If you search for your type of business in your town and do not appear, there is usually a reason you can find yourself. Local results on Google come from two places: the map results, which are driven by your Google Business Profile, and the ordinary results below, which are driven by your website.
This checklist covers both. Nobody can guarantee a ranking, and that includes us. But each step removes a common reason for not being found.
1. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
For local searches, the map results are often what people see first. To appear there you need a Google Business Profile, which is free.
- Claim and verify it. Search for your business name on Google Maps. If a profile exists, claim it; if not, create one. Verification can take a few days.
- Choose the right primary category. It has a large effect on which searches you appear for. Pick the one that describes your main service, then add a few accurate secondary categories.
- Fill in the basics. Business name as you actually trade, website, opening hours, services and a plain description. Add real photographs.
- Keep it active. Answer questions, update hours for holidays and post occasional updates.
2. Check your location and service area
Open your profile on Google Maps and look at where the pin is. If it is in the wrong place, Google may not show you to people nearby. Correct it in your profile settings.
If customers visit you, show your address. If you travel to customers or work remotely, you can set up a service-area business: hide your address and list the towns you serve. Keep the service area realistic. Listing places you rarely work does not help.
Make sure your business name, website and contact details match everywhere they appear: your profile, your website and any directory listings.
3. Ask for genuine reviews
Reviews matter for local results and for the people reading them. The way to get them is simple: do good work, then ask the customer directly and give them the link from your profile. Reply to reviews, including the critical ones, calmly and briefly.
Never write reviews yourself, ask friends or staff to pose as customers, buy reviews or offer anything in return for one. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews in the UK, and the Competition and Markets Authority can fine businesses directly. Google’s own policies also prohibit offering incentives for reviews, and can remove reviews or restrict a profile that breaks them.
4. Check that Google can see your website
Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk, replacing it with your own domain. If nothing appears, Google has not indexed your site yet.
- New sites take time. A brand-new domain can take days or weeks to appear.
- Look for a “noindex” setting. Many builders have a “hide from search engines” option that is switched on while a site is being built and never switched off.
- Use Google Search Console. It is free. Add your site, submit your sitemap and use the URL inspection tool to see whether a page is indexed and why not.
5. Get the website basics right
Once Google can see your site, it needs to understand what you do and where.
- Say it plainly. Your main service and your town should appear naturally in the page title, the main heading and the opening paragraph.
- One page per main service. A page for each thing you do gives each search a clear match.
- Work well on phones. Most local searches happen on mobile. Check that pages load quickly and read well.
- Show real proof. Real work, real photographs and clear contact details help visitors and search engines trust the page.
Avoid creating near-identical pages for every town you could serve. Google treats that pattern as spam, and it reads badly to customers too.
When to ask for help
Work through these steps in order and give changes a few weeks to show. If you are still not appearing, or you are not sure whether your website is the problem, our free practical website review sends three specific improvements. If you need a clearer website, see our web design service in Portsmouth and nearby towns, or get in touch.
This guide is practical information, not legal advice.
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