“How do I get my business on Google?” is one of the questions I get asked more than almost anything else. And it makes complete sense. You know your customers are searching online. You know your competitors are showing up. You just don’t know how to get yourself in front of the right people — or who to trust to help you do it.
The good news is that for a local small business, getting found on Google is more straightforward than the marketing industry would have you believe. You don’t need a massive budget. You don’t need to understand algorithms. You just need the right foundations in place.
Here’s what actually matters.
First, Understand What You’re Aiming For
When someone searches for a local business – say, “plumber in Syston” or “dog groomer near me” – Google typically shows three types of results:
Google Business Profile listings – the map and the three local business listings that appear near the top of the page. These are often called the “local pack” and they’re prime real estate for small businesses.
Organic search results – the regular blue links below the map. These are ranked based on the content and quality of your website.
Paid ads – the results marked “Sponsored” at the very top. These cost money every time someone clicks.
For most small local businesses, the biggest opportunity is in the first two – your Google Business Profile and your website’s organic rankings. Both are free. Both take some effort to set up properly. And both can make a dramatic difference to how many local customers find you.
Step 1: Claim and Complete Your Google Business Profile
If you do nothing else on this list, do this.
Your Google Business Profile (previously called Google My Business) is what makes your business appear on Google Maps and in those local listings at the top of search results. It’s free, it’s managed by Google, and it’s completely separate from your website.
A complete, well-maintained profile should include:
- Your correct business name, address, and phone number
- Your actual opening hours — kept up to date, including holidays
- Your business category (be specific — “WordPress web designer” rather than just “IT services”)
- A clear description of what you do and who you serve
- Photos of your work, your premises, or yourself
- Regular responses to customer reviews
That last point matters more than most people realise. Google pays attention to businesses that are active – that respond to reviews, post updates, and keep their information current. An active profile ranks better than a neglected one.
Step 2: Get Your Website Foundations Right
Your Google Business Profile gets you on the map – literally. But for someone to find you through a regular Google search, your website needs to do its job.
A few fundamentals that make a real difference:
Make it clear what you do and where you do it. This sounds obvious, but many small business websites are vague. “Professional services for businesses” tells Google very little. “WordPress website design and maintenance for small businesses in Leicestershire” tells it a great deal. Be specific about your service and your location on your homepage and throughout your site.
Have a proper page for each service. If you offer website builds, hosting, and maintenance, each of those deserves its own page – not a bullet point on a single “services” page. More specific pages give Google more to work with, and give potential customers a clearer picture of exactly what you offer.
Make sure your site loads quickly. Google uses page speed as a ranking signal. A slow site – often caused by unoptimised images or outdated plugins – will quietly drag your rankings down. This is one of the things a proper maintenance plan keeps on top of automatically.
Make sure it works on mobile. The majority of local searches happen on phones. If your site looks broken or is hard to navigate on a small screen, Google notices – and so do your potential customers.
Step 3: Get Some Reviews
Reviews are one of the strongest local ranking signals Google uses. A business with 30 genuine five-star reviews will almost always outrank a competitor with none, even if everything else is equal.
The simplest way to get more reviews is to ask. Most happy customers are glad to leave one – they just never think to do it unless prompted. Send a follow-up message after a job is done, add a link to your review page in your email signature, or simply ask in person.
And when reviews come in – good or bad – respond to them. A thoughtful response to a negative review often impresses potential customers more than a string of five-star ratings with no engagement.
Step 4: Get Your Name Mentioned Elsewhere Online
Google builds trust in a local business partly by seeing it mentioned consistently across the web. These mentions – your business name, address, and phone number appearing on other websites – are called citations.
The key ones for a local business include:
- Yell.com
- Bing Places
- Apple Maps
- Facebook Business Page
- Any local business directories relevant to your area or industry
The important thing is consistency. If your address appears differently across different sites — even small differences like “St” versus “Street” — it can confuse Google and dilute the trust signal. Get them all matching.
What SEO Won’t Do
It’s worth being honest about what search engine optimisation can and can’t achieve – because there’s a lot of overselling in this industry.
SEO is not a switch you flip. It’s a slow build. Depending on how competitive your local market is, it can take three to six months to see meaningful movement in your rankings. Anyone promising you “page one of Google in 30 days” is either overpromising or planning to use tactics that will eventually backfire.
SEO also won’t fix a bad website. If your site loads slowly, looks unprofessional, or doesn’t clearly explain what you do, better SEO will just bring more people to a site that doesn’t convert them. The technical foundations and the content need to be right first.
The Local Advantage
Here’s something worth remembering: local SEO is genuinely more achievable than national SEO. You’re not competing with every business in the country — you’re competing with other businesses in your town or city. That’s a much smaller pool.
A well-maintained website, a complete Google Business Profile, and a steady stream of genuine reviews will put most local small businesses ahead of the majority of their local competitors. It really doesn’t take as much as people think.
Want Someone to Handle All of This For You?
Getting found on Google isn’t a one-time job — it’s an ongoing process of keeping your site technically healthy, your content current, and your local presence active. All of this is covered as standard in my top-tier WordPress maintenance plan. Your site stays fast, secure, and visible, without you having to think about it.
Get in touch and let’s talk about what the right plan looks like for your business.
I provide WordPress website builds, hosting, and ongoing maintenance to small businesses in Leicestershire. Clients get a personal, reliable service from someone they can actually call.
