rather than making a second one. Two listings for the same business confuse Google and split your reviews.

Quick tip: use a consistent business name, accurate contact details and high quality photos to build trust and get more clicks.

2. Add important business information

Make sure your profile is complete, including:

  • Business name
  • Address or service area
  • Phone number
  • Website
  • Business category
  • Opening hours

Pick the most specific primary category you can. A plumber should choose Plumber, not Contractor. You can add secondary categories afterwards for the other work you do.

3. Optimise your profile

A complete profile ranks better than a half finished one. Write a short description in plain words that says what you do and where. Add your services with a line about each. Upload real photos of your work, your team and your premises, and add new ones every month or so.

Keep your details identical everywhere: the same name, address and phone number on your website, your social profiles and any directories. Small differences, such as Street on one and St on another, make Google less sure the listings belong to the same business.

4. Get customer reviews

Reviews are one of the strongest signals for local rankings, and they are what customers read before they call. Ask every happy customer for a review, at the moment they are happiest, and make it easy with a direct link to your review form.

Reply to every review, good or bad. A calm, helpful reply to a poor review does more for trust than ten unanswered five star ones.

5. Post regular updates

Your profile has a posts feature that most businesses ignore. Use it. A short update every week or two, with a photo, about a job you finished, an offer or a change to your hours, shows Google and customers that the business is active.

6. Track your results

Your profile comes with its own performance report. Check it once a month and look at three things: how many people saw your listing, how many called or visited your website, and which searches brought them there. Write the numbers down so you can see the trend.

If the numbers are not moving after three months, the usual causes are an incomplete profile, too few reviews or a website that does not mention the places you serve. Fix those first.

If you would like us to look at your profile with you, book a call. Fifteen minutes is enough to tell you what to change.