I need to appear on Google.
A one-minute answer, a plain-English fix, and one thing you can do today — pick how you'd like to take it in below.
Two things get you on Google fast: a claimed Google Business Profile (for local searches like "cafe near me") and a clear website (for everything else). Do both. It won't cost you a cent unless you choose to run ads later.
When someone needs a plumber, a dentist, or a wedding florist, they Google it. If you're not on the first page for what you sell in your town, you're invisible. And the first page isn't magic — for local businesses, it's mostly the free Google Business Profile map plus a decent website. Two things. Both free. Most competitors haven't done them.
A wedding florist near Christchurch spent five years making the most beautiful arrangements you've ever seen. Bookings came from friends of friends. She'd never claimed her Google Business Profile. When a bride searched "Christchurch wedding florist," seven other florists appeared on the map before her. She wasn't losing to better florists. She was losing to more visible ones.
Claim your Google Business Profile
Head to google.com/business, search your business, and claim it. Google will send a postcard or call to verify you own it. Once verified, you appear on the map and in "near me" searches.
Fill every field, not just the obvious ones
Hours, address, phone, categories, description, opening photos, product photos, team photos. Google rewards completeness. Empty profiles hide; full ones rise to the top.
Match your business info everywhere
Your business name, address and phone number must be identical on your website, Google, and Facebook. "Ltd" vs "Limited" or "Street" vs "St" confuses Google — it thinks you're two businesses. Pick one version and use it everywhere.
Write a homepage that mentions what you do + where
"Yoga studio in Wellington CBD." "Landscape gardener serving South Auckland." Plain language, in the first sentence. Google reads that and matches you to searchers in your area.
Google your own business name right now.
Type your business name into Google on your phone. What appears? If nothing at all — set up Google Business Profile today. If wrong info appears (old phone number, closed hours from lockdown) — claim the listing and fix it. Ten minutes now saves months of invisibility.
- Google Business Profile puts you on the map — free.
- Your website handles everything else.
- Business name, address and phone must match everywhere — exactly.
- Reviews make you rank higher without any technical work.
You're findable — great. But when people find your social feed, what should they actually see there? That's Topic 04.
Topic 04 — I don't know what to post.