Five things Google wants to see on your homepage

Local search is less mysterious than it looks. Get these five basics right and you will outrank most of your competition.

1. Your town, in the actual text

Not in an image, not only in the footer. If you serve Moose Jaw, the word Moose Jaw needs to appear in real text on the page.

2. Consistent name, address and phone

Exactly the same on your site, your Google Business Profile and every directory you are listed in. Google cross-references these, and mismatches quietly cost you.

3. A page that loads fast on a phone

Most of your visitors are on mobile data. If the page takes four seconds, a good share of them are already gone.

4. Real photos of real work

Stock photography is transparent to customers and worthless for search. Photos you took yourself, of jobs you actually did, beat it every time.

5. A reason to call, above the fold

Your phone number should be visible and tappable without scrolling. This sounds obvious. Most small business sites still get it wrong.