How to get your business found on Google

Two places you can appear

When someone searches for a local service, Google often shows two kinds of results: a map with business listings, and the ordinary list of web pages. You want to be in both. The map listing comes from your Google Business Profile. The web results come from your website. Each needs its own attention.

Step 1: set up your Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile is free and is often the first thing a local customer sees.

• Claim or create your profile and complete verification.
• Choose the most accurate main category, then add secondary categories only if they truly apply.
• Use your real business name, without extra keywords stuffed in.
• Add opening hours, service area, phone number and a link to your website.
• Upload real photos of your premises, team and work.
• Ask happy customers for reviews, and reply to reviews politely, including the critical ones.

Make sure your name, address and phone number are written the same way on your profile, your website and any directories you appear in.

Step 2: get the page basics right

Title tags

Each page's title tag is the clickable headline in search results. Write a unique one for every page, with the main service and place near the start, for example "Dog grooming in Ghent | Business name".

Meta descriptions

The description is the short text under the title. It does not directly decide rankings, but a clear one makes people more likely to click. Say what you offer and why someone should choose you.

Headings and wording

Use the words customers actually search for. If people search for "roof repair" and your site only says "roofing solutions", you are making Google guess. Mention the towns and areas you serve where it reads naturally. These local keywords help match you to nearby searches.

Step 3: help Google read your site

• XML sitemap: a list of your pages that tells search engines what exists.
• Google Search Console: a free tool where you submit your sitemap, see which searches show your site and spot problems.
• Structured data: code that tells search engines facts such as your business type, address and opening hours in a format they understand.
• Internal links: links between your own pages, so every important page is reachable and its topic is clear.

Step 4: make it fast on a phone

Many local searches happen on mobile. Slow pages lose visitors before they see anything. The usual causes are oversized images, too many third-party scripts and heavy page builders. Compress images, remove scripts you do not need and test your site on an ordinary phone connection, not your office wifi.

Step 5: give people something worth finding

Search engines try to show the most useful answer. A page that clearly explains a service, shows real examples and answers common questions has a better chance than a thin one. Our guide on pages every small business website needs covers the structure.

What to avoid

• Buying links or reviews.
• Creating many near-identical pages for different towns.
• Hiding text or keywords on the page.
• Changing page addresses without redirects. If you are moving sites, read how to move a website without losing rankings.

How long it takes

A Business Profile can appear fairly quickly once verified. Website rankings usually build over weeks and months. Check Search Console monthly, improve the pages that get impressions but few clicks, and keep your details current.

A useful monthly routine: open the search queries report, find a query that matches a service you offer but where your page sits low, and improve that page. Add the answer the searcher wants, make the title more specific and link to it from a related page.

Search basics set from day one

With our builder, page titles, descriptions, the sitemap and structured data are set from day one. Pages are static and fast, and images are resized automatically. Publishing is blocked until the site passes checks for findability and accessibility, so missing titles or alt text do not slip through. You use your own domain, with the security certificate handled automatically. It costs €29.95 a month, cancel any month. See how it works.

Frequently asked