Set up your Google Business Profile properly
This is the listing that appears on Google Maps and in the local results. Claim it, then fill in every section: the right category, opening hours, services, a description and your website. Most businesses fill in half of it and stop.
Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere
Google checks that your details match across your website, your Google profile, directories and social media. "High St" in one place and "High Street" in another is fine, but a different phone number or an old address causes confusion. Pick one version and use it everywhere.
Ask happy customers for Google reviews
Reviews help you rank, and they help people choose you. The easiest way to get them is to:
- ask at the right moment, just after you've finished a job well
- send a short message with a direct link to your review page
- reply to every review you get, good or bad.
Mention the towns you serve, naturally
If you work in Brighton, Hove, Worthing and Shoreham, say so on your website. Put it in your homepage, your About page and your service pages, in sentences that read naturally.
Don't stuff a list of 40 towns into your footer. Google ignores it and customers find it off-putting.
Get listed in local directories
Local and trade directories give Google more evidence of where you are and what you do. Start with the ones your customers actually use, any trade or professional bodies you belong to, and local business networks.
TOP TIP: Quality matters more than quantity.
Write clear page titles and descriptions
The page title and description are what people see in the search results. Each page should have its own, saying what the page is about and where you are, for example "Kitchen Fitter in Worthing | Free Quotes". Keep titles under 60 characters so they don't get cut off. In WordPress, plugins like Rank Math or Yoast make this easy.
Add photos of your work, with proper descriptions
Real photos of your work build trust far better than stock images. Add them to your website and your Google profile. On your website, give each one a short description (called alt text), such as "Bathroom renovation in Hove". It helps people using screen readers and tells Google what the image shows.
Make sure your site works well on mobile
Is your website doing this?
Send me the link and I'll tell you the three changes I'd make first.
Most local searches happen on phones, often when someone needs help now. Open your website on your own phone. Is your number easy to tap? Do pages load quickly? Can you read everything without zooming? If not, that's costing you customers.
Write about local projects
A short write-up of a job you've done in a particular town is useful to readers and gives Google more local content. Include a couple of photos, what the customer needed and how you helped. It also gives you something to share on social media.
Check Google Search Console once a month
Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows which searches bring people to your site, which pages appear in results and any problems Google has found. Ten minutes a month is enough to spot what's working and what needs attention.
When to get help
These ten jobs will make a real difference for most small businesses. If your website is slow, hard to use on a phone or difficult to update, though, the problem may be the site itself. My post on the 7 signs you need a website redesign will help you decide. And if you'd like a hand, get in touch. I build websites for businesses across Sussex with local SEO built in from the start.
