Google Business: Who Knew?

When I first heard people talking about Google Business, I assumed they meant Google Maps.

I didn’t really think much more about it.

I’d spent weeks building my website.

I’d bought the domain name.

Written the pages.

Chosen the photographs.

Tweaked the colours.

Pressed Publish.

I genuinely thought that was the hard part.

Apparently not.

The first surprise was discovering that you have to tell Google your website exists.

Who knew?

You don’t simply build a website and wait for people to arrive.

You have to claim it.

Verify it.

Connect it.

Submit it.

Then wait for Google’s little crawlers to come wandering through your pages like tiny Space Invaders deciding whether your website deserves to exist.

Then somebody casually says,

“You’ve set up your Google Business Profile, haven’t you?”

My what?

So off you go again.

Another account.

Another profile.

Another description to write.

Opening hours.

Service areas.

Photographs.

Categories.

Then someone tells you to ask people for reviews.

That felt strange too.

You’ve spent years learning about boundaries, confidentiality and the therapeutic relationship.

Now you’re wondering how on earth people end up with fifty Google reviews.

Nobody had mentioned any of this during counselling training.

We spent hundreds of hours learning how to sit alongside people in distress.

Very little time learning how those same people might actually find us.

Looking back now, I understand why Google Business matters.

It isn’t just another marketing tool.

It’s often the first impression someone has of your practice before they ever visit your website.

That tiny box on Google quietly became one of the most important parts of building Me In Time.

Who knew?