Getting your business on Google is free. There are two parts: a Google Business Profile, which puts you on Google Maps and in the local results, and a website that Google can find, which puts you in the ordinary search results. Here's what each involves, where it usually goes wrong, and how we handle it.
You may already be on Google
A profile for your business may already exist, created by Google from public information or added by a customer. If so, it needs to be claimed, not recreated. Duplicate profiles for the same business confuse Google and customers. We check for an existing profile before setting anything up.
What a Google Business Profile involves
A Google Business Profile is more than a name and a pin on the map. The choices made at set-up shape which searches you appear for:
- Your business name, exactly as it appears on your signage and paperwork. Adding suburbs or keywords to it breaks Google's guidelines and can get a listing suspended.
- Your main category, one of the most important choices on the profile. It tells Google what kind of business you are, and the closest fit isn't always the obvious one.
- Your address or service areas. Businesses that customers visit show their address. Businesses that go to their customers can hide it and show the areas they cover instead.
- Hours, services, a description and photos, which help Google match you to more searches and help customers choose you.
Verification can stall
Google needs to confirm the business is real before your profile shows publicly. Depending on your business, it may ask for a short video of your premises or signage, a phone call or text, an email, or a postcard to your address. Until you're verified, edits may not appear, so a profile left half-finished at this stage can stay out of sight.
Where it usually goes wrong
The problems we see most often are duplicate profiles, a category that doesn't match the main work, keywords added to the business name, empty services and photos, out-of-date hours, contact details that don't match the website, and reviews with no replies. Each one makes it harder to show up, or easier for a customer to pick someone else.
Reviews help you show up and get chosen
Reviews are one of the things Google considers for local results, and one of the first things people read before they call. Our article on getting more Google reviews explains why, and what breaks Google's rules.
Your website needs to be on Google too
Your profile gets you on the map. Your website gets you into the ordinary results below it, and Google uses it to understand what you do.
That works best when each main service has its own page, since one page that lists everything rarely ranks well for any of them. Your name, address and phone number should match your profile exactly. And Google needs to know the site exists: Google Search Console is Google's free tool that shows which of your pages it has found and indexed, and why any are missing.
If your website still doesn't appear, read why is my website not showing on Google?
Getting on Google vs ranking on Google
Being on Google and being near the top are different things. Once you're listed, ranking depends on relevance, distance and prominence: how well your profile and website match the search, how close you are to the searcher, and how well known and well reviewed you are. Our Google Maps ranking guide explains what makes the difference.
How we get you on Google
When we set you up, we:
- Claim your existing profile or create one, and help you through verification.
- Set the best-fit primary category for how your customers search, with secondary categories only for work you genuinely do.
- Complete every field, from services and areas served to hours, description and photos, and match your details exactly to your website.
- Give you a review request link and a short message to send customers.
- Build or improve your website with a page for each service, and set up Google Search Console and indexing so Google finds it.
See our Google Business Profile service, or book a free website health check and we'll tell you where you stand.
Want it done properly?
We set up and optimise Google Business Profiles for local businesses, and build websites that back them up. Book a free website health check or call us, and we'll look at where you stand now.
This article is general information only and isn't legal, financial or technical advice for your situation. Questions? Talk to us.