Stop Googling Yourself: How to check your Google ranking properly

I bet we’ve all done this at some point - Googled our own business - or at least typed one of our main services into the search bar and bingo there you are on page one - brilliant!

And then you search again the following day and your business is on the third page of Google. You try from your phone and your back on page one. You ask your partner to Google from their phone and they can’t find your business at all!

This is why I don’t recommend Googling your own business.

Your Google results aren't necessarily the same as everyone else's

One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is assuming that if they can find their website on Google, that's where their customers will find it too.

But search results can vary depending on things like:

• Where the person searching is located

• The device they're using

• The exact search they're making

• The time of the search

• Previous search behaviour

• Whether Google is showing local results, maps, images or other search features

This is particularly important if you work with clients in a particular location, whether you're a therapist, wellness practitioner, creative, retreat leader or other service-based business.

Someone searching for your service from two miles away could see a different set of results from someone searching from 20 miles away.

So when you Google yourself and think:

“I'm number 4!”

You're really saying:

“I'm number 4 for this particular search, from this particular place, on this particular device, at this particular moment.”

And then there's another problem…

• You know your own business really well.

• You've probably searched for it before.

• You've clicked on your website.

• You've looked at your Google Business Profile.

• You've searched for your competitors.

• You may even have Googled yourself dozens of times.

• Google knows that your search behaviour is different from someone who has never heard of you.

• So repeatedly searching for yourself isn't a particularly reliable way to work out what a potential customer sees.

• It can also send you slightly mad.

One day you're delighted because you're number two, the next day you're number seven and you're convinced your SEO has fallen off a cliff.

It probably hasn’t.

Stop asking “Where do I rank?”

This is the mindset shift I’d love you to make:

Instead of asking:

“Where do I rank on Google?”

ask:

“How visible is my business to the people I actually want to work with?”

That's a much better question. Being number one for a search that nobody makes isn't particularly useful. However, being number five for a highly relevant search that brings you regular enquiries can be incredibly valuable. That’s what we should be aiming for.

Your goal is to be visible when your ideal customer is looking for what you sell.

So how do you actually check?

There are a few different things I recommend looking at.

1. Use Google Search Console for your own website

If you have a website, Google Search Console should be one of your best friends.

It's free, and it gives you information directly from Google about how your website is performing in search.

Rather than you typing a search into Google and trying to work out where you are, Search Console shows you things such as:

• What people searched for

• How often your website appeared

• How many people clicked on it

• Your click-through rate

• Your average position

• Which pages are appearing in search

You might think you know what people are searching for when they find you, however, Google Search Console can reveal searches you hadn't even considered.

For example, perhaps you think your main keyword is:

“Therapist Manchester”

But your website is also appearing for:

• Somatic therapist Manchester

• Therapist for anxiety

• Trauma-informed therapist

• Women's therapist Manchester

• Holistic therapy Manchester

Or perhaps you're a retreat leader and you think your main keyword is:

“Women's wellness retreat UK”

But your website is also appearing for:

• Wellness retreat for women

• Mindfulness retreat UK

• Yoga and wellness retreat

• Self-care retreat UK

• Women's spiritual retreat

Or perhaps you're a creative and your main keyword is:

“Brand photographer Manchester”

But your website is also appearing for:

• Personal brand photography

• Creative business photography

• Branding photographer

• Photography for small businesses

• Lifestyle brand photographer

You've got a much better understanding of how Google sees your business, and what potential customers are actually looking for.

Don't get obsessed with your “average position”

Search Console gives you an average position, which can be useful, but I wouldn't obsess over it.

Why?

Because your position can vary, it might be that you appear in position 3 for one search and position 11 for another.

You might appear differently depending on where someone is searching from plus Google is constantly changing what it shows in the results.

So don't panic because your average position has moved slightly from one week to the next, instead, look at the bigger picture:

• Are your impressions increasing?

• Are your clicks increasing?

• Are you appearing for more relevant searches?

• Are important pages on your website becoming more visible?

• Are those visitors turning into enquiries?

2. Separate Google Maps from your normal website ranking

If you work with clients locally, there's another really important distinction. There are essentially two different areas you need to think about:

Organic search results

and

Google Maps / the local pack.

You might have a website that's doing brilliantly in the organic results but your Google Business Profile isn't particularly visible in the local results.

