How to get more people finding your website on Google

What I did

I looked at your website and compared it to the businesses that currently show up when someone searches for "playground inspection" or "indoor play centre inspection" on Google.

Your main competitors online are:

Your website is well written and professional. The content is good quality. But compared to these competitors, there are some important things missing that Google looks for when deciding who to show first.

Already done

These things have already been sorted:

What's left for you to do (in priority order)

1. Ask happy customers to leave you a Google review

Google reviews are one of the biggest things that affect where you show up in search results. Your competitors have reviews and you don't yet. Even 5-10 good reviews would make a big difference.

What to do: After each job, send the customer a text or email saying something like: "Thanks for using Play Safe. If you were happy with the inspection, I'd really appreciate a quick Google review - it helps other people find me." Then include your Google review link (you get this from your Google Business Profile).

Don't be shy about asking - most people are happy to help, they just don't think of it.

2. Add your areas to Google Business Profile as service areas

In your Google Business Profile, go to the "Service areas" section and add: Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cheshire, Cumbria. This helps you show up when people in those areas search for playground inspections.

3. Create pages for the areas you cover

One of your biggest competitors (playgroundinspections.uk) has 25 separate pages for different locations. Another has over 50. This is because when someone searches "playground inspection Manchester" or "soft play inspection Lancashire", Google looks for pages that mention those specific places.

What to do: Create a page for each main area you cover:

Each page should talk about the work you've done in that area, the types of clients you work with there (councils, schools, holiday parks), and any local knowledge you have. Don't just copy the same text and change the place name - Google can tell if you do that and it won't help.

4. Add your real photos to the website

Right now the site uses stock-looking images. If you have photos from actual inspections you've done (or can take some on your next few jobs), this would make the site look more trustworthy to both Google and potential customers.

What to do:

5. Add customer quotes to your website

Your competitors display quotes from happy customers on their websites. This builds trust with new visitors.

Your website already has a "reviews" section built in - it's just empty.

What to do:

6. Get your business listed in online directories

Google trusts businesses more when it sees the same name, address, and phone number appearing on other trusted websites. This is called "citations" and it's one of the ways Google checks you're a real business.

What to do: List your business (for free) on:

You're already listed on the RPII register as an Inflatable Annual Inspector (registration AI0138 at playinspectors.com) - that's good. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are written exactly the same on every site.

7. Start a simple blog / news section

Your competitors who rank well have a news section where they occasionally write about things happening in the industry. Your website already supports a news section - it just hasn't been set up yet.

You don't need to write often. Even one post every month or two would help. The point is to have pages on your site that answer the questions people are searching for.

Ideas for posts:

Each post only needs to be about 500-800 words. Write it how you'd explain it to a customer on the phone.

8. Add more personal detail to your service pages

The pages have been expanded with factual detail about the standards and legal requirements, but only you can add the personal stuff that makes your site different from everyone else's:

9. Set up a Facebook page

You don't need to be posting every day. But having a Facebook business page that links to your website is another signal to Google that you're a real, active business.

What to do:

10. Add a page about yourself with your qualifications

Your homepage mentions your background briefly, but a dedicated "About" page would help build trust. Your competitors emphasise their qualifications heavily.

What to do: Write a page that covers:

11. Ask related businesses to link to your website

When other websites link to yours, Google sees this as a vote of confidence. The more trusted websites that link to you, the higher you'll rank.

What to do:

12. Write content about the types of customers you help

Your competitors have content aimed at specific types of customers. Dedicated content for each type would help you show up in more searches.

What to do: Either add sections to existing pages or create new short pages for:

13. Check your website works well on phones

More than half of Google searches happen on mobile phones. If your website is hard to use on a phone, Google will rank you lower.

What to do:

A note about your competitors

Your biggest advantage is that you're a real person, local, with genuine engineering expertise. Your competitors are mostly larger companies. People searching locally often prefer to hire a local independent inspector rather than a big company - but they can only hire you if they can find you on Google.

The businesses ranking above you right now aren't necessarily better at inspections. They've just done more of the things Google looks for when deciding who to show first.

Start with jobs 1 to 3. Getting reviews, adding your service areas, and creating location pages will make the biggest difference. The rest can be done over time whenever you get a chance.