When someone searches for a plumber, a nail bar or a bookkeeper, Google tries to show businesses near them. You cannot buy your way into the unpaid map results, but you can give Google, and the person searching, every reason to pick you. These steps work the same in Cape Town, Manchester or Denver.

1. Claim and finish your Google Business Profile

This is the listing that shows on Google Maps and in the local results, and it is free. Claim it, verify it and fill in everything:

  • the category that best describes what you do, plus any extra categories that genuinely fit;
  • your address, or the areas you serve if you go to your clients;
  • your hours, phone number and website;
  • your services, with a short description of each;
  • real photos of your work, your premises and your team.

2. Use the same details everywhere

Your business name, address and phone number should read the same on your website, your Google profile, Facebook and any directories. Small differences make it harder for Google to be sure they are all you.

3. Ask every happy client for a review

Reviews help you show up and they help people choose. Ask straight after the job, while the client is pleased, and send the link so it takes them a minute. Reply to every review politely, good or bad. Never buy reviews or write your own: it breaks Google's rules and can get your listing removed.

4. Give each service its own page

People search for the job, not for your business name: "geyser replacement", "gel nails", "wedding photographer". A page for each service you offer, saying what it is, who it is for and where you work, gives you a far better chance of showing up for those searches than one page that lists everything.

5. Mention your areas honestly

Say which suburbs and towns you serve, in normal sentences. If you genuinely do a lot of work in one area, a page about that area with real examples can help. Dozens of copy-and-paste pages that only swap the place name do not; Google treats them as spam.

6. Make it easy to act on a phone

Most local searches happen on a phone. Your site should load quickly, show your number and a WhatsApp button without scrolling, and let people book or ask for a quote in a few taps.

7. Keep it fresh

Update your hours for public holidays, add new photos and post an update on your profile now and then. An active listing looks like an active business.

How SilverLion helps

Every site the builder generates has a page for each service you offer and is set up to be found on Google. The Launch plan includes setting up your Google Business Profile, and the Review requests module asks for a review after every job. Find your industry to see what your site would include.