7 Ways to Make Sure Customers Click Your Website in Google's AI Answers

You've probably noticed it yourself. You search for something on Google and, before any websites, there's a block of AI-written text that answers the question for you. If you run a local business, that raises a worrying thought: if Google answers the question, does anyone still click through to my website?

Google has just made a change that helps. On 15 October 2026 it announced it is putting more website links inside its AI answers, and showing them higher up. This guide explains what changed, what it means for a trade or local service business, and seven practical things you can do so that when Google links to someone, it's you.

What Google has changed

Google's AI answers come in two forms. AI Overviews are the summaries that appear at the top of normal search results. AI Mode is a separate tab where people can ask longer questions and have a back-and-forth conversation, a bit like a chat.

In its announcement on the Google blog, Google set out five changes. The ones that matter most for a local business are:

• More links inside the answer. Google says it has made "continued and substantial increases" to links that sit within the words of the AI answer, and is showing them higher up more often.
• An "official site" section (a test for now). For some tasks, Google is testing a short section at the top of the answer that points to the one or two official pages that handle that task, with a line on why each is useful.
• Bigger, more clickable links at the end. The links at the bottom of some AI answers now come with image thumbnails and a design that's easier to tap.

Google hasn't said how many more links there will be, and the official-site section is still a test. So treat this as a direction of travel, not a promise.

Why this matters if you sell to people nearby

AI answers aren't a niche thing any more. Ofcom's research, published in December 2025, found that about 30% of searches now show AI overviews, and 53% of UK adults say they often see these summaries. Most people didn't go looking for them. Google just shows them.

Think about the searches your customers make. "How much does it cost to replace a few roof tiles?" "Do I need a Gas Safe engineer to move a radiator?" "How often should an office be deep cleaned?" Questions like these now often get an AI answer, and the person reading it is already halfway to picking up the phone.

Here's the cost of getting it wrong. Say a homeowner in Guildford asks about a leaking flat roof. Google's answer explains the likely causes and links to two websites. One is a roofer in the next town with a clear page on flat roof repairs. The other is a national advice site. Your website isn't there, so you never knew that job existed. You didn't lose it to a better roofer. You lost it to a clearer web page.

How Google decides which websites to link to

Google's own guidance for site owners says there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. The AI answers draw on the same search index and the same quality checks as normal results. To be eligible, a page needs to be in Google's index and allowed to show a snippet (the short description under a search result).

Google's newer guide to generative AI search goes further. In plain English, it says:

• Normal search basics still apply.
• You don't need special AI files, special code or rewritten "AI-friendly" text.
• Original, first-hand content stands out. Generic articles that repeat what everyone else says add little.
• Churning out lots of near-identical pages to catch every search variation can break Google's spam rules.
• Local businesses should keep their Google Business Profile accurate.

That's good news for a local trade. You can't out-spend a national brand, but you can out-know them. Your experience of local jobs is exactly what Google says it wants.

If you want to be named by AI tools generally, not just linked, our earlier guide on how to get recommended by ChatGPT and Google's AI covers listings, reviews and local mentions. This post focuses on your website and on earning the click.

1. Make sure Google can actually read and show your pages

What you gain: you're in the running at all. If Google can't read a page, it can't link to it.

Common problems are a "hide from search engines" setting left switched on after a website build, and key information shown only inside images.

Do this today (about 15 minutes):

1. Go to Google and type site: followed by your web address, with no space. For example: site:yourbusiness.co.uk. You'll see the pages Google has in its index.
2. Check your main service pages are listed. If your website has ten pages and Google shows two, something is wrong.
3. Look at your home page. Are your services, phone number and the areas you cover written as normal text, or only inside a picture or banner? Google reads text far more reliably.
4. If you have Google Search Console set up, use the URL Inspection tool on your most important page. It will tell you if the page is indexed.

If pages are missing, ask whoever built your website to check.

2. Answer the real question near the top of the page

What you gain: your page is a natural fit for the answer Google is writing, and visitors find what they came for straight away.

AI answers are built around questions. If someone asks how much a boiler service costs and your page answers it in the first few lines, you've given Google a clear reason to link to you. Bury the answer under three paragraphs of "we pride ourselves on quality", and you haven't.

Start with the five questions you're asked most on the phone. Then make sure each one is answered clearly on the relevant page, in your own words, using what you know from real jobs.

Here's an example a roofer in Guildford could adapt for a flat roof repair page:

It answers the question, names real places, shows experience and sets honest expectations. That's first-hand content, and it reassures customers too.

On prices: you don't have to publish a full price list. Even "most small repairs are between £X and £Y, and we'll confirm after a free look" is far more useful than nothing. Only use figures you'd actually stand behind.

Time: about 30 minutes per page if you write as you'd talk.

3. Make it obvious you're the real, official business

What you gain: more trust, both from Google and from the person deciding whether to click.

Google's new "official site" test is aimed at tasks where only one or two pages are the proper place to go. We don't yet know how widely it will apply. But for searches about your business, such as your name plus "contact", "opening hours" or "book a quote", your website is the official source. Make that easy to see.

