Guides
Plain answers for local business owners.
Short guides on being found on Google: what helps, what doesn't, and how to check for yourself. Each one is signed, dated and lists the pages it rests on.
All guides
Why Google ranking matters for a local businessWhat ranking on Google means for a local service business, what Google says decides it, and what nobody can promise.Read the guide
What helps a local business rank on Google MapsThe things Google says affect local results, and the ones you can work on yourself: your profile, your reviews and your website. No tricks.Read the guide
How to read a map-grid scanWhat the colored circles on a map-grid scan mean, why your ranking changes across town, and what a scan cannot tell you.Read the guide
How to ask customers for reviews the right wayAsking for Google reviews is allowed. Paying for them, or asking only happy customers, is not. A plain-words guide with message wording.Read the guide
What a free audit checks, and what it does notThe six things Kojo Growth's free audit looks at, what we need from you, what you get back, and what an audit cannot promise.Read the guide
What a website needs to be search-readyA plain checklist for a local business website: phone view, speed, clear titles, one page per service, matching details and no tricks.Read the guide
How they're written
Written to be checked.
A guide is only useful if you can tell who wrote it, when, and where the facts come from.
Signed and dated
Every guide has a named author, a published date and a last-updated date. The updated date moves only when the guide's text changes.
Sources you can check
Facts about Google link to the Google, FTC or Search Central page they come from, so you can read the page yourself.
Something to do this week
Every guide ends with steps you can take on your own, before you decide whether you need anyone's help.
No promises
Every guide says what it does not promise. Nobody can promise a ranking, calls or revenue, and these guides don't.
The free audit
See where you stand. Then decide.
Tell us your business name or website and the main city you serve. We'll look at what's working and what isn't, and send you the three fixes that matter first.
- Your Google Maps ranking across town
- Your reviews against the top three
- Your website on a phone
- Who you're up against
- How many people search for what you do
- The three fixes that matter first