1. Make sure Google can actually find your pages
Before anything else, check your site has a sitemap.xml and that it is not accidentally blocking search engines in robots.txt. Sounds obvious, but it is a common reason a perfectly good site never shows up. Google Search Console (free) will tell you directly if pages are not being indexed and why.
2. Write titles and descriptions like a human would search
Every page needs a unique title and meta description that describes what is actually on it, in the words a customer would type. "Home" is not a title. "Plumber in Sandwich, Kent, same-day call-outs" is.
3. One clear H1 per page, headings that make sense
Every page should have one H1 that states what the page is about, then H2s that break the content into logical sections. This helps both readers skimming the page and search engines understanding it.
4. Make it work properly on a phone
Most local searches happen on mobile. If your site is slow, text is too small, or buttons are hard to tap on a phone, that costs you in rankings and in actual customers leaving before they read anything.
5. Speed matters more than people think
A slow-loading page loses visitors before they see what you offer, and Google factors loading speed into ranking. Large, unoptimised images are the most common cause on small business sites, worth checking first.
6. Get your business listed properly, not just on your own site
A claimed, accurate Google Business Profile (address, hours, phone number, category) matters as much as anything on the site itself for local searches, "plumber near me" style queries pull heavily from this rather than your homepage.
7. What to leave to a professional
- Genuine keyword research for a competitive market
- Backlink building done properly, not bought in bulk
- Structured data (schema markup) beyond the basics
- Ongoing content strategy rather than a one-off page
None of this happens overnight. Realistic expectations for a small local business are a few months of consistent basics before you see meaningful movement, not overnight results, and steady improvement from there.