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Your business is on Google. But would you choose it?

When you look for a business yourself, you don't give it very long to convince you. You glance at the photographs, read a couple of reviews and work out whether it can help. If something isn't clear, you open the next result. You're not being unfair. You have a problem to solve and other things to get on with.

Now imagine somebody looking at your business in exactly the same way.

You know what has gone into it. The late finishes, the equipment you've invested in, the customers who recommend you to their friends. Someone finding you on Google doesn't know any of that. They have whatever is on the screen, and sometimes that information is several years behind the business.

Suppose you run a salon. You've refurbished it, changed the team and moved to appointments, but your profile still shows photographs of the old premises. A new customer has no reason to realise those pictures are out of date. As far as they can tell, that is the salon today.

You might think they'll see the difference when they arrive. Before they arrive, though, they have to decide to come.

The information you fill in from memory

Try opening your public profile on your phone without explaining anything about it. Is it obvious what you do? Can somebody work out how to contact you? Do the photographs help them recognise the premises or understand the service?

If your answer begins, “Yes, but what we actually do is…”, you've probably found something worth improving. The customer doesn't get the explanation that comes after “but”.

Google lets you update your contact details, hours and photographs. Special hours cover holidays and temporary changes. It's worth checking those details before somebody plans a visit around them. Google explains how to edit your profile here.

Then follow the route to an enquiry. Tap the website link. Where does it take you? Can you quickly find out how to book, or do you have to search through several pages? If it opens a form, send a test enquiry and check that it reaches the right place. A link can work perfectly well and still take someone somewhere unhelpful.

A photograph that answers a question

Before adding another picture, ask what someone can learn from it. For a salon, that might be how the entrance looks from the street. For a decorating business, a close view of a finished job. For a restaurant, a recent photograph that shows how the tables are arranged.

You don't need to turn every photograph into an advert. In the salon example, a handful of clear pictures of the current premises would resolve a misunderstanding that an elegantly written description might leave untouched.

Of course, a well-kept profile doesn't guarantee first place in the results. Google considers relevance, distance and prominence, and you cannot buy a better organic local position from Google. Here is Google's explanation of local ranking.

What you can check is whether the people who find you have enough information to choose you. Next time you have a few minutes, hand your phone to a friend who doesn't know the business well. Ask them to find a service, your opening hours and a way to get in touch. Let them look without helping. Wherever they stop to ask you a question is a useful place to start.