Google Business Profile: How Local Businesses Get Found on Google Maps

When someone searches "barber near me", "cleaner in Ewell" or "plumber Epsom", Google usually shows a map with three local businesses before any website. Those businesses are chosen largely from their Google Business Profile. For most local businesses, it is the single most valuable free marketing tool available — and most profiles are only half finished.

What Google looks at

Google ranks local results on three broad factors:

• Relevance — how well your profile matches what the person searched for.
• Distance — how close you are to the searcher or the area they searched.
• Prominence — how well known and trusted your business appears, including reviews and links from around the web.

You cannot change where you are, but you can improve relevance and prominence a great deal.

Step 1: Claim and verify your profile

Search for your business on Google Maps. If a profile already exists, claim it; if not, create one at business.google.com. Verification can take a few days, so start early. If you work from home and visit customers, set yourself up as a service-area business and hide your address.

Step 2: Choose the right categories

Your primary category is one of the strongest signals you control. Pick the most specific option that describes your main service — for example "Barber shop" rather than "Beauty salon", or "Website designer" rather than "Marketing agency". Add a small number of secondary categories for other genuine services.

Step 3: Fill in every field

• Business name exactly as it appears on your signage — adding keywords to the name breaks Google's guidelines.
• Opening hours, including holiday hours.
• Services, with descriptions and starting prices where it makes sense.
• Service areas — the towns you cover, such as Epsom, Ewell, Ashtead or Leatherhead.
• Website link to the most relevant page on your site.
• Description explaining what you do and who you help, in plain language.

Step 4: Add real photos regularly

Profiles with genuine, recent photos tend to get more clicks and calls. Add your premises, your team, your work and before-and-after shots. Stock images do little; real photos of real work build trust.

Step 5: Build a steady flow of reviews

Reviews affect both your ranking and whether people choose you. A handful of recent reviews often matters more than a large number from years ago.

• Ask every happy customer, ideally straight after the job, using the "Ask for reviews" link in your profile.
• Make it easy: send the link by WhatsApp or text.
• Reply to every review, positive or negative, politely and specifically.
• Never buy reviews or offer incentives — it breaks Google's rules and can get reviews removed.

Step 6: Post updates

Google Business Profile lets you publish short posts with a photo — new work, offers, seasonal services or useful tips. A post every week or two shows customers, and Google, that the business is active.

Step 7: Make your website back it up

Your profile and your website should tell the same story. Use the same business name, phone number and address everywhere, include your towns and services on the relevant pages, and add structured data so search engines can connect the two. A fast, mobile-friendly website with clear calls to action also turns more profile visitors into enquiries.

This is exactly what we build into every website at DAEDALUS, a web design studio in Epsom. You can read more about our approach to local SEO in Epsom.

Keep your details consistent across the web

List your business on a few trusted directories — such as Yell, Bing Places and Apple Business Connect — with exactly the same details as your profile. Consistency helps search engines trust that your information is correct.

Want a second opinion?

If you would like us to look at your website and Google presence together, request a free website audit and we will reply with three practical improvements.