Search "café Heaton" or "electrician Gosforth". Before a single website, Google shows a map with three businesses on it. Most people pick one of those three and never scroll.
Getting into that box doesn't cost anything. It runs on your Google Business Profile. And most local businesses have filled in about a fifth of theirs. That's the opening.
Step 1: claim it and verify it
Go to business.google.com and search for your business. If it exists, claim it. If not, create it.
Google will want to check you're real. These days that's usually a short video: your signage, your premises, something that proves you work there. It takes five minutes and it's the bit everyone puts off. Don't.
Step 2: pick the right categories
Your primary category matters more than almost anything else on the profile. Pick the most specific one that's true. "Italian restaurant" beats "Restaurant". "Emergency plumber" beats "Plumber" if that's what you actually sell.
Then add a few secondary categories for the other things you do. A café that does evening drinks should say so. Google can't guess.
Step 3: fill in everything
- Hours, including bank holidays. Wrong hours make people angry, and angry people leave reviews.
- Phone number that someone answers.
- Website link to the right page. If you have two locations, each profile should link to its own page.
- Description: 750 characters. Say what you do, where, and who for. Write it for humans.
- Services or menu, with prices if you can. People love a price.
- Attributes: wheelchair access, dog-friendly, outdoor seating, free Wi-Fi. Each one helps you show up for more searches.
Step 4: photos, lots of them
Profiles with plenty of recent photos get noticeably more clicks and direction requests. Add your outside (so people recognise it), your inside, your team, and your actual products. Phone photos are fine. Stock photos are not.
Add a few new ones every month. It tells Google someone's home.
Step 5: reviews, and answer every one
Reviews are the biggest thing that moves you up the map. Ask every happy customer, every time. Reply to every review, good or bad, within a couple of days. We wrote a whole guide on getting more Google reviews without being weird about it.
Step 6: post updates
You can post offers, events and news straight onto your profile. Most businesses never do. One post a week keeps the profile looking alive, and it costs you five minutes.
Common mistakes we fix all the time
- Keyword-stuffing the business name ("Bob's Plumbing Newcastle Cheap 24hr"). Google suspends profiles for this.
- Website link pointing at the wrong location.
- Duplicate profiles from an old address. Merge or remove them.
- No phone number, so Google trusts the listing less.
- Owner replies that argue with customers. Be the bigger café.
Want it done for you?
Our Google Maps fix-up does all six steps for you, plus automatic review requests. £195, once. No monthly fee. Ask us.
Rather we just did it? That's literally the job. See our seo service or the prices.
