Getting found by your neighbours

Nobody searches for “hair salon”. People type “hairdresser near me”, or just “hairdresser” on their phone – and Google works out the rest.

What comes up isn’t the usual long list of results. It’s a map with three businesses on it. Being one of those three is what it’s all about.

What gets you there

A complete Google Business Profile. It’s free. Opening hours, photos, services, phone number. The profile decides who appears on the map, more than your website does.

The same contact details everywhere. Your address and phone number must be written exactly the same way on your website, your profile and your Facebook page. Spell your street two different ways in two places, and Google starts to hesitate.

Reviews, on a regular basis. Not fifty in one go: that gets noticed. A few a month, each with a reply from you. It’s the clearest sign that you’re open and active.

Where your website comes in

It confirms what people have seen. Someone finds you on the map, clicks and lands on your site. They should find the same opening hours, the same services and the same prices.

If something doesn’t match, they leave. And if your site takes four seconds to load on a phone, they leave too.

What’s a waste of money

Paying to appear for search terms that nobody in your area ever types.

A local business doesn’t need to exist across the whole of Switzerland. It needs to exist within a ten-kilometre radius. That’s far more achievable – and far cheaper.

If you’d like to know what Google shows today when someone looks you up, drop me a line. I’ll take a look and tell you.