Or you might be appearing prominently in the map results but not particularly well organically.

When you're checking your visibility, don't just look for your website, look at what happens when someone searches for your service locally:

• Who appears in the map results?

• Who appears in the organic results?

• Are you there?

• And which businesses keep appearing above you?

3. Check your competitors — not just yourself

This is probably the bit I'd spend more time on than Googling your own business. Choose perhaps 10–20 searches that really matter to you.

These should be searches your ideal customers might actually make. Look at who appears, look for the businesses that consistently show up, these are the businesses you need to pay attention to.

Don't just look at them and think:

“They're above me. Grr.”

Ask yourself:

What are they doing that I'm not?

Perhaps they've got:

• A really useful service page

• Separate pages for different locations

• Better answers to customer questions

• More detailed content

• Lots of relevant reviews

• A stronger Google Business Profile

• More websites linking to them

• A better internal linking structure

• A page specifically targeting a search you haven't considered

Don’t copy them but you can learn a huge amount by understanding why Google might consider their result useful.

4. Look for the gap

This is where competitor research becomes really powerful.

Let's say you search:

“Therapist Manchester”

You notice that the therapists appearing on page one all have detailed pages about the type of therapy they offer.

You then look at your own website.

You have a lovely homepage.

You've got some beautiful photographs.

You've got an about page.

And a contact page.

But you don't actually have a page that properly explains your therapy service.

That's a gap.

Or perhaps your competitors have pages targeting different areas around Manchester, while you've only ever mentioned Manchester once on your homepage.

That's another potential gap.

Or perhaps your competitors are answering questions that their clients regularly ask, while your website doesn't.

Again, an opportunity.

This is much more useful than simply knowing that you're currently sitting at position seven.

5. Look for the keywords where you're nearly there

Here's another thing I love about Search Console. You can find searches where Google is already showing your website, but you're not getting many clicks yet. That's potentially a really useful opportunity.

Imagine you've got a page that is appearing around positions 8–15 for a search that's highly relevant to your business, that gives you some really helpful information. Google already thinks your page is relevant enough to show.

It might just mean that you need to make that page better.

Perhaps it needs:

• More useful information

• A clearer page title

• Better headings

• Stronger internal links

• More specific answers

• Updated information

• Better alignment with what the person searching actually wants

Sometimes the quickest SEO wins are hiding in the pages that are already getting impressions but aren't quite performing as well as they could.

6. Don't forget the people behind the searches

There's one final thing I'd really encourage you to remember. SEO isn't about winning a competition against Google, it’s about helping your potential customers.

So when you're looking at your rankings, don't just ask:

“How can I get to number one?”

Ask:

“If I were my ideal customer, would this be the result I'd want to click?”

Because a number-one position isn't much use if your page doesn't answer the question. Yes, your website needs to make sense to Google but ultimately, it’s a person you’re trying to help.

A much better monthly Google check

If you're tempted to Google your business every morning, here's what I'd do instead.

Once a month, set aside a little time to look at:

Your own data

Open Google Search Console and look at:

• Your top searches

• Your impressions

• Your clicks

• Your click-through rate

• Your average position

• Your best-performing pages

Your local visibility

Search a handful of your most important services and locations.

Look at:

• Google Maps

• The local pack

• Organic results

And notice which businesses keep appearing.

Your competitors

Choose three to five businesses that consistently appear for your important searches and take a look at what they're doing well.

Then ask yourself: What could I do better?

Your opportunities

Finally, look for searches where:

• You're already getting impressions

• The search is relevant to your business

• You're not getting many clicks yet

Those could be your next SEO opportunities.

The bottom line

So, should you ever Google your own business?

Of course.

There's nothing wrong with occasionally checking what the search results look like. In fact, it's useful to see what your customers are seeing and who you're competing with. But don't use one Google search as your definitive ranking report because your Google results aren’t necessarily the same as mine or your customers, or someone searching from the other side of your town.

Instead, use Google Search Console to understand your own performance, look at your Google Maps visibility if you work with clients locally, and regularly research the competitors appearing for the searches that matter to you.

Want to know how your website is really performing on Google?

If you're not sure which searches you should be appearing for, or where your biggest opportunities are, that's exactly the sort of thing a proper SEO audit can uncover.