Many small businesses have two places online: a Google Business Profile (the listing that shows up in Maps and local search) and a simple website. Customers often see both. When they disagree, for example different hours or an old phone number, people get confused and may call someone else. Here is a short checklist for keeping them in line, based on Google's own help pages.
1. Use the same name, address, phone and hours everywhere
Google's guidance on local results says to keep your profile information complete and accurate, and to keep your hours up to date, including special hours for holidays (Google Business Profile Help: tips to improve your local ranking). Your website should show the same details, written the same way. If you change your hours, update both on the same day.
2. Only show an address if customers come to you
The same help page says to enter your full address when customers visit your location. If you travel to customers (plumbers, cleaners, mobile groomers), list your town or service area instead. Do the same on your website, so you are not inviting people to a home address.
3. Give your page a clear, short title
The page title is the text in the browser tab, and it is often the headline in search results. Google suggests titles that are descriptive and concise, distinct for each page, and free of repeated keywords (Google Search Central: title links). For a one-page site, something like "Business Name | What you do in Town" is usually enough. Avoid titles like "Home" on their own.
4. Use real photos, not stock pictures of strangers
Google recommends adding photos to your profile to show what you offer. Put a few of the same honest photos on your website: your shopfront, your work, your team if they agree. A photo taken on a phone in good light is better than a stock image that doesn't show your business.
5. Link the two together
Add your website address to your Google profile, and on your website make it easy to find you, with a tap-to-call phone link and either a map link or your service area. Google also says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking. Accurate, consistent information is something you can control yourself.
A quick self-check
- Do the phone numbers on your site and your profile match?
- Are your holiday hours on both?
- Does your page title say who you are, what you do and where?
- Is every photo actually of your business?
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