Can I pay Google for a higher spot on the map?

No. Google's own help page says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. Anyone offering a guaranteed place on the map is promising something Google says can't be bought.

Does my website matter if I already have a Google Business Profile?

It can. Google says relevance is how well you match a search, and prominence includes how many websites link to you. A website that states your services and towns clearly, and gets links from real local places, supports both. Google doesn't say how much weight each piece carries.

Is it okay to offer customers a discount for a review?

No. Google's policy says reviews can't be paid for directly or in kind, or posted because of an incentive, and it removes fake engagement. Ask every customer, reply to what comes back, and leave it at that.

What actually helps you get found locally, beyond your Google Business Profile

You’ve set up your Google Business Profile, added a few photos, maybe got a couple of reviews. Then you search for what you do in your own town and someone else turns up first. It’s frustrating.

The good news is that Google is fairly open about how it decides. The less good news is that the profile is only part of it.

How Google picks who to show

Google’s own help page on local ranking boils it down to three things:

Relevance: how well you match what someone searched for.
Distance: how far you are from them.
Prominence: how well known you are. Google says this includes how many websites link to you and how many reviews you have.

It also says, in plain words: “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.” So if someone rings you offering a guaranteed top spot on the map, you can put the phone down.

The bit you can’t change

Distance is what it is. If someone in Wrexham searches for a plumber and you’re based in Denbigh, a plumber round the corner from them will usually have the edge. There’s no point fighting that.

Relevance and prominence are different, and that’s where the work is. Both are partly decided by things away from your profile, especially your website, other sites that mention you, and your reviews.

Seven things that actually help

None of this is clever. Most of it is finishing jobs you’ve half started.

1. Finish your profile properly. Fill in every section, keep your opening hours right (bank holidays included), and add real photos of your work, your premises and your team. Google lists all of these in its own tips.

2. Ask everyone for a review. Every customer, not only the ones you know were delighted. Google’s rules say businesses mustn’t pick and choose who they ask. Then reply to each review, good or bad, briefly and politely.

3. Claim your Bing and Apple listings too. Not everyone uses Google. Bing has its own business listing at bing.com/forbusiness, and Apple’s is now called Apple Business. Apple says it’s free, and you start by claiming your spot on Apple Maps.

4. Use the same name, address and phone number everywhere. On your website, your Google profile, Facebook and any directory you’re listed in. Google doesn’t spell out how much this matters, but it’s widely recommended, and it stops customers ringing an old number.

5. Make your website say what you do and where. “Electrician serving Ruthin, Mold and the Vale of Clwyd” tells a customer, and Google, far more than “Quality electrical services”. It has to work properly on a phone too, because plenty of customers will look you up on one. If you cover several towns, give each one a proper page of its own.

6. Get mentioned by real local places. Links from other websites count towards prominence, and the best ones come from real connections: a supplier who lists their trade customers, the football club you sponsor, your local chamber of trade, a write-up in the local paper. They take a bit of effort, which is exactly why they count.

7. Steer clear of the shortcuts. You’ll be offered a few, and they all break Google’s rules:

Stuffing keywords into your business name. Calling yourself “Smith’s Plumbing Best Emergency Plumber Ruthin” can get your profile suspended.
Paying for reviews, or offering anything in return for one. A discount or a free coffee for a five-star review counts, and Google removes them.
Buying links. Google treats paid links as spam.

A suspended profile drops off Google until it’s sorted out, and a shortcut can cost you far more than it ever gained.

If you’re planning a new website

If your current site already gets you some enquiries from Google, read our guide to redesigning without losing your rankings before you change anything.

Free help near you

Each area around us has a publicly funded business support service, and they’re worth a phone call. We’ve no connection with any of them:

North Wales: Business Wales offers fully funded advice for starting and growing a business.
Chester and Cheshire: the Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub. We’ve written a fuller guide to free business support in Chester.
Manchester: GC Business Growth Hub, much of whose support is free.
Liverpool: Growth Platform, the city region’s growth hub.

Where we come in

We’re a small, fairly new studio in Ruthin, so we won’t pretend we’ve got years of local rankings to show off. What we can do is get your website right: clear about what you do and where, quick on a phone, and with the same details as your Google profile. If you work across Wrexham, Chester or Denbighshire, each area can have its own page written for it. That’s what our search-ready foundations are about.

If you’d like an honest opinion on what your current site is missing, get in touch. If the answer is “not much”, we’ll tell you.