Can your customers actually find you online?

As a small business owner, you’re probably aware of what customers do when they need services: they type in “electrician near me” or “wedding photographer Leeds” and tap the first Google business profiles they see. Unfortunately, if your business isn’t visible, the job goes to one that is.

For a lot of UK businesses, being there isn’t actually a given. The Government’s own UK Business Data Survey found that while 99% of large companies have a website, only 74% of micro-businesses and 65% of sole traders do.

Many more have websites, but inconsistent details scattered across the web: an old phone number on one directory, last year’s opening hours on another. To make being visible easier for small businesses, we’ve launched the Startups Business Toolkit, which helps businesses directly deals with these problems.

Are your customers actually finding you?

Run a free online health check, then get listed everywhere with a one-month free trial.

Run My Free Audit

Why accurate information is everything

Having inconsistent business information online can become costly. One recent survey found that 62% of consumers say they would avoid using a business if they found incorrect information about it online. In a world with so many options, a wrong address or a dead phone number is often all it takes for someone to move on to the next result.

The same research found that when people want to check out a local business, Google is by far the most trusted place they turn, used by 66% of consumers. This ranks ahead of Google Maps and, crucially, business websites.

Accuracy doesn’t just reassure customers; it can actually affects whether you appear in search results. Keeping identical name, address, and phone details across the web – what marketers call “NAP consistency” – is an important ranking factor that Google takes into account when serving users information. Mismatched or outdated details signal to Google that you’re not worth surfacing.

Being in the running

You probably know from searching for services yourself that the results that matter most are the small cluster of businesses shown at the very top of the map. Earning a place in that group is the difference between being one of the first names a customer considers and being buried on a second page almost nobody scrolls to.

For a local business, that placement is some of the most valuable space on the internet – and it’s won through accurate listings, genuine reviews and an up-to-date profile, not an advertising budget. You can spend all the money you like trying to get in customer’s faces, but as studies we referenced in the previous section show, it’s just not a replacement for an up to date and visible business profile.

Reviews are the tiebreaker

Once a customer can find you, reviews decide whether they choose you. The vast majority of people read reviews before contacting a local business, and a strong, recent set of them does more heavy lifting than any sales pitch.

Recency matters: shoppers trust reviews from the last few weeks far more than a wall of ratings from three years ago. A steady trickle of fresh reviews beats a stale pile every time — which is why collecting them shouldn’t be left to chance.

Recent reviews build consumer trust, and improves your businesses online viability.

How to check where you stand

You can’t fix what you can’t see. The new Startups Business Toolkit includes a free online health check: enter your business and it shows you, instantly, how you’re actually showing up – where your listings are accurate, where they’re missing, and how visible you are compared to where you should be. No sign-up, no card.

From there, the toolkit’s listings tool keeps your details correct across 50+ directories from a single dashboard. Update your business once, and Google, Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook and the rest all update together – no logging into a dozen accounts.

Paydough and Startup’s presence analytics platform lets you track your online viability across multiple platforms. 

One month on us. Watch your local SEO improve

New users can put the full listings tool to work with a one-month free trial that doesn’t require you to hand over any credit card details.

During that time, you’ll be able to get listed everywhere your customers are searching, fix the gaps that have been holding you back, and watch your local visibility climb. While we take care of this heavy lifting, you can focus on what’s important – ensuring you customers have experiences that make them want to come back.

Crucially, if the platform is working for you, you can keep going; if not, you’ll be able to walk away having paid nothing.

Are your customers actually finding you?

Run a free online health check, then get listed everywhere with a one-month free trial.

Run My Free Audit