Getting found on Google near you: the simple guide

How Google chooses the businesses it shows near you

Google explains it itself: local results are based on three factors, relevance, distance and prominence.

• Relevance: do your profile and website match what the person is looking for?
• Distance: how far are you from the person, or from the area they typed?
• Prominence: how well known are you? Google looks in particular at your reviews and the websites that mention you.

You can't do anything about distance. The other two factors, however, can be worked on, and that's where most small businesses let customers slip away.

There is no way to pay Google for a better position in the map results. Be wary of anyone who promises you that.

1. A complete, up-to-date Google profile

It's often the first thing your customer sees, even before your website. A complete profile (right category, accurate hours, service area, real photos, detailed services) is more likely to be shown.

A common mistake: adding keywords to the business name ("Dupont Plumbing Cheap Paris"). Google's guidelines forbid it: the name must be the one you actually use.

We go through every field in our guide Google Business Profile: fill it in properly and get more reviews.

2. Regular reviews, requested at the right time

The number of reviews and their rating count towards prominence. But regularity matters just as much: ten reviews in one week and then nothing for a year is less convincing to future customers than one review every fortnight.

The right moment to ask is just after a job well done, while the customer is happy. A text message with a direct link to your profile is enough. And that message can go out automatically the day after every job.

3. A website that talks about your trade and your areas

Your Google profile links to your website, and Google reads your website to understand what you do. It must clearly say:

• which services you offer, ideally with one page per key service ("water heater repair", "boiler servicing"…);
• which areas you actually cover;
• how to reach you, with a phone number people can tap on mobile.

On the technical side, Google recommends fast, mobile-friendly pages, each with its own title and description (Google's SEO starter guide). That's the foundation of any serious website design project.

The pages to plan for: Small business website: the pages that actually make people call.

4. Being mentioned elsewhere: directories, partners, local press

Prominence also grows from the websites that talk about you. For a small business, the most useful ones are often the simplest:

• recognised directories for your trade and region (Chamber of Trades and Crafts, Chamber of Commerce, PagesJaunes…);
• your suppliers, manufacturers or networks that list their approved installers;
• your local business association, the sports club you sponsor, the local press.

Everywhere, use exactly the same name, address and phone number as on your Google profile.

What not to do

• Buying or writing fake reviews: it's forbidden by Google's policy and your profile can be blocked.
• Creating 50 identical pages where only the town name changes: Google treats them as doorway pages and may ignore them.
• Using a different name or phone number from one site to another: Google no longer knows which information to trust.

How long before you see results?

A corrected Google profile can show results within a few weeks. A new website usually takes a few months to find its place. You can track both: your Google profile statistics show calls and direction requests, and Google Search Console shows the searches that lead to your website.

Based in Paris or Île-de-France? Here's how we work on your visibility area by area.