How to Make Your Website Show Up First on Google?

Your Bedford business is good. People who find you love your business

But they're not finding you.

You know customers are searching for what you offer. You see competitors on Google Maps. But you? Invisible.

Here's the truth: It's not your business. It's probably one thing Google can't see.

What Google Needs to Know About You

Google asks three questions to decide if you should rank:

Is your business real and active? If your Google Business Profile looks the same as six months ago—no new photos, old reviews, no recent activity—Google thinks you're closed or sleeping. You fix this in 30 days.

Are you specifically in Bedford? Mention "Bedford" in your description. Say "serving Bedford and surrounding areas." Google needs to know you're LOCAL, not national.

Should Google trust you? This is reviews. 88% of people trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. Recent reviews matter most. A business with 5 reviews from this month ranks higher than one with 50 from three years ago.

What to Do This Week

1. Check your Google Business Profile (search your business name)

2. If it says "not verified," verify it now

3. Add 10 photos from your business (this week)

4. Text/email your last 10 happy customers: "If you're happy with our service, would you mind leaving a Google review? Here's the link: [your review link]"

That's it. Week one done.

Next 4 Weeks

• Ask every customer for a review

• Post once weekly to Google Business Profile (photos, updates, anything showing activity)

• Respond to all reviews within 24 hours

By week 8-12, Google will start showing you higher. By week 12, you should be top 3 on Google Maps for your service in Bedford.

One more thing: Google now uses AI to answer search questions. When someone asks "best [service] in Bedford," Google's AI shows an answer and cites sources. Your optimised Google profile gets cited. That's visibility without ranking.

Want to know what's specifically blocking you on Google? Feel free to contact us here. We'll pull up your profile right now and tell you exactly what's wrong.