Your website should clearly show:

• Your business name, exactly as it appears on your Google Business Profile.
• Your phone number and the towns you cover, matching your profile word for word.
• A proper About page with real names and faces, not "our team of experts".
• Your company number if you're a limited company, and any memberships you genuinely hold, such as Gas Safe, NICEIC, TrustMark or a trade association.
• Your insurance and any guarantees you offer.

Then check the other direction: your Google Business Profile should link to your website, and to the right page. When the details on your website, your profile and your directory listings all match, Google can be more confident they belong to the same business.

Time: 20 to 40 minutes, longer if your About page needs writing from scratch.

4. Give each main service its own page

What you gain: the link lands people on exactly the right page, so fewer bounce off and more call.

If your whole business sits on one page, the best Google can do is link to that one page for every question. Someone asking about gutter cleaning lands on a page that's mostly about roof replacements, and leaves.

Take a commercial cleaner in Horsham. Rather than one "Our services" page, they'd do better with separate pages for office cleaning, washroom hygiene, builders' cleans and window cleaning. Each page can then answer the specific questions for that service: how often, what's included, how long it takes, how pricing works.

One warning. Google's guide is clear that mass-producing near-identical pages to catch every search variation can count as spam. So don't create 40 pages that are the same text with a different town name swapped in. Write fewer, better pages that each say something useful. Our guide to local service pages walks through how to do this properly.

Time: about an hour per service page. Start with your most profitable service.

5. Use real photos of your work

What you gain: a link that stands out, and a page that looks like a real local business.

Google says the links at the end of some AI answers now show image thumbnails. Its guidance also suggests supporting your text with good-quality images. A real photo of your van outside a job in Horsham, or a before-and-after of a cleared garden in Farnham, says far more than a stock photo of a smiling model in a hard hat.

A quick photo checklist:

• Put at least one real photo near the top of each service page.
• Name the file something sensible before uploading, such as flat-roof-repair-guildford.jpg, not IMG_4821.jpg.
• Add a short description (called "alt text") saying what the photo shows. It helps Google and people using screen readers.
• Get permission before showing a customer's home or face.

Time: 10 minutes per page if you already have photos on your phone.

6. Make the page the click lands on do its job

What you gain: more of those visitors turn into calls and enquiries.

Google says that clicks from results pages with AI Overviews tend to be "higher quality", with people more likely to spend longer on the site. By the time someone clicks, the AI answer has already explained the basics. They want to know if you can do the job and how to reach you.

So when they land, they should see within a few seconds:

• What you do and where, in the main heading.
• A phone number they can tap to call.
• One clear button, such as "Get a free quote".
• Proof, such as your review rating and a short quote from a recent customer.

If you're not sure how your website measures up, try the quick test in our post on why visitors leave without calling. And keep your reviews coming in and answered, because they're often the first proof people look for. Our review management service can help with that.

Time: 30 minutes to check. Fixes vary, from five minutes to move a button to a few hours for a page rewrite.

7. Keep an eye on what it brings in

What you gain: you know what's working, and you stop guessing.

Google's guide points site owners to Search Console, Google's free tool for website owners, to see how their site performs in search, including in its AI features. One quirk to know: Search Console gives every link in an AI Overview the same position, so a link moving higher inside the answer won't show up as a better ranking. Look at clicks and enquiries instead.

Each month, check:

1. How many clicks your website got from Google search.
2. Which pages people landed on.
3. How many calls and form enquiries came from the website.
4. Whether the pages you improved are getting more visits than before.

If you only check one thing, make it enquiries. Our tracking and reports page explains how we track calls and forms for clients.

Time: 15 minutes a month once it's set up.

Your one-hour website check this week

If you only have an hour, do this:

1. Run the site: search and check your main pages are in Google (5 minutes).
2. Open your most profitable service page on your phone. Can you see what you do, where, a phone number and a button without scrolling? (5 minutes)
3. Write a three-sentence answer to the question customers ask most about that service, and put it near the top (20 minutes).
4. Check your business name, phone number and areas match your Google Business Profile exactly (10 minutes).
5. Swap one stock photo for a real job photo with a sensible file name and description (10 minutes).
6. Note this month's clicks and enquiries so you have something to compare against (10 minutes).

Common mistakes to avoid

• Paying for "AI optimisation" tricks. Google says it doesn't use special AI files or special markup for its search features. If someone is selling you one, ask what Google's own guidance says.
• Copying text from other websites or using generic AI-written pages. If your page says the same as a hundred others, there's no reason to link to yours.
• Creating dozens of town pages with the same text. It can do more harm than good.
• Hiding prices and answers behind "call us". If the answer is on someone else's page, that's the page that gets linked.
• Letting details drift. An old phone number on your website and a new one on Google makes both look less reliable.
• Expecting overnight results. Google has to recrawl your pages, and the AI features are still changing. Give it weeks, not days.

Want help making your website the one Google links to?

Most local business owners don't have time to rewrite service pages and check Search Console every month. That's what we do. We build and look after websites for trades and local service businesses across Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, keep your Google Business Profile in shape and send you a simple monthly report.

If you'd like to know where your website is letting enquiries slip away, book a free 30-minute call. We'll look at your site and your Google listing together and tell you what we'd fix first. No obligation.

Show me where I'm losing enquiries

Prefer to learn first? Join our free Thursday Lunch 'N' Learn, or call Philip on 01306 480440.