How to Rank Higher on Google: SEO Tips for Small Businesses

On this page

1. How Google decides what ranks
2. Part 1: Ranking higher in the normal search results
3. Part 2: Ranking higher in the local map results
4. Mistakes that stop businesses ranking higher on Google
5. Frequently asked questions

When someone searches for “web designer in Blackburn”, “roofer near me” or “hairdresser in Preston”, they rarely look past the first handful of results. Google shows two kinds: the normal search results, and for local searches, a map with a few nearby businesses. Being near the top of either is one of the most valuable spots a business can have, because people searching like this are often ready to call, visit or buy.

So how do you climb? This guide explains how to rank higher on Google, step by step: first how to move your website up the normal results, then how to get into the local map results too.

How Google decides what ranks

Google’s job is to show the most useful result for each search. In practice, that comes down to a few things:

• Relevance: does your page clearly answer what the person searched for?
• Quality: is the content genuinely helpful, accurate and better than the alternatives?
• Experience: does the page load quickly and work well on a phone?
• Trust: do other websites link to you, and do customers leave you good reviews?

Everything below improves one or more of these. None of it is a trick, and that’s the point: the businesses that rank well over time are the ones that do the basics properly and keep going.

Part 1: Ranking higher in the normal search results

Step 1: Pick the searches you want to win

Start with the phrases your customers actually type. Think in terms of what you do and where, such as “kitchen fitter Accrington” or “Shopify developer UK”, rather than one-word terms like “kitchens”. Specific searches are easier to rank for, and the people making them usually know what they want.

Step 2: Give each service its own page

One page that lists everything you do can’t rank well for all of it. A dedicated page for each main service gives Google a clear match for each search, and gives visitors exactly what they came for.

Step 3: Get the on-page basics right

For every important page:

• put the main search phrase in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph, naturally,
• write a meta description that makes people want to click,
• use clear subheadings that break the page into sections,
• describe your images with alt text,
• link to your other relevant pages, so visitors and Google can find them.

Don’t overdo it. Repeating a phrase again and again reads badly, and Google treats it as spam.

Step 4: Make your site fast and mobile-friendly

Most searches happen on phones, and a slow site loses visitors before they’ve seen what you offer. Our guide to website speed and SEO shows what Google measures and how we got our own site showing its first content three times faster.

Step 5: Publish helpful content regularly

Guides that answer your customers’ real questions give Google more reasons to show your site, and give people a reason to trust you before they get in touch. Write about what you’re asked every week, and keep older pages up to date.

Step 6: Earn links from other websites

When reputable websites link to yours, it tells Google your business is established and trusted. Good sources include suppliers, partners, local news, community groups and trade associations (think a Ribble Valley business network, or sponsoring a cricket club in Whalley or Longridge). Never buy links: it breaks Google’s spam policies and can push your site down instead of up.

Part 2: Ranking higher in the local map results

For searches with local intent, Google also shows a map with a handful of businesses, often above the normal results. Google’s guide to local ranking says: “Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity.” You can’t move closer to every customer, so the work focuses on relevance and how well known you are. Google says prominence is “also based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.”

Step 7: Claim and complete your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is the listing that appears on the map. Claim and verify it, choose the primary category that best describes your main service, and add secondary categories only where they genuinely apply. Google is clear that “Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.” So fill in everything you can:

• your real business name, without extra keywords,
• your address, or the areas you serve (for a mobile trade, that might be Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington and Darwen),
• phone number, website and opening hours,
• a description of what you do and where,
• your services, plus real photos of your work, team and premises.

Step 8: Get more reviews, and reply to every one

Reviews are one of the clearest signals you can influence. In Google’s words: “More reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking.”

• Ask every happy customer, just after you’ve finished a job or delivered an order. A short link or QR code makes it easy.
• Reply to every review, good or bad. As Google puts it: “When you reply to customer reviews, it shows that you value their feedback.”
• Never buy or fake reviews. It’s against Google’s policies and can get your profile suspended.

An automated review request email is one of the easiest ways to collect more reviews without having to remember to ask.

Step 9: Keep your details consistent and your profile active

Make sure your business name, address and phone number match exactly on your website, your profile and any directories you’re listed on. Then keep the profile active with updates, offers and new photos.

Mistakes that stop businesses ranking higher on Google

• Keyword stuffing. Cramming a phrase into every sentence, or adding “Best Plumber Burnley” to your business name, breaks Google’s guidelines.
• Buying links or reviews. It can get your site demoted or your profile suspended.
• Thin, copied pages. Near-identical pages for every town, with only the place name changed, rarely help and can count against you.
• A slow, outdated website. Even great content struggles if the page is painful to use on a phone.
• Giving up too early. SEO builds over months. Our guide to how long SEO takes explains what to expect.

If you’d rather have someone handle this for you, take a look at our SEO service.

Searches with a place in them work a little differently, so see how local SEO works, and set up your Google Business Profile properly.

Frequently asked questions