Local SEO basics for Jersey businesses, in six steps
When someone in Jersey searches for what you do, you want to be one of the first names they see. The video covers the six basics, and the notes under it explain how Google decides who comes first.
1:47 · No narration: the video shows each step as text on screen, and every step is written out below, with buttons that jump the video to it.
Prefer YouTube? Watch this video on our YouTube channel (opens in a new tab).
This video goes with our guide Local SEO in Jersey: how customers find you on Google, which has the full detail.
The 6 steps in the video
The video opens with a search for “electrician jersey”. When someone in Jersey searches for what you do, you want to be one of the first names they see.
-
Step 1: Set up your Business Profile
It’s free, and it’s how you appear on Google Maps.
Your Google Business Profile is the listing that shows in the map results and beside the search results. Our Google Maps video goes through setting it up, step by step.
-
Step 2: Say where you work
Mention Jersey and the parishes you cover on your website.
Write it into your homepage, your service pages and your footer: “covering St Helier, St Saviour and the east of the island”, or “across all twelve parishes”. Customers see straight away whether you cover their area, and Google gets the place names to match.
-
Step 3: A page for each service
Separate pages help Google match you to each search.
A plumber with one page on boiler servicing and another on bathroom fitting gives Google a clear page for each search. A single page listing everything gives it less to go on.
Make each page useful on its own. Google’s spam policies (opens in a new tab) warn against near-identical pages made only to rank, such as the same text copied for every parish with the name swapped.
-
Step 4: Keep details the same everywhere
Same name, phone number and address on every listing.
Google builds its picture of your business from your profile, your website and other sites that mention you. When your name, number and address match everywhere, customers and Google see one business. When they differ, people ring old numbers and Google may pick up the wrong details.
-
Step 5: Collect genuine reviews
Fresh, real reviews help you stand out locally.
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help a business’s local ranking. Ask every customer, reply to every review, and keep them coming instead of chasing a batch once a year. Our reviews video has six habits for it.
-
Step 6: Get mentioned locally
Local directories, clubs and news sites can link to you.
Google looks at how many websites link to a business as part of how well known it is. Start close to home: Jersey directories, the clubs and charities you support, suppliers you work with, and local news when you have something worth telling. Our guide to where to list your Jersey business online names the main directories.
How Google decides who shows first
Google’s own explanation (opens in a new tab) comes down to three things. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known your business is, including your reviews and the sites that link to you.
You can’t pay Google for a better local ranking, and you can’t move closer to every customer. Relevance and prominence are in your hands, and the six steps above work on both.
Common questions
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the work that helps your business show up when people nearby search for what you do. For a Jersey business that means your Google Business Profile, a website that says where you work, matching details across the web, genuine reviews and links from local sites.
How does Google decide which local businesses show first?
Google’s own explanation comes down to three things: relevance, how well your profile matches the search; distance, how far you are from the person searching; and prominence, how well known your business is, including your reviews and the sites that link to you.
Can I pay Google to rank higher in local results?
No. You can’t pay Google for a better local ranking, and you can’t move closer to every customer. Relevance and prominence are the parts in your hands.
Should I make a separate page for every Jersey parish?
Not copies. A page for each service helps Google match you to each search, but Google’s spam policies warn against near-identical pages made only to rank, such as the same text for every parish with the name swapped. Name the parishes you cover on your homepage, service pages and footer instead.
Do Google reviews help local SEO?
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help a business’s local ranking. Ask every customer, reply to every review and keep them coming, rather than chasing a batch once a year.
Why do my business details need to match everywhere?
Google builds its picture of your business from your profile, your website and other sites that mention you. When your name, number and address match, customers and Google see one business. When they differ, people ring old numbers and Google may pick up the wrong details.
Go further
More video tips
All 205 videos →
How to set up a professional business email address
Six steps to an email address at your own domain, like hello@yourbusiness.je.
How to write a good About page for your business
Six tips for an About page that tells people who you are and why to trust you.