How to get your business on Google

The three separate places a business can appear on Google in Australia, and the order to tackle them if you're starting from nothing.

"Getting on Google" isn't one job. There are three different places you can appear, they're won in different ways, and starting with the wrong one wastes months.

1. The map results

The block of businesses with a map above them. This comes from your Google Business Profile, it's free, and for most local service businesses it's the highest-value spot on the page. Proximity, category and reviews decide who appears. Start here.

2. The normal blue links

These come from your website. They take longer, they need real pages with real content, and they're how you get found for the specific things you do rather than just your trade in general.

3. The ads at the top

Instant, and you pay per click. Worth it when you need work now or you're testing whether a service sells, but only once the page you're sending people to is ready.

The order that works

+Claim and complete your Google Business Profile
+Get a website live with a page per service and your service areas named
+Set up Search Console and submit your sitemap
+Collect reviews consistently from week one
+Only then consider ads

How long it takes

The map listing can start producing calls within a fortnight of being completed. Organic rankings for competitive terms take months. Ads work the day you switch them on. Any one who promises page one in a week is selling ads and calling it SEO.

Next step

Google Business & Search Setup

Written by

Chloe Yates

Founder & Digital Marketing Consultant

I've started my own businesses over the years, and every time you learn the same lesson: none of this information is easy to find when you need it. Which path to take, which tools are worth paying for, whether the website builder you picked will still suit you in two years, it's all guesswork until you've made the mistakes yourself.

More about me →