December 2024
If you don't know, Google your own business name right now. If a panel shows up on the right with your address, phone number, photos — you've got one.
If nothing shows up? That's your problem. You need to claim or create your Google Business Profile.
Go to business.google.com and set it up. It's free. Google will send you a postcard to verify your address. Do it.
Most people set it up once and forget about it. That's why they're not showing up.
Google ranks businesses that look active and complete. Here's what to check:
Business name — Exactly what people would search for. Don't keyword stuff it with "Best Plumber Gippsland" — just your actual business name.
Category — Pick the right primary category. "Plumber" not "Home Services." Be specific.
Address — If you service an area but don't have a shopfront, you can hide your address and show your service areas instead.
Phone number — Use a local number, not a 1300. People trust local.
Hours — Keep them updated. Nothing worse than "Open" when you're actually closed.
Photos — This is the big one. Businesses with photos get way more clicks. Add your work, your van, your team, your shopfront. Real photos, not stock images.
Google loves reviews. More reviews = higher ranking. Simple as that.
Ask every happy customer. Make it easy — send them a direct link to leave a review. Don't be weird about it, just ask.
And reply to every review. Good ones, bad ones, all of them. Google sees that you're engaged.
Google Business Profile has a posts feature. Most people ignore it.
Post a photo of a recent job. Announce a special. Just show Google you're alive.
Doesn't need to be fancy. Once a week is plenty.
This isn't theory. When I set up Studio at 65 with a proper website and optimised their Google Business Profile, they went to #1 for "Mallacoota hairdresser." 274 clicks from Google in November alone.
Scallywags — same deal. #1 for "Mallacoota restaurants." 1,475 clicks in a month.
It's not magic. It's just doing the basics properly.
If you've done all the above and you're still not showing up, there might be something else going on:
Your website might not be linked properly.
Your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) might be inconsistent across the internet.
You might have duplicate listings.
This is where it gets fiddly. If you've tried everything and it's still not working, that's the kind of thing I can help sort out.
I can do a quick audit of your Google Business Profile and tell you what's missing. No charge, no obligation.
And if it turns out you're already doing everything right and just need to wait for Google to catch up? I'll tell you that too. I'm not going to invent problems just to sell you a solution.