Business owners should all know just how important it is that their website or business shows up on Google.
Nowadays, almost everyone googles the name of a company before deciding whether or not to do business with it. So potential customers need an easy way to find out about your company and its products or services.
Even if you own a brick-and-mortar store and you don’t conduct business online, you will attract more customers if they can easily find your business’ location.
But getting your business to show up on the world’s largest search engine is easier said than done!
If that’s what you’re having trouble with, don’t worry. We’ll show you what additions and changes you can make to your online presence to make your business more visible and discoverable.
Below, we have several reasons why your business might not be showing up on Google—and how you can fix them.
Google Business Profile
Your first task is to look at your Google Business Profile (previously called “Google My Business listing”).
If any essential information—think address, operating hours, phone number, health and safety measures—is wrong or missing, that’s likely your biggest issue.
Your Google Business Profile needs to be filled out and up to date.
You will also need to go through the Business Profile verification process, which can be a bit cumbersome but is also an important step in verifying the authenticity of your business and getting visibility on Google’s platforms.
As Google states, there are a few ways to verify your business, including phone or text, email, video recording, live video call, and even postcard.
In rare cases, if you have a website and that website is already verified in Google Search Console, your Google Business Profile might get instant verification.
Learn more about the verification options here.
Enriching Your Business Profile
If you want your business to show up on Google, it’s best to go through the steps to verify your Google Business Profile.
After all, Google is much more likely to promote real businesses, and a real business is one that’s gone through the hassle of verification.
Don’t just limit your business profile to the essentials, like operating hours or phone number. Make sure to link out to your company’s website—it’s a vital part of your online presence!
As we already touched on, your business information should be accurate, complete, and up-to-date. Set a reminder in your calendar to revisit your Business Profile every three months and make sure everything there’s up to date.
Ensure Your Business Abides All Of Google Guidelines
You’ll need to be honest and transparent about your business if you want it to show up on Google.
There are a few guidelines you’ll need to familiarize yourself with and follow, the most important of which are the Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
The key takeaways are to represent your business accurately, as it’s represented and recognized in the actual world.
If you violate Google’s rules, you’ll be sent a message in the Google account you use to manage your business profile to let you know that the business has been disabled or, worse, banned.
You should abide by all of Google’s guidelines. Otherwise, Google might actively work to remove your website from its local search results and search engine results page.
So make sure all information is precise and accurate. And only create one profile per business. When in doubt, ask a question in the Google Business Profile Help Community. You will be surprised about how quickly somebody can give you a detailed and helpful answer!
Getting Seen
There are a few things that you should be aware of about how Google indexes pages that can help your website to get seen.
Remember that some people will search directly for your business, or businesses in your field—but other people will be looking for advice, and getting on those search results pages is a great way to attract people to your site!
Choose The Right Google Business Profile Categories
You should select the most relevant category for your business. If you have accidentally or purposely selected an irrelevant category, Google is less likely to include your listing in local searches.
Register Your Website With Google Search Console
Registering your website with Google Search Console is a must.
It tells Google that you are the rightful owner of that website, and it can give it a nudge to crawl and index your website’s content so that it shows up on the search results pages.
The process involves a technical verification that the website and domain name you’re registering truly belong to you. If you’re not sure how to do this, Google will give you instructions.
If these instructions speak nothing to you, send them to your developer. They will know what to do in order to verify your website ownership in Google Search Console.
Tap Into The Power Of Local Social Media
You can use social media to increase your business’ and its website’s visibility online.
If you don’t have much of a social media presence for your business, think about creating a Facebook page and an Instagram profile for it. If you own a local business or a tourist business, don’t forget Yelp and Tripadvisor.
We’ve even written a guide on how to get your business listed on Alexa.
Social media helps you show up on Google because your business’ name is on more than one platform. The more social media presence you have, the more likely you are for your profiles to show up on Page 1 when somebody searches.
Start A Blog
Starting a blog—just like this one—can be a great way to get people interested in what you have to offer.
No matter what kind of business you have, chances are your potential customers are searching for answers. Very few, if any, of your competitors are giving to them right now.
Do you own a light bulb store?
We bet you can think of at least a dozen questions that customers ask you in person every day that you can write about!
For example, what’s the best light bulb for a bathroom? What’s a good wattage for a light bulb (for the living room, the dining room, the bedroom, the garage)? Are smart light bulbs worth it?
By creating a blog and writing about the things that your potential customers are googling every day, you’re increasing your chances of getting found because you’re no longer limiting your promotional activities to your business’ name.
Instead, you’re creating helpful content that helps your potential customers get their questions answered and learn how to do things. Guess who will be the first one to come to mind when they need a product or service for getting these things done?
Common Problems
Of course, there are always other things that you should be aware of when listing your business website on Google.
Here are a few handy tips on how to deal with them!
Your Website Is Brand New
When you’re just getting started with building up your online presence, patience is key.
Your competitors have been around longer than you have, and they’ve probably already built up some authority and relevance on Google.
Temper your expectations and don’t expect to be found right away.
Sometimes, it can take 6-9 months for your website to start showing up on Google, even if you’re done everything properly and verified your ownership of it in Google Search Console.
To get traction, link out to your website from your Google Business Profile and request reviews from as many satisfied clients as you can.
Join your local business association and ask them to link out to your website. Donate to a local non-profit and ask them to add a link to the site in their Facebook or Instagram post when they announce the donation.
You Let Your Domain or Hosting Expire
Suppose you paid somebody to create a website for your business.
It was up and running for one year, and then they forgot to tell you that the domain name and web hosting service need to be renewed.
If that’s the case, your website will get taken down by the hosting company and your domain name, unless you renew it within the grace period, will be taken to auction for other people to buy.
Never let your domain name or hosting subscription plan expire if you want to keep your website showing up on Google. If needed, set a reminder in your calendar so you won’t forget to renew them.
Your Business Has Moved
You should update your Google Business Profile and other listings as soon as possible if your business has moved.
Make sure that you’ve got the right address, operating hours, and phone number. And don’t forget about your website! Change any outdated information as soon as you possibly can.
Conclusion
Making sure your business is visible and easy to find on Google is so important.
Hopefully, this guide has helped you to learn more about how to get your business seen on Google!
