You mention your new business at a networking event, a friend recommends you in a local Facebook group or a potential customer spots your van outside a neighbour’s house - what happens next?
Quite often, they search for your business name.
That search can become a quiet deciding moment. Before picking up the phone, someone may want to check where you are based, what you actually do and whether the information they find makes sense.
For a new business, this deserves attention early on. You might be doing excellent work, but someone who has never dealt with you needs enough information to feel comfortable making contact.
Fortunately, creating that reassurance does not require years of trading history. It starts with looking at your business through a potential customer’s eyes.
Your first impression happens in several places
It is tempting to think your website is your online first impression. Sometimes it is. But a potential customer might encounter a map listing, a social profile or a business directory first.
They may move between several of these before contacting you. A client journey isn’t the always the same.
Imagine someone looking up a newly established gardening business. Its website gives one phone number, its Facebook page shows another, and a directory profile lists a different town. There could be a reasonable explanation, but the customer has to work it out.
Now imagine finding the same business name, contact details and clear description wherever they look. The next step feels straightforward.
You do not need an elaborate online presence to achieve that. You need an accurate one.
Run the search your customer would run
Start by searching for your business name. If the name is common, add your town or the service you provide.
Look at the results as someone who knows nothing about you. Can they quickly establish what you do, where you operate and how to get in touch?
Check what appears beneath each search result, too. Does the description explain the business clearly, or does it contain outdated information left over from when the website was being built?
Repeat the exercise on a phone. Open the pages, tap the contact number and try the enquiry form.
If possible, ask someone unfamiliar with the business to do the same. Give them a simple task: find out whether you cover their area and how they would contact you. Watch where they hesitate.
Those moments can reveal small problems you have stopped noticing.
Make your business details agree
Choose a consistent way to present your business name, contact number and location, then check the profiles you control.
Old details often linger after a change of phone number, a move or an early experiment with the business name. These are easy things to overlook when you are busy getting established.
Be precise about geography. Being based in Reigate and visiting customers across Surrey communicates something different from having premises throughout the county.
If you work from home, check each platform’s address rules before publishing your details. Explain where you serve customers without suggesting you have a public office or shop when you do not.
Consistency also applies to your services. If you have stopped providing a particular service, update the pages and profiles that still mention it. Otherwise, you could spend time handling enquiries you cannot fulfil.
Build a presence beyond your own website
Your website explains the business in your words. Relevant external profiles give potential customers additional places to check its location, services and contact details.
Think about where your business belongs geographically and professionally. A trade association may help someone check your professional credentials, while a local business network can introduce you to other businesses nearby.
The
British Chambers of Commerce’s chamber finder is a useful starting point for exploring established networks in your area.
Local directories can serve a different purpose: helping people find businesses within a particular place. For a new gardening business in Guildford, a profile on
Only Surrey would sit naturally alongside its website and social profiles, giving someone another place to check its services and contact information.
Choose platforms that suit your business and keep their details current. Before applying, look at existing profiles, check the eligibility requirements and find out how updates are handled.
Keep a simple record of where you are listed. When your phone number, opening hours or services change, you will know which profiles need attention.
Customers may ask an AI assistant about you, too
A potential customer does not have to start with a conventional search engine. They might ask ChatGPT, Gemini or another AI assistant to research a business or help compare local providers.
Their questions could be straightforward: “What does this company do?”, “Does it cover my area?” or “What should I check before contacting it?”
When web search is used, these tools can draw on information published online.
OpenAI’s explanation of ChatGPT search describes how responses can include links to relevant sources.
Try asking an AI assistant about your own business, with web search enabled where available. Check whether it identifies the correct company, describes your services accurately and links to current information.
Treat the answer as a spot check. AI responses can contain mistakes or confuse businesses with similar names, so follow the source links before deciding that anything needs changing.
If you find an error, check your website and external profiles for unclear or outdated details. A precise description of what you do, where you are based and which areas you serve gives both people and online tools useful information to work with.
Having a directory profile does not guarantee an AI mention or recommendation. The practical priority is to publish accurate information that customers can verify, whichever route they take to find you.
Show the work behind the business
New businesses often worry about having little history. That does not prevent you from giving customers something useful to assess.
An original photograph of completed work, a clear explanation of your process or a helpful answer to a common question can show someone what to expect.
A decorator might explain how they protect furniture and prepare surfaces. A bookkeeper could describe what a client needs to provide before the first meeting. A gardener could show the stages of a planting project.
Be specific. “Professional service” tells a reader very little. Explaining that you provide a written scope before work begins answers a practical question.
Use material you have permission to share, and distinguish your own experience from the trading history of a newly formed business.
Keep control of your online presence
As you create profiles, make sure you can access them later.
Use an email account the business controls, keep recovery details current and understand who has administrative access. If someone builds your website or manages a profile for you, agree how access will be handed over.
The
National Cyber Security Centre’s guidance on two-step verification explains how an additional sign-in step helps protect important accounts, including email and social media.
This belongs in your routine housekeeping. You need reliable access to correct a phone number, update opening hours or respond when someone contacts you.
Make the next step obvious
Once someone has checked you out, contacting you should be easy.
Make your phone number, enquiry route and working hours easy to find. If you cannot usually answer calls while working, explain how someone can leave a message and when they can expect a response.
Repeat your business-name search periodically, particularly after changing key details.
You may never know how many people quietly look you up before getting in touch. But you can make sure that, when they do, they find clear information and a straightforward route to becoming your next customer.
Guest
Guest contributor
