How does a new business get found, and then get chosen?

When somebody searches for your name, or for what you do nearby, this profile is often the first thing they see: your hours, your phone number, directions, photos and reviews. It costs nothing to claim. Verify it, fill in every field, use real photos of your place and your work, and keep the hours right, especially around holidays. A wrong closing time is an easy way to turn a first visit into a bad review.

A website does not need to be clever. It needs to say what you do, where you are, when you are open and how to reach you, and it needs to work on a phone, because that is usually where people will find it. Buy the domain in your own name and keep every login, so the site stays yours whoever builds or runs it.

Brand basics are simpler than they sound: a name, a logo, a couple of colors and one plain sentence about what you do, used the same way on your sign, your vehicle, your website and your social accounts. Pick the social channels your customers actually use and keep them current. A channel you keep up is worth more than several you abandon, because an empty page tells a customer you might be closed.

Before you hire a designer, a web developer or an agency, ask who will own the domain, the website and the accounts when the work is done. Ask what it costs to keep everything running, and what happens to your site and your accounts if you part ways. Ask to see work they did for a business like yours, and how you will both know whether it is working. Be careful with anyone who promises a ranking or a number of new customers.