How to Get Your Business on Google

The single most important thing you can do is create a Google Business Profile. It is free, and it is what puts your business in the map results and the panel that shows on the right when someone searches your name. Go to business.google.com and choose to add your business.

You will enter your business name, then pick a category. This step matters more than most people realise. Your primary category tells Google which searches to show you in, so choose the most specific one that fits. An electrician should pick 'Electrician', not 'Contractor'. You can add extra categories later for the other work you do.

Most trades and local operators do not have a store customers walk into. They drive to the job. If that is you, you are what Google calls a service-area business, and you should hide your home or workshop address and list the suburbs and towns you cover instead.

This keeps your private address off the internet while still telling Google where you work. One thing worth knowing is that Google measures how close you are to a searcher from your actual base, even when the address is hidden. You will naturally show up strongest for jobs near where you are based, and your visibility tapers off the further out you go. List the areas you genuinely service and no more.

Google will not show your profile publicly until you prove the business is real and yours. This is verification, and the method you are offered depends on your business type and location. For service-area businesses, video verification is common. You record a short live video on your phone showing things like your signage, work vehicle, tools and any paperwork with your business name on it.

Other options include a phone or text code, and in some cases a postcard sent to your address. Follow whichever method Google offers you. Video can take a few business days to review, and a postcard can take up to two weeks, so start this early rather than leaving it to the last minute.

A half-finished profile looks unfinished to a customer and gives Google less to work with. Add your phone number, business hours, a proper description of what you do, and the services you offer as a list. If you have a website, add it, because it gives people a way to see your work and get in touch after hours.

Add real photos too. Completed jobs, your vehicle, your team on site. People trust a profile with genuine photos far more than an empty one, and it is one of the easiest ways to stand out from competitors who never bothered.

Google builds trust in your business partly by checking that your name, phone number and service area match across the internet. If those details differ between your Google profile, your website, your Facebook page and old directory listings, that inconsistency works against you.

Pick one exact version of your business name and phone number and use it everywhere, word for word. When we build a website at ONARA Studios, we make sure the details on the site line up exactly with the Google Business Profile, so the two support each other instead of sending mixed signals.

Reviews are one of the biggest factors in how high you appear in local results, and they are the first thing a customer reads before calling. The honest way to get them is simple. Do good work, then ask every happy customer to leave a review. Send them the direct link from your profile so it takes ten seconds. Reply to reviews when you can, including the occasional negative one, because a calm reply says a lot to the next person reading.

Getting on Google is not a set-and-forget job. Update your hours over the holidays, add new photos now and then, and keep answering questions. A profile that stays active tends to hold its place better than one that goes quiet. If ongoing upkeep is not something you have time for, that is the kind of thing ONARA Care is built to handle alongside your website.