Search for almost any local business on your phone and the first thing you see is not a website. It is a box with a map, opening hours, photos and a star rating. That box is a Google Business Profile, and it is free. Most small businesses have one whether they set it up or not. Far fewer have finished it.
Why it matters so much
That box is often the first impression a new customer gets. If the hours are wrong, they turn up to a locked door. If there are no photos, they pick the place next to you that has some. If the phone number is missing, they ring someone else.
It also matters for reviews. 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, according to BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey of 1,002 US adults, and 54% visit the business website after reading positive ones. Your Google Business Profile is where most of those reviews live.
How to claim your Google Business Profile
- Search Google for your business name and town. If a box appears with "Own this business?", click it. If nothing appears, go to Google Business Profile and add it.
- Verify that you are the owner. Google usually sends a code by post, phone or video. It takes a few days.
- Choose the right category. "Barber shop", "Café", "Car repair and maintenance". Be specific, because this is how Google decides which searches you appear in.
- Fill in everything. Address, phone, hours, including holidays. Google rewards complete profiles and people trust them.
- Add real photos. Your shopfront, the inside, your work, you. Phone photos in good light are fine.
Then keep it alive. Reply to reviews, even the short ones. Update the hours when they change. Post the occasional photo.
Link it to your website
This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that makes the biggest difference. Your profile has a "Website" button. Put your web address in it.
Now the two work together. Someone finds your reviews on the map, taps through to your website, and sees your menu or prices and a big button to book. Someone on your website sees your reviews and trusts you more. Google and the AI tools that read Google also see a business with a complete profile and a matching website, which is the kind of consistency they like.
What if you don't have a website yet?
Then the profile is doing all the work on its own, and it can only do so much. It can't show your full menu. It can't explain what makes you different. It can't take someone from "that looks nice" to "I've booked" in one tap.
That is where a small website comes in. Five pages, built for phones, set up for Google and AI search, and linked to your Google Business Profile as standard. One-off £595, no monthly fees, and you see it before you pay. Here's how it works, or tell me about your business and I'll build yours this week.
