If potential customers don’t know your name, how can they find you on Google?

Why isn’t Googling my name enough?

Appearing when someone searches your business name helps people who already know you exist (opens in a new tab). They may be returning customers, people who heard about you through a recommendation, or someone looking for your phone number or address.

But someone who has never heard of you may search for a product, service, or problem (opens in a new tab) instead. A cat parent might search for “vet clinic near me” without knowing the name of a local clinic like Blue Cross Animal Hospital (opens in a new tab).

These searches give your business a chance to reach people while they are learning about a problem, comparing options, or looking for someone to hire. Reaching people at these stages is an important part of SEO for local businesses.

For context, BrightLocal’s 2019 Google My Business Insights Study (opens in a new tab) found that 84% of searches that surfaced the listings studied were discovery searches for a category, product, or service. The remaining 16% were direct searches for a business name or address.

The practical point is simple: showing up for your name matters, but it does not tell you whether new customers can find you by what you do.

What do customers search for before they know who to buy from?

Customers often search using the words that describe their situation. Search intent (opens in a new tab) means what someone wants to do or learn when they type a phrase into Google.

Here are four examples:

• “Why is my furnace blowing cold air?” — a problem. The person wants to understand what is wrong. A helpful troubleshooting article can explain possible causes and when to call a professional.
• “How much does a small business website cost?” — a buying question. The person is researching prices and what affects the cost before choosing an agency or developer.
• “Wedding florist Edmonton” — a service and location. The person knows what they need and is comparing businesses that serve Edmonton.
• “Emergency plumber near me” — an immediate need. The person needs help quickly and wants to find a nearby business they can contact.

Your website can help at each of these stages by answering real questions and explaining what you offer, where you work, and how to get in touch.

What are branded and non-branded searches?

The difference is whether the search includes your business name:

• Branded search: (opens in a new tab) Someone searches for “Paireeo.” They are looking for a specific business they already know about.
• Non-branded search: (opens in a new tab) Someone searches for “website design Edmonton.” They know the service they need, but may not know which business to hire.

Both branded and non-branded searches (opens in a new tab) matter. Branded searches help people find you again. Non-branded searches give people a way to discover you for the first time.

The same distinction applies to someone searching for SEO help: “Paireeo” names a business, while “local SEO Edmonton” describes a service and location.

How to find what customers are searching for

1. Listen to the questions customers already ask

Start with calls, emails, consultations, and appointments. Notice the words people use before they learn your industry’s terminology.

• Calls and emails: How do first-time customers describe their problem or the help they need?
• Consultations and appointments: What do they ask about price, timing, what is included, or choosing the right service?
• Your team’s notes: Ask staff to record recurring questions in a shared spreadsheet.

These conversations give you useful starting points for service-page wording, FAQs, and articles. For local SEO for small business (opens in a new tab), the questions you hear every week can help you choose topics that matter to your customers.

2. Check your Google Business Profile performance

If you manage a verified profile, open its Performance (opens in a new tab) section and review the search terms people used to find it. Google explains how to access and read this report (opens in a new tab).

Look for phrases that include your business name, as well as terms about your services, products, and location. Compare those terms with the language customers use in conversations.

Use this to understand searches that already bring up your profile and spot topics your website could explain more clearly. It does not show every search your potential customers make, and a profile appearing in a search does not necessarily mean someone clicked through or contacted you.

Together, customer questions and search-term data give you a more useful starting point than guessing what people might type.

If your pages aren’t appearing in Google at all, follow our Google visibility troubleshooting guide to check whether they have been indexed.

What should my website say to help those people?

Your website should make it easy for someone who has never heard of you to understand whether you can help. SEO for local businesses includes clear service descriptions, accurate service areas, and answers to common customer questions. Start with these five things.

1. Clear service names

Name your services in plain language. A heading such as “Emergency plumbing” or “Small business website design” tells a visitor more than a clever name that only makes sense inside your business.

