Why isn't my business on Google? 7 reasons and fixes

You type your business name into Google and nothing useful comes up. Or a competitor in the next town does, and you don't. "Why isn't my business on Google?" is one of the questions I hear most, and the answer is nearly always one of a handful of fixable things. Here are the seven I see most often with small businesses in the Scottish Borders, and what to do about each.

Why isn't my business on Google? First, check how you're searching

Before anything else, make sure you're testing it properly. Google tailors results to the person searching, so if you've visited your own site a lot, it may show it to you when it wouldn't show it to a stranger. Open a private or incognito window on your phone and search again.

Then try two kinds of search. First, your business name. Second, what a customer would actually type: "plumber Hawick", "café Peebles", "holiday cottage near Kelso". Showing up for your own name is the easy part. Showing up for the second kind is where the customers are, and it's harder.

If you don't appear for either, start with the first group of reasons below. If you appear for your name but not for what you do, skip to the second group.

Reasons Google can't see your website

1. Your site is new and Google hasn't found it yet

Google doesn't know about a website the moment it goes live. It has to find it and add it to its index, which is its giant list of pages. For a brand new site with nothing pointing to it, that can take days or weeks.

The fix: set up Google Search Console (a free Google tool for site owners), add your site and submit your sitemap, which is a file listing your pages. Then ask Google to index your home page. Linking to your site from your Google Business Profile and social pages helps Google find it too.

2. A setting is telling Google to stay away

This one catches people out more than you'd think. Many website builders have a tick box along the lines of "discourage search engines" or "hide from search", used while the site is being built. If nobody unticks it at launch, Google is politely told to ignore you.

The fix: check your site's settings for anything about search engine visibility. In Search Console, the page indexing report will tell you if pages are being blocked. If someone else built your site, ask them directly.

3. It's slow or awkward on a phone

Most people searching for a local business are on their phone, often on patchy signal somewhere along the A7. Google knows this and judges sites on how they work on a phone. A site that takes ages to load, or where you have to pinch and zoom to read anything, is at a disadvantage.

The fix: open your site on your own phone, ideally on mobile data rather than wifi. If it's slow, the usual culprits are huge photos and a heavy template. If it's hard to use, it probably needs rebuilding for phones rather than patching.

Reasons Google doesn't think you're the answer

4. Your words don't match what people search

Google matches searches to the words on your pages. If your home page says "Bespoke property solutions" and your customers type "builder Jedburgh", there's not much for Google to connect.

The fix: write the way your customers talk. Name your services plainly ("kitchen fitting", "boiler repairs", "afternoon tea") and name the towns you cover. Put the main one in your page title and first paragraph. A page per service, or per town if you cover a wide area, helps a lot.

5. You don't have a Google Business Profile

That box on the right of the results, or the map with three businesses under it, comes from Google Business Profiles, not websites. Without one, you won't appear in the map results at all, and that's where a lot of local searches end.

The fix: claim or create your free profile at Google Business Profile. Pick the right main category, then add your hours, phone number, website, the area you cover and real photos. Google will ask you to verify that you're genuine, usually by phone, email or a short video.

6. Your name, address and phone number differ from place to place

If your website says "J Smith Joinery, 4 High Street", your Facebook page says "Smith Joiners" with an old mobile number, and a directory still has your previous address, Google gets less sure who you are.

The fix: decide on one version of your name, address and phone number, and make them match everywhere: website, Google profile, Facebook, Yell and any directories. It's dull, but it's an afternoon's work that helps for years.

7. You don't have reviews

Reviews matter to Google and to customers. Google says Business Profiles with five or more reviews can get up to twice as many customers. If a competitor has 30 reviews and you have none, it's an easy choice for both the searcher and Google.

The fix: ask your happy customers, with a direct link to your review page, soon after the job is done. I've written a full guide on how to get your first Google reviews.

A 10-minute check you can do today

1. Search your business name in a private window on your phone. Note what comes up.
2. Search your service and your town. Note who appears on the map and in the top results.
3. Type site:yourwebsite.co.uk into Google. If nothing shows, Google hasn't indexed your site.
4. Check you have a Google Business Profile and that it's verified.
5. Open your website on your phone on mobile data. Count how many seconds it takes.
6. Read your home page out loud. Does it say what you do and where, in plain words?
7. Count your Google reviews, and compare with the businesses that beat you.

What to fix first

If you only have time for one thing, set up or tidy your Google Business Profile. For most local businesses in Galashiels, Hawick or Kelso, that's the quickest way onto the map. Then make sure your website isn't blocked, works on a phone and uses your customers' words. Reviews build up over time, so start asking now.

None of this needs a big budget. It needs someone to do it properly once and keep it right. When I build a site, the Google Business Profile, the local search basics and the phone-friendly design are part of the monthly care, not extras. There's more on this in my guide to local SEO in the Scottish Borders.

Want someone to just sort it?

If you'd rather hand it over, ask for a free concept. I'll show you what a site built to be found would look like for your business within 7 days, with nothing to pay if you don't want it. You can ask for yours here.