When someone in Brighton pulls out their phone and searches "coffee near me" or "electrician Hove", Google shows a little map with three businesses pinned on it. That block, the local map pack, is where a huge share of local custom now begins. If you are not on it, you are invisible to exactly the people standing closest to you.
The good news: getting there is free, and it is not technical. It is a checklist. Here is the whole thing, in order, in plain English.
First, understand what feeds the map
Your website is not what puts you on Google Maps. Your Google Business Profile is. It is a separate, free listing that Google owns, and it is what the map pulls from. You can have a beautiful website and still be missing from the map if you have never set the profile up. So that is where we start.
Step 1: Claim or create your Google Business Profile
Go to google.com/business and search for your business name. One of two things happens.
- It already exists. Google sometimes creates a basic listing automatically, or a previous owner set one up. Claim it so you control it.
- It does not exist. Create it fresh. Enter your exact business name, the category, and your address or service area.
If you run a shop, cafe or salon with a fixed address in Brighton or Hove, use that address. If you travel to customers, a plumber, a mobile groomer, a cleaner, set it up as a service-area business, hide the address, and list the areas you cover, for example Brighton, Hove, Portslade, Shoreham and the wider Sussex coast.
Step 2: Verify it
Google will not show your listing until it knows you are real. Verification is usually done by a short video (showing your premises, signage or tools of the trade), by phone, by email, or occasionally by a postcard with a code. Follow whichever method Google offers you. This step trips people up because it can take a few days, so start it early and do not skip it. An unverified profile does not appear on the map.
Step 3: Choose the right category
Your primary category is one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide what searches you show up for. Be specific. "Italian restaurant" beats "restaurant". "Emergency plumber" beats "contractor". Pick the single category that best describes your core business as your primary, then add a few relevant secondary categories for the other things you do.
A vague category is like a shop with no sign. Google cannot tell what you are, so it does not know which searches to show you for.
Step 4: Fill in every field
A complete profile ranks better and converts better than a half-empty one. Add all of it:
- Opening hours (and set special hours for bank holidays and Brighton events so you do not lose trust by looking "open" when you are shut).
- Phone number and website link.
- A clear description of what you do and who you serve.
- Services or products with short descriptions.
- Attributes that apply, such as wheelchair access, outdoor seating, or free parking.
Step 5: Keep your NAP consistent
NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number. Google cross-checks these across the whole web to decide whether it trusts your business. If your address says "Unit 4" on your website, "Unit four" on Facebook, and a different phone number on an old directory, that inconsistency quietly holds you back.
The fix: pick one exact format for your name, address and phone, then make it identical everywhere, your website, social profiles, and any directory you are listed on. Consistency is boring and it works.
Step 6: Add real photos
Profiles with photos get noticeably more clicks and calls than those without. Upload genuine pictures: your shopfront so people recognise it from the street, your interior, your team, your work, your products. Photos of the real thing beat stock images every time, and they help someone walking down the road actually find your door.
Step 7: Gather reviews, and reply to them
Reviews are one of the biggest factors in local ranking, and the single biggest factor in whether someone chooses you over the shop next door. The approach is simple and honest:
- Ask happy customers, in person or with a follow-up message, and make it easy by sending them your review link.
- Never buy reviews or fake them. Google is good at spotting it, and getting caught can suspend your profile.
- Reply to every review, good and bad. A calm, helpful reply to a poor review often reassures future customers more than the complaint worries them.
A steady trickle of real reviews beats a sudden burst. Build it into how you work rather than chasing it once.
Step 8: Build a few local citations
A citation is simply another website listing your business name, address and phone. Getting listed on a handful of reputable UK and local directories, and any relevant Brighton or Sussex business listings, reinforces to Google that you are a real, established local business. Quality matters far more than quantity here, so a few good ones beat fifty spammy ones.
Keep it alive
A profile is not "set and forget". Post the occasional update, add new photos, keep your hours accurate, and answer questions people ask on the listing. Active profiles tend to outrank neglected ones, and it takes only a few minutes a month.
None of this is complicated, but it does add up, and it does take a bit of care to get right first time. Work through the list above and your Brighton or Hove business will start showing up exactly where local customers are already looking.