Use the words customers recognise, then explain what the service includes.

2. Areas served

State the cities, towns, or neighbourhoods you actually serve. This helps visitors understand whether you work in their area and gives search engines useful context about your business.

For a vet clinic working on local SEO in Edmonton, useful examples might include “vet clinic Edmonton” or “kitten checkup Edmonton.” Use these phrases only when they accurately describe the clinic’s services and location.

Clear location information supports local relevance, but it does not guarantee a place in Google’s map results.

3. Answers to common questions

Use FAQs or articles to answer questions you regularly hear. These might explain a problem, how a service works, what to expect, or when someone should contact a professional.

Answer the question directly before adding detail.

4. Pricing information

If you can, share starting prices, typical ranges, or the factors that affect a quote. If every job is different, explain what you need to know before estimating the cost.

This helps people understand their options before they enquire.

5. Examples of real work

Show recent project photos, portfolio examples, or case studies. Explain what the customer needed, what you did, and the result.

Real examples help visitors judge whether your work is relevant to them and give them something concrete to consider before getting in touch.

Use your customers’ language throughout

Write the way you would explain the service in a conversation. If customers ask, “Where can I get a quick site quote?”, use familiar words such as “website quote” rather than technical language they may not understand.

The goal is to answer their question clearly, using phrases that feel natural.

Does every search need a separate article?

No. You do not need a separate article for every variation of a search phrase. (opens in a new tab) Several related questions may belong on the same page if they help the reader complete the same task.

Start by asking whether the person wants to hire someone or learn something.

Service pages and educational articles

Service page

• Main purpose: Help someone decide whether to enquire, call, or book.
• Example searches: “Website design Edmonton” or “emergency plumber near me.”
• Useful content: What you offer, areas served, pricing factors, real work, reviews, and clear contact options.

Educational article

• Main purpose: Answer a question and help someone understand a topic.
• Example searches: “Why is my furnace blowing cold air?” or “How much does a website cost?”
• Useful content: A direct answer, explanations, practical steps, and links to relevant services or further reading.

A pricing guide can help someone learn and compare options. Choose the format that gives the reader the most useful answer.

Group questions that belong together

For an educational article: (opens in a new tab) Questions such as “What happens at a kitten’s first vet visit?”, “What should I bring?”, and “What questions should I ask the vet?” could fit in one guide called “Your kitten’s first vet visit: what to expect.” Keeping these questions together helps a new pet owner prepare for the appointment. A topic that needs more detail may deserve its own article.

For a service page: Questions such as “Are you accepting new pets?”, “How much does a routine checkup cost?”, and “How do I book an appointment?” can sit together in an FAQ section on your clinic’s checkup page. These answers help pet owners decide whether to contact your clinic.

Group content around what the pet owner needs. This keeps SEO for local businesses (opens in a new tab) focused on useful answers. Avoid creating several pages that repeat the same answer with slightly different wording.

What should I improve first?

A practical starting point for local SEO for small business is to choose one important service page and read it as if you had never heard of your business. Can you quickly answer these three questions?

1. What do you offer? Name the service clearly and explain how it helps.
2. Where do you work? State the cities, towns, or regions you serve.
3. How can someone get in touch? Make your phone number, booking button, or enquiry form easy to find. Include a clear next step near the top and bottom of the page.

These basics matter. In BrightLocal’s 2025 survey (opens in a new tab) of 1,000 US adults, 85% considered contact information and opening hours important when researching local businesses.

Your next customer may not know your name yet. Help them recognize that you offer what they need, work in their area, and are easy to contact. Start with one page, make those details clear, and build from there.

Your customer-discovery checklist

• Compare searches for your name with searches for your services.Read steps ↑
• Record the questions customers ask and review your profile’s search terms.Read steps ↑
• Check that one service page explains what you offer, where you work, and how to contact you.Read steps ↑