How to get your business to show up on Google

Most small businesses do not need to understand search engines. They need to do five or six concrete things, in order, and then keep them tidy. What follows is that list, with the reasoning behind each step, written for someone who runs a local business rather than a marketing team.

Step one: claim a Google Business Profile

If you do one thing, do this. A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows on the map and on the right hand side when someone searches your name. You create it at google.com/business, add your details, and verify that the business is yours by the method Google offers, usually a code by post, phone or video. Until it is verified it will not show, so see the verification through to the end.

For most local searches, like "electrician near me" or "cafe in Stroud", the map listings sit above the ordinary blue links. A complete, verified profile is how you get into that block, and it costs nothing but an hour of your time.

Step two: tell Google exactly what you do and where

Once the profile exists, fill it in properly. Choose the category that matches your trade, not a vague one. Write the areas you cover in plain words. Add your hours, your phone number and a link to your website if you have one. The more accurately you describe yourself, the more confidently Google can match you to a relevant search.

One detail matters more than it should: your name, address and phone number must be written the same way everywhere. The same wording on your profile, your website, your Facebook page and any directory. When these disagree, even by an abbreviation, Google cannot be sure they all describe one real business, and that uncertainty holds you back.

Step three: gather reviews, because they are the lever you control

Among the things you can influence, reviews count for the most in local results. You do not need hundreds. A steady trickle of genuine ones, with a few words rather than just a star count, tells Google and the reader that you are real and active. The simplest way to get them is to ask, in person or by a short message, just after you have done good work, with a direct link to your profile so it takes one tap.

Reply to reviews when you can, the ordinary ones as well as the glowing ones. It shows the listing is tended, and a calm reply to a rare unhappy review reassures the next reader more than a wall of five stars ever could.

Step four: back the profile with a simple website

A verified profile can stand on its own, but it does better with a website behind it. The profile links to your site, which gives Google another signal that you are established. Your site lets you say things in your own words, show your work, and answer the questions a listing has no room for. And it can rank for searches the profile cannot, like a specific service in a specific town.

It does not need to be large. A few clear pages that name your trade and your towns, load fast on a phone and carry your real details will do the job. If you are weighing up how to build one, our guide to choosing a small business website builder walks through the options without the jargon.

What not to waste your time on

Some tactics look like shortcuts and quietly do harm. Stuffing your business name with keywords you do not trade under can get the listing suspended. Buying reviews is against the rules and easy to spot. Listing a fake address to appear in a town you do not serve will eventually be caught. The honest version of each step is also the durable one, which is convenient, because it means there is nothing to undo later.

Getting found on Google is mostly patience and consistency. Set the profile up correctly, keep your details the same everywhere, collect reviews as you go, and give it a few weeks. For a local business that is the whole of it.