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Fix the listing, the page, and a recent review.

For a service business, most of the map result comes from three things you can touch: the Google listing, a page that matches the search, and reviews that are still arriving. Ads come after there is somewhere honest to send the person.

Practitioners who publish local-search surveys still put the Google Business Profile first among the parts you can change, reviews next, and the website just after that. Directory listings, the old citation job, have slipped. Being the closest shop to the person searching is still the largest single influence, and it is the one you cannot buy.

First, the listing

Open the Google listing and read it the way a neighbour would. Is the category the trade you actually sell, or a vague word like contractor? Are the services written the way people search? Are the hours true today, including the holiday? Are the photos of your work?

That is the largest lever you control. The Google listing note goes through each field. Local Presence is the monthly version of the same work: the cleanup, a weekly post, and the calls counted at the end of the month.

Second, the page

If the listing or an ad has nowhere to send a person, the page comes first. One service, the neighbourhoods you cover, the hours, three real photos, and a phone number they can tap. A page about quality and trust does not get the call.

Read what a service page needs, then look at the three site sizes. A landing page is the right size for one service. More than that is a multi-page site.

Third, a review from a job you just finished

A hundred reviews from 2021 do less than a steady few from this season. Ask the day the work is done. Reply within a few days. Do not offer a discount for a star. The review note is the short version, and it matches Google’s content policies.

A competitor with 200 reviews will not be passed in month one. Say that out loud before anyone promises the top of the map.

Then ads, if you need calls this month

Search ads are for someone already looking. Meta is for being seen while people scroll. Both need a page with a phone number. We do not run ads to a page that has none. Spend stays on your card, in an account you own. The fees and the minimums are on the ads page.

What can wait

A long list of directories. A logo. A blog post about the history of the trade. None of those produce Tuesday’s call. Get the listing, the page, and a fresh review into agreement first. Then spend money on ads if the month needs calls before the map can move.

Questions