Your business is doing well, your customers are happy and your website looks professional. Yet time and again, a competitor appears at the top of Google’s search results whenever someone in your area searches for what you offer. The difference often lies in details that you can sort out yourself – with a laptop, a cup of coffee and a free afternoon.
Ranking higher on Google is all about clarity. Google wants to understand as quickly as possible what you do, for whom and in which region, and rewards websites that answer those questions clearly. That same clarity also helps today with the answers provided by ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai, as these AI tools draw much of their information from websites they find on the web. So every step below serves a dual purpose.
Keep this list, forward it to the colleague who manages your website, and tick off the steps one by one.
Nine steps to improve your Google ranking
You can complete all the steps using free tools and a little time. Start with the first one and work through the list in order, as each step builds on the previous one. Google itself summarises the basics in the SEO Starter Guide from Google Search Central, and those nine steps explain how this applies in practice to an SME.
1. Find out which words your customers type in
Many business owners describe their services using technical jargon, but their customers search using everyday words. A tiler writes about ceramic floor coverings, whilst his customer types in ‘tiles for the bathroom’. Here are three free ways to help you find the words your customers use.
- Type your service into Google and make a note of the suggestions that Google itself offers as you type.
- Scroll down to the section containing questions that other people have asked and copy those questions word for word.
- For a week, keep a record of the questions customers ask you on the phone, in your shop or by email.
Next, choose a main keyword and a handful of variations for each page. Use these words in the title, the first paragraph and the subheadings on that page.
2. Give each service its own page
Google ranks individual pages, and a page stands the best chance of ranking highly when it focuses on a specific topic. A page listing all your services one after the other therefore remains vague. Give each service its own page with a clear title, an explanation of what you do and for whom, and the region in which you operate. A plumber with separate pages for drain unblocking, bathroom fittings and heating is far more likely to appear in the search results for each of those queries than a colleague with a general services page. This way, each page can rank higher in Google for the specific search query it covers.
3. Write a title tag and meta description that are inviting
The title tag is the clickable title that people see in Google, and the meta description is the short piece of text below it. Together, they determine whether someone clicks on your result or that of a competitor. Keep the title to around 60 characters and put your most important keyword at the start. For the meta description, aim for around 150 to 160 characters, with a clear promise and a reason to click. In WordPress, you can enter both using a plugin such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math, directly in the edit screen for each page. Google sometimes adjusts these texts itself, but a strong version increases the chance that Google will display your own text.
4. Put the answer in the first few sentences
People scan a page in a matter of seconds, and both Google and AI tools look for clear, concise answers that they can display or quote. So, phrase your subheadings as questions your customers might ask, and answer that question straight away in the first two sentences below it. Only then should you go into more detail, giving examples and prices. If your aim is to rank higher in Google, write for the reader first and for the search engine second.
A section containing frequently asked questions at the bottom of a page works on the same principle and contains precisely the short answers that ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai are looking for.
5. Make sure your Google Business Profile is fully up to date
If you’re looking to attract local customers, you’ll benefit greatly from a well-completed Google Business Profile. This profile is free and appears on Google Maps and in the map at the top of the search results. Choose the right main category, fill in your opening hours, services and catchment area in full, and add recent photos of your business, your team and your work.
Ask satisfied customers for a review after every job and respond to every review, including the critical ones. This way, future customers can see how you handle feedback, and a profile showing recent activity looks trustworthy.
6. Make sure your website loads quickly on a smartphone
Most searches are now carried out on a smartphone, and Google assesses your website primarily on the basis of its mobile version. Test your pages with PageSpeed Insights, a free tool from Google that shows what’s slowing down your website. In many cases, the problem is that your images are too large, and you can sort this out yourself by reducing their size before uploading them – for example, using TinyPNG or by saving them as WebP files. It’s best to discuss more significant technical issues with your web developer.
7. Link your pages using internal links
Internal links are links between pages on your own website. They help Google to crawl your website and show which pages are most important to you. Link from a blog post to the service that the post is about, and from your homepage to your key services. Use a description of the page you’re linking to as the anchor text, such as ‘bathroom tiles’, rather than ‘click here’. A well-thought-out internal structure helps new pages rank higher in Google more quickly.
