Google is the Yellow Pages, the phone book, and the front page of the newspaper — all rolled into one. When someone in your area needs a service you provide, there’s a very good chance they’re going to Google it.
So what does Google actually see when it looks at your business? Let’s walk through it in plain language.
Layer 1: Your Google Business Profile
This is the listing that appears in Google Maps and the “local pack” — those three businesses that show up with a map when you search for something local.
If you don’t have a Google Business Profile (GBP), you’re invisible in Maps. If you do have one, here’s what Google looks at:
- Is it complete? Name, address, phone, hours, website, business category, service area — all filled out. Google favours complete listings over incomplete ones.
- Is it accurate? If your hours say you’re open until 5 PM but you actually close at 3, Google notices (through user behavior data). Inconsistent information hurts your ranking.
- Does it have reviews? The number of reviews, the average rating, and how recently they were posted all matter. A business with 47 reviews at 4.8 stars ranks higher than one with 3 reviews at 5.0.
- Does it have photos? Businesses with photos get 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to their website, according to Google’s own data.
- Are you responding to reviews? Google tracks whether you engage with customers. Responding to reviews (especially negative ones) signals that you’re an active, responsive business.
Quick win: If you haven’t claimed and fully filled out your Google Business Profile, do that today. It’s free and takes about 30 minutes. Go to business.google.com.
Layer 2: Your website (or lack thereof)
Google’s search algorithm looks at your website to understand what you do, where you do it, and whether you’re a credible source of information.
Here’s what it’s evaluating:
Page titles and headings
Every page on your website has a title tag (what shows up in the browser tab and in search results) and headings (the big text on the page). Google reads these to understand what each page is about.
If your homepage title is “Welcome to Our Website,” Google has no idea what you do. If it’s “Emergency Plumbing Services in Scarborough | Smith Plumbing,” Google knows exactly what you do and where.
One page per service
This is where most small business websites fail. They have one “Services” page that lists everything. The problem is that Google ranks pages, not websites. If you want to rank for “drain repair Scarborough” and “water heater installation Scarborough,” those need to be separate pages.
Each service page should have:
- A title that includes the service and location
- A description of the specific service
- Why someone should hire you for it
- Your service area
Mobile experience
Google uses mobile-first indexing. That means it looks at the mobile version of your site first. If your site doesn’t work well on a phone — slow, hard to read, buttons too small to tap — Google demotes you.
Over 60% of local searches happen on mobile devices. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re losing the majority of your potential traffic.
Page speed
We wrote a whole post about this, but the short version: Google measures how fast your site loads and uses it as a ranking factor. Slow sites rank lower.
Content freshness
Google pays attention to whether your site is actively maintained. A site that was last updated in 2022 signals neglect. Regular updates — even small ones like adding a new project photo or publishing a blog post — tell Google the business is active.
Layer 3: What other websites say about you
Google doesn’t just look at what you say about yourself. It looks at what other websites say about you. This is called “off-page SEO” and it includes:
Citations
Every place your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) appears online is a “citation.” This includes:
- Yellow Pages
- Yelp
- Industry directories
- Local chamber of commerce
- Facebook business page
Consistency matters. If your address is “123 Main St” in one place and “123 Main Street” in another, Google gets confused. Make sure your NAP is identical everywhere.
Backlinks
When another website links to your website, Google treats it as a vote of confidence. The more relevant, trustworthy sites that link to you, the more authority Google gives your site.
For local businesses, good backlink sources include:
- Local news sites
- Community organizations
- Industry associations
- Supplier or partner websites
You don’t need hundreds of backlinks. A handful of quality, relevant links from local sources can make a real difference.
Layer 4: What your competitors are doing
Google doesn’t rank you in a vacuum. It ranks you relative to your competition. If three other plumbers in Scarborough have:
- Complete Google Business Profiles with 50+ reviews
- Fast, mobile-friendly websites with individual service pages
- Blog content answering common customer questions
- Consistent citations across the web
…and you have a one-page site from 2019 with no reviews, Google has no reason to show you first.
The good news? In many local markets, most businesses are doing very little. A small amount of effort can put you ahead of the pack.
What you can do today
Here’s a prioritized list of actions, from fastest to most impactful:
- Claim and complete your Google Business Profile. Free. 30 minutes.
- Ask your last 10 happy customers for a Google review. Send them a direct link. Free. 5 minutes per request.
- Check your site speed at pagespeed.web.dev. If it’s below 70, you know there’s a problem.
- Audit your page titles. Does every page clearly say what service it’s about and where you’re located?
- Check your citations. Search for your business name and make sure your address and phone are consistent everywhere.
These five steps cost nothing and can make a measurable difference in how Google sees your business.
When to bring in help
If you don’t have a website, need a new one, or want someone to handle the SEO side of things — that’s what we do. We build websites and search strategies specifically for trades businesses and local service companies in the GTA.
Message us on WhatsApp and we’ll tell you what Google actually sees when it looks at your business today. No charge for the assessment.