If Clients Can’t Find You, They Can’t Hire You

Part One: How Clients Find You Before They Ever Visit Your Website

If people are actively looking for a cabinet maker or millwork shop in your area and they don’t find you, nothing else really matters.

Not your website.
Not your reputation.
Not the quality of your work.

Visibility comes first.

When it comes to Google, there are two main ways potential clients discover woodworking businesses like yours:

1. Through your Google Business Profile (the map results)
   

2. Through your website (the regular search results)
   

Both matter, and both play different roles.

This article focuses on the first — your Google Business Profile — because it often sits in front of everything else. In many local searches, it appears before websites, before ads, and before people ever take the time to browse further.

In Part Two of this visibility series, we’ll look at how your website and search visibility work alongside this — and how a well-structured site can sometimes reach page one faster than people expect.

But first, it’s worth understanding why your Google Business Profile is some of the most valuable online real estate your business can have — and why so many woodshops underuse it or ignore it completely.

What a Google Business Profile Actually Is

Your Google Business Profile is the listing that appears when someone searches for a business like yours on Google — especially when that search has local intent.

For example:

• “cabinet maker near me”
  

• “custom cabinets [city]”
  

• “millwork shop [area]”
  

When someone searches, Google often shows a map with three businesses listed underneath it before any normal websites appear.

This is known as the “map pack.”

Those three listings typically receive around 40–45% of all clicks for local searches. That’s nearly half of the available attention, going to just three businesses.

If you’re not in that group — or your profile looks weak compared to others — you’re at a disadvantage before anyone even sees your website.

Why This Matters So Much (and Why It’s Often Ignored)

Here’s the part that surprises a lot of shop owners:

• Your Google Business Profile is free
  

• It appears before most websites
  

• It’s often the first impression someone gets of your business
  

And yet, when reviewing woodworking business listings over the past several months, the same issues kept showing up again and again:

• Profiles created years ago and never updated
  

• Incorrect or vague business categories
  

• Very few photos — or none at all
  

• A handful of old reviews, with nothing recent
  

The result is that many good shops are effectively invisible, or look inactive, even when they’re producing quality work every week.

The good news is that this is one of the easiest areas to improve, once you know what matters.

Optimising Your Google Business Profile (What Actually Makes a Difference)

You don’t need to obsess over every feature Google adds. But there are a few core areas that have a real impact on whether you show up — and whether people click.

1. Your Primary Category Is Critical

Google treats your primary category as one of the strongest signals for when to show your business.

And this is where many woodworking businesses unintentionally hurt themselves.

There are plenty of relevant categories available:

• Cabinet maker
  

• Millwork shop
  

• Custom furniture maker
  

• Woodworker
  

• Carpenter
  

While some of these may technically apply, they are not equal in Google’s eyes.

For example:
If you primarily build cabinets and built-ins, but your primary category is set to Carpenter or Woodworker, Google is far less likely to show you when someone searches specifically for a cabinet maker.

When reviewing large numbers of listings, this mismatch shows up constantly.

Action:
Make sure your primary category most closely matches what you actually want to be found for. Secondary categories can help — but the primary one carries the most weight.

2. Fill Out Everything (Even If You Did This Years Ago)

Google Business Profiles have evolved a lot over the years.

If the last time you touched your profile was a decade ago, there’s a good chance you’re missing information that didn’t even exist back then.

This includes:

• Services
  

• Business description
  

• Attributes
  

• Service areas
  

• Messaging options
  

• Updated contact details
  

A more complete profile helps Google understand what you do — and helps potential clients feel confident they’re dealing with an active, professional business.

Action:
Go through every section of your profile and fill it out properly, even if it feels repetitive.

3. Write a Business Description That Speaks to the Right Clients

Your business description isn’t just there for Google — people read it.

This is your chance to clearly explain:

• What you do
  

• Who you work with
  

• Where you work
  

• The type of projects you focus on
  

Avoid vague, generic wording. This isn’t the place for “quality craftsmanship at competitive prices.”

Plain, confident language works best:

• What kind of work you do
  

• Who it’s for (homeowners, designers, builders)
  

• What area you serve
  

Think of it as a short introduction you’d give someone if they asked what your shop specialises in.

4. Photos: One of the Biggest Missed Opportunities

Photos are one of the strongest signals on a Google Business Profile — both for Google and for people.

And yet, many profiles have:

• Very few photos
  

• Old photos
  

• Or images that don’t show the work clearly
  

If you’re producing new kitchens, built-ins, or installations every month, you already have the raw material.

You don’t need professional photography for Google.

Action:
Aim to add at least one good photo from every finished project:

• Clean, well-lit shots
  

• Focus on finished work
  

• Consistent updates over time
  

Regular photo uploads signal that your business is active — and they dramatically improve click-through rates.

5. Reviews: Quantity, Recency, and Consistency

Reviews are one of the clearest trust signals available.

When looking at large numbers of woodworking business profiles, one thing stands out: most have far fewer reviews than they should.

It’s not just about the total number:

• Recent reviews matter more than old ones
  

• A steady trickle is better than a burst every few years
  

From a client’s perspective, reviews answer a simple question:
“Are other people choosing this shop right now?”

Action:
Make review requests part of your normal process:

• Ask when a client is happy
  

• Make it easy with a direct link
  

• Aim for consistency, not perfection
  

Even a small increase in review activity can make a noticeable difference in visibility and trust.

Why This Is Worth Fixing First

Out of all the online improvements a woodshop can make, this is one of the highest return-on-effort areas.

Your Google Business Profile:

• Costs nothing
  

• Puts you in front of people who are already searching
  

• Often decides whether someone clicks, calls, or moves on
  

If visibility is weak, everything else struggles.

In the next article, we’ll look at what happens after someone finds you — and how your website presentation can either reinforce trust or quietly undo all that visibility.

