If someone searches for your service today, will they find the right hours, the right phone number and a page that explains what you do? Check those first. A useful local presence connects your business listing, website and relevant directories so a customer can take the next step.
Nobody can guarantee a ranking, and anyone offering one is describing something they do not control. What follows are the inputs you can influence; outcomes depend on competition and the searcher's location. Google explains its main local ranking factors as relevance, distance and prominence.
Start with your name, address and phone number
You may see these details called NAP. Keep them accurate wherever customers look for you. Start with the mistakes that can lose a customer: an old phone number, a previous address or conflicting opening hours. Do not spend your first afternoon changing “Suite” to “Ste” while an incorrect closing time is still sending people to a locked door.
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Keep a master copy of your details
Keep your business name, customer-facing address or service area, phone number, website and hours in one document. Use the name customers know from your real-world business. Service-area businesses should follow each platform's rules for hiding a private address.
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Audit where you already appear
Search your business name, your phone number and your address. Look for old addresses and phone numbers, then note which listings you can edit yourself.
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Correct or claim
Claim what you can and correct the rest. Duplicates should be merged or removed rather than left to contradict each other.
Citations worth having
A citation is any mention of your business details on another site. Choose listings that help customers find you; three places to consider are:
- The major platforms - the mapping and review services people actually use in your area.
- Industry directories - trade bodies, licensing registers, and sector-specific listings relevant to what you do.
- Local sources - your chamber member directory, community organisations and local publications that your customers actually use.
Bulk submission to hundreds of low-quality directories is largely spent effort. A smaller set of accurate, relevant listings is more useful than a long list of thin ones.
What your website needs
A real location page
For each physical location: the full address as text rather than only inside an image or map, a working phone link, opening hours, directions, parking and access notes, and something specific about that location. Publish a customer-facing address only where customers can visit. A page for a place you do not operate in can mislead people; simply swapping town names does not answer their questions.
Service pages that match how people ask
One page per service, described in the words customers use rather than internal terminology. If you genuinely serve several towns, a page per town is defensible only when each page says something true and specific about working there.
Structured data
Structured data is information in your website's code that helps search engines understand the business. Once the visible details are right, ask your website maintainer whether LocalBusiness structured data is appropriate and up to date. It should match the page. You can hand that documentation to your maintainer; you do not need to learn the code before correcting your hours.
The basics that apply everywhere
- Pages that load quickly on a phone on a mobile connection.
- A descriptive title and meta description per page, written for a person.
- Tappable phone links, so a number on a phone dials.
- Working HTTPS, and one canonical version of the site rather than several.
Make it easy to leave an honest review
Reviews help a prospective customer understand other people's experiences. Ask for honest feedback after a completed visit or job, and make the request part of your usual follow-up rather than asking only when you expect praise.
For Google, follow its guidance on asking for reviews: offer no rewards and keep replies helpful. See setting up a Google Business Profile for the specifics.
What to measure
Use your profile's performance report to see the available interactions. Keep a separate tally of actual enquiries and completed jobs: a tap on the call button is not proof that a call connected or became a sale.
| Signal | Why it is useful |
|---|---|
| Call-button taps and direction requests | Shows attempts to contact or visit; compare with actual enquiries |
| Search queries your profile appeared for | Helps you see which searches are bringing up your profile |
| Organic landings on location and service pages | Shows entry pages; check whether visitors then enquire or book |
| Review count and recency | Helps you check that asking for feedback remains part of your follow-up |
Questions owners ask
How long does this take to show results?
It varies with how competitive your area and category are. Profile and listing corrections tend to surface faster than content work. Anyone promising a specific position by a specific date is not describing something they can control.
Do I need a page for every nearby town?
Only where you genuinely serve them and can write something specific. Pages that differ only by a place name give the reader little help choosing your business.
Does proximity to the searcher matter?
Substantially, for local results. Two people searching the same phrase from different parts of a city routinely see different businesses, which is why a single "ranking" figure is a poor measure of local performance.
See digital marketing beyond local search for website, email and social media planning, or explore all marketing guides.