Google Business Profile and your website: how to get found locally

A barber opens a new shop on a side street. A few streets away, a man types "barber near me" into his phone. Whether he sees the new shop depends on a small card on Google, not first of all on the website. The website still matters, though, and it helps to know why.

How Google chooses local results

Google's own help page, Tips to improve your local ranking (opened 4 November 2026), says local results are mainly based on three things:

• Relevance: how well a profile matches what someone is searching for. Google's advice is to provide complete and detailed business info.
• Distance: how far the business is from the person searching. You cannot change this by writing more.
• Prominence: how well known a business is. Google says it is also based on how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have. More reviews and positive ratings can help.

The same page says: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." Anyone who sells you a guaranteed first place on the map is selling something Google says does not exist. Ads are a different product.

Claim the profile and fill it in

Search for your business name and city in Google Maps. Per Google's page on adding or claiming a profile, if a profile exists but nobody has verified it, choose Claim this business, then Manage now, and pick a verification option. If there is none, go to business.google.com/add, enter your details and verify. The tips page above adds that verification tells Google you are authorised to represent the business, which makes the profile more likely to appear. If someone else already verified it, you can request ownership from them.

Then fill in everything the form offers, because Google says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up. For a dentist or a barber that means:

• the exact name, as it is on the door
• the address, the phone number and the opening hours, including holidays
• the main category that best describes the work, plus the services you offer
• real photos of the premises and the work
• the link to your website

What the website adds

The help page does not say your website is a ranking factor. It does say links from other websites feed prominence, and a website is the thing others link to. Beyond that, our advice is practical:

• The same name, address and phone everywhere. Profile, website, Facebook, directories. If the website says "Novak Dental s.r.o." and the profile says "Novak Dental", people and machines wonder if it is one business.
• A page per service. Someone searching "dental hygiene" should land on a page about dental hygiene, with the price list, the duration and a button to book. This helps relevance, because the match between search and page is clearer. It is our reasoning, not a Google rule.
• A link both ways. The profile links to the site, and the site shows the address, a map and the opening hours in plain text, not only in an image.
• Structured data. Google's LocalBusiness documentation explains that you can describe your business in a hidden block of code on the page, so Google can read the hours and details reliably. It requires the name and address. It recommends the telephone, the page address, the opening hours, the coordinates and the price range. Google says this can make details appear in knowledge panels and carousels, not that it guarantees them. Test the page with Google's Rich Results Test. Ask your web person whether it is there.
• A fast mobile page. Someone who finds you on the map usually opens the site on a phone, so see our 2-minute speed check.

If you only have a Facebook page today, read website or Facebook first.

A worked example

A dental practice checks its details. The profile says "Novak Dental", the phone ends in 412, hours until 17:00. The website footer says "Novak Dental s.r.o.", a phone ending in 421 and hours until 18:00, and Facebook still shows the old address. Three sources, three answers. The fix takes half an hour: choose one correct version and copy it everywhere. A patient who calls the wrong number does not leave a review. They may book somewhere else.

Reviews, asked honestly

Google's review help page says you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code, and that they need a Google account. Its content policy is clear on the limits: no payment, discounts or gifted goods for a review, no selectively asking only the happy customers, and no pressure to write one on the premises. Ask everyone, in the same way, for an honest opinion.

A simple habit: after the visit, send the same text message with the review link to every customer. Reply to every review, the bad ones too. Google says replies show you value feedback, and that a mix of feedback can seem more trustworthy.

A 15-minute routine, once a month

1. Search your own business name on your phone. Check the phone number, the hours and the photos on the card.
2. Update holiday hours and any change of service.
3. Add two fresh photos.
4. Reply to new reviews.
5. Compare name, address and phone on the website with the profile.
6. Open the website on your phone and tap the call button. Does it work?

That is all the upkeep this needs. If you want the website side done for you, our packages are listed on the prices page.