Be the Business Google Recommends
Google’s AI now names a handful of local businesses before anyone sees the map. This guide shows you how to become one of them, using the same steps I run on my SEO clients’ profiles.
By Melissa Critchley, SEO consultant and founder of Wildcurrant Marketing. Over 20 years in marketing.
Instant access by email. No jargon, no fluff, sorted within a week.
Local search changed, and most business owners haven’t noticed
Search for a plumber, a florist or a picture framer near you and look at what comes back. Before the map, before a single website, there is now often an AI-generated paragraph that recommends a few businesses by name.
Here is the part that matters: the businesses it names are not the biggest, the oldest, or the ones spending the most on ads.
They are the ones with complete, active, well-maintained Google Business Profiles.
That is fixable. Your profile is free, you already control it, and the work is a series of clear steps, not a technical mystery. The owners who do this now get named while their competitors wonder where their calls went.
Inside the guide
Ten lessons plus a bonus, written in plain English, pulled straight from the audit notes I use on client profiles.
Every part of your profile, done properly
Ten lessons covering setup, verification, categories, photos, posts, products and reviews, so nothing on your profile is left half finished or working against you.
How Google’s AI decides who to recommend
A plain-English explanation of what the AI reads on your profile, so you understand why each step matters rather than just what to click.
The honest picture on website traffic in 2026
What has changed, what to measure, and why your profile now does more of the heavy lifting for local customers than your website does.
A twenty-minute monthly routine
A simple maintenance habit that keeps you recommendable without eating into your week. Set a reminder once and you are done.
Bonus: Bing Places in ten minutes
One short setup that gives AI systems, including ChatGPT, one more reason to trust and mention your business.
Delivered by email. This time next week, you’ll be sorted.
Who this is for
Small business owners, sole traders, makers and service providers with a local audience. Anyone who wants to show up when someone nearby searches for what they do.
You do not need to be technical. Every step is explained clearly, in order, with nothing assumed.
Not sure your business qualifies for a Google Business Profile? Check here:
To qualify, a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. That covers more people than you might think:
- Any business with premises customers can visit: shops, studios, clinics, salons, restaurants
- Appointment-only businesses that meet clients by scheduled visit
- Service area businesses that travel to the customer: plumbers, electricians, mobile groomers, cleaners. You can hide your home address and show service areas only
- Seasonal businesses with permanent signage at their location
- Home-based businesses, as long as customers are served in person or within a service area
Craftspeople and artists: if you sell at fairs and take commissions, you can have a profile too, either as a service area business (home address hidden) or as a storefront if you welcome studio visitors.
The one group this does not cover: businesses working entirely over Zoom with no in-person contact.
Written by someone who does this for a living
I’m Melissa Critchley, founder of Wildcurrant Marketing. I’ve spent over twenty years in marketing and now specialise in website design and SEO for small businesses, working from Ludlow, Shropshire with clients across the UK.
Auditing and improving Google Business Profiles is part of my paid client work. This guide is built from the same notes and checklists I use on those audits. The only difference is that you work through them yourself, at a fraction of the cost of hiring me to do it.
One client, a London nanny agency, saw a 25 to 30 percent increase in clients within four months of us working on their visibility. Your profile is where that kind of work starts.
What this guide will not do
I’d rather tell you this before you buy than have you find out after.
On its own, a Google Business Profile will not dominate every local search across multiple towns. For that you also need a well-structured website, strong directory listings and a considered approach to keywords. The guide explains all of this and points you towards the next steps if you want them.
What it will do is make sure the one free asset every local business controls is working as hard as it possibly can, at the exact moment Google’s AI is deciding who to name.
Not ready for the guide? Start with the free checklist.
Would Google recommend your business? The Google Recommendation Checklist gives you 22 quick checks across your profile, photos, reviews, and website, so you can see exactly where you stand in about ten minutes.
Questions people ask
How is the guide delivered?
By email, straight after payment. You can start today and have your profile sorted within the week.
Do I need to be technical?
No. Every step is written for busy owners, not marketers. If you can upload a photo to Facebook, you can do everything in this guide.
How long does the work take?
The first set of edits in your profile takes a few hours, spread over a week if you like. After that, maintenance is about twenty minutes a month.
Is it up to date?
Yes. The guide was updated in June 2026 to reflect how Google’s AI-generated local results currently work.
What if my business is home-based or mobile?
Covered. Service area businesses can hide their home address and show only the areas they serve. The guide walks through the setup.
Google’s AI is already recommending someone in your town
The question is whether it’s you or your competitor. For £37 and a few hours of your time, you can give it every reason to choose you.
Instant access by email.
Strategic website design plus advanced SEO & GEO
ABOUT
I work with small business owners delivering strategic website design and advanced SEO. Based in Ludlow, Shropshire and working UK wide.
07771 623276
The Coach House, Brand Lane, Ludlow, Shropshire, SY81NN
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