You're based in Horsham, but the bigger jobs are in Haywards Heath and Crawley. You'll happily drive there. Yet when someone in Haywards Heath searches for what you do, Google shows them businesses down the road from them, and you're nowhere.
It's one of the most common frustrations we hear. The good news: although you can't move your business, you can give Google, and customers, plenty of reasons to pick you in the towns you want.
In short
- Google Maps leans heavily on distance, so it's hard to appear on the map far from your address.
- Your website, reviews and local reputation can reach much further than the map can.
- Build one genuinely useful page for each key town, not copy-and-paste pages.
- Pick three to five target towns and focus on them.
First, understand the map's limits
Google says local results are based on three things: relevance (do you do what was searched for?), distance (how close are you to the searcher or the town they searched?) and prominence (how well known and well reviewed are you?).
You can't change distance. So the plan is to win on relevance and prominence, and to use your website to show up in the ordinary search results below the map, where distance matters much less.
1. Set your Google service areas, but don't rely on them
Add your target towns to your Google Business Profile's service area (you can list up to 20). It tells customers where you work. It doesn't, on its own, make you appear on the map in all those places, which is why the next steps matter.
2. Build a genuinely useful page for each key town
A page about your service in a specific town gives Google something to show for searches like "roofer Haywards Heath". But it has to be genuinely useful. Pages that are identical apart from a swapped town name are low value, and Google treats them as doorway pages.
What to include on a town page
- What you do in that town, in plain English.
- Jobs you've completed there, with photos.
- Reviews from customers in that town.
- Local knowledge: the typical properties, common problems, parking or access issues. For example, Victorian terraces in Southsea, Regency buildings in Brighton and Hove, or flint cottages in South Downs villages each bring their own challenges.
- How quickly you can get there, and when you're usually in the area.
- A clear way to get in touch.
Our guide to local service pages goes into more detail.
3. Win reviews from customers in those towns
Every time you do a job in a target town, ask for a review and encourage the customer to mention the job and where they are. Those reviews are proof to the next person from that town, and they help Google connect your business with the place.
4. Write up the jobs you do there
Each job in a target town is a chance for a short project write-up on your website and an update on your Google profile: "New boiler fitted in Haywards Heath", with photos. Over time, these build a visible track record in that town. Our job photos guide has a template.
5. Get known locally in that town
- Join that town's chamber of commerce or business network.
- Sponsor a local club, school fete or community event.
- Be helpful in that town's community Facebook group.
- Get listed in that town's local directories.
- Build relationships with local estate agents, letting agents and property managers.
6. Use paid ads to fill the gap
Building organic visibility in a new town takes months. Paid search ads let you appear in any town you choose from day one. They work well alongside the steps above, while the free visibility builds. See our guide to Local Services Ads.
Pick your battles
Don't try to win twenty towns at once. Choose three to five, based on:
- Where your most profitable jobs have come from
- How long it takes you to get there
- How much competition there is
- Whether the type of property and customer suits your work
Tip
Look back at your ten most profitable jobs from last year and note where they were. That's usually the best place to start, because you already know the work there is worth having.
Do this today
- Write down your three to five target towns.
- Check they're listed in your Google Business Profile service area.
- Next time you finish a job in one of them, take photos, ask for a review and write it up.
