Getting found
Google is mostly trying to figure out two things: what you do, and where you do it. Most small businesses lose because nobody ever told Google either one clearly.
How it works
When somebody searches for what you do, the results page has two halves, and then there’s what happens after the click.
1
The little map with three businesses under it, right at the top.
On a phone this is most of the first screen, and it is where “pest control near me” type searches usually end. It comes from your Google Business Profile, not your website.
What moves it
2
The list of websites underneath the map.
This is where your website competes. Google reads the words on your pages, so a page that names the service and the town beats a single page that tries to cover everything.
What moves it
3
Whether the person calls you or hits the back button.
Ranking is only half of it. If your number is hard to find or the site is slow, the visit is wasted. Calls matter, not positions.
What moves it
The work
No secret sauce. It’s a checklist, done properly, and then kept up.
All of this is built into the Local Pro package, and the care plan keeps it going. Already have a site? A search tune-up on someone else’s site starts at $750.
Timing
Straight talk
Questions
Small things can move in a few weeks, especially in smaller towns. Give it three to six months for the bigger searches. Reviews tend to speed everything up.
Usually not. For most service businesses, solid pages for each service and town do more than a blog nobody reads. If you like writing, that is a bonus, not a requirement.
Ads buy you the top spot as long as you keep paying. Search results keep working after you stop. Many businesses start with a small ad budget while the search side catches up.
Often, yes. I will look at it for free and tell you honestly whether it is worth fixing or worth replacing.
That is a new page. On the care plan it is usually included, and larger additions are quoted up front.
Yes. The domain, the website and the Google profile are in your name. If you ever leave, you take it all with you.
Tell me your business name and town. I’ll search the way your customers do, take screenshots of what I find, and walk you through it. No charge, no pitch.