8. Show who is behind your business
Google uses experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness as criteria for high-quality content – known in technical jargon as EEAT. You should therefore showcase who you are on your website. An ‘About Us’ page featuring names, photos of the team, your years of experience, certificates and specific achievements makes your business tangible to visitors and search engines alike.
Also make sure that your company name, address and telephone number are listed in the same way everywhere – on your website, in your Google Business Profile, on social media and in online directories. This consistent information helps Google and AI tools to recognise your business correctly.
9. Track your results in Google Search Console
Google Search Console It’s free and shows which search queries your website appears for, how often people click on it, and your average ranking. Check it once a month and look for pages with lots of impressions but few clicks, or pages ranked between 8th and 20th.
That’s often where the quickest gains can be made, as a stronger title, an extra paragraph or a few frequently asked questions can regularly boost such a page to the first page of Google. This way, month after month, you can see which changes help you rank higher in Google.
Rank higher on Google and gain visibility in AI
More and more people are asking ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.ai their questions instead of Google. These AI tools search the web for answers to a wide range of questions, select sources and summarise them into a single response. Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO for short, is all about how your business can feature in those answers.
The steps outlined above form the basis for this. A website with clear answers, straightforward facts about your business and a strong ranking on Google is more likely to be cited as a source. On top of that, the frequency with which other websites, guides and reviews mention your business matters, as AI tools build their understanding from multiple sources. How GEO You can find out how it works in practice on our page about GEO.
You can carry out a quick test yourself. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai which company they recommend for your service in your region, and make a note of the names that come up. Repeat this test every month and you’ll immediately see the impact your work is having.
A schedule for the next four weeks
You can improve your Google ranking in as little as an hour a week. This schedule helps you spread the steps out over a month.
- Week 1. Identify the words your customers type in and choose a main keyword for each page.
- Week 2. Rewrite the title tags and meta descriptions for your five most important pages.
- Week 3. Update your Google Business Profile and ask five satisfied customers to leave a review.
- Week 4. Link Google Search Console to your website, test your site’s speed using PageSpeed Insights, and create internal links between your pages.
After that, each month you can update an existing page or write a new blog post based on a question your customers ask you. If you keep up this routine, you’ll find that achieving a higher ranking on Google becomes a matter of consistency.
When a partner helps you further
These nine steps lay a solid foundation, and for many SMEs, this is already yielding tangible results. In highly competitive sectors, achieving a higher ranking on Google requires more. It comes down to a well-thought-out strategy, a steady stream of high-quality content, monitoring your rankings on Google and in AI, and time that, as an entrepreneur, you’d rather spend on your business.
Working with our team, Tegelidee tripled the number of visitors from Google in four months.
Frequently asked questions about improving your Google ranking
How can I improve my Google ranking for free?
You can improve your Google rankings for free by writing using the words your customers use, creating a separate page for each service, adding strong title tags and meta descriptions, and fully updating your Google Business Profile. With Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights, you can track for free what’s working and what could be improved.
How long does it take to improve your Google ranking?
Small adjustments, such as a stronger title tag, often start to show results within a few weeks. For highly competitive keywords, you should expect to need several months of sustained effort. Our client, Tegelidee, tripled the number of visitors from Google in four months.
Does ranking higher on Google help you gain visibility on ChatGPT?
A strong position in Google helps, because AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai search the web for up-to-date answers and tend to favour clear, well-ranked websites as sources. To be mentioned in their answers, you also need clear answers on your website and mentions of your company on other websites.
The Spotlight Agency, your partner for SEO and GEO
The Spotlight Agency is a Belgian SEO agency that boosts the visibility of SMEs on Google and in the responses from ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai. Our team takes care of your entire online presence, from keyword research and strategy to compelling copy and monthly monitoring, in Dutch, English and Spanish. Through our SEO subscriptions you’re opting for a long-term partnership, and with GEO we ensure that AI tools get to know your business. If you’d prefer to build up that expertise in-house, your team will take a SEO training or a course on artificial intelligence. You can find out who is behind our strategy and copy on our page About our team.
See also
- How can my business gain visibility on ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.ai?
- AI texts and SEO: what copying and pasting from ChatGPT costs your website
Any questions?
Would you like to rank higher on Google and gain visibility through AI? Our team would be happy to work with you to assess where your website stands today and identify the steps that will deliver the greatest benefits for your business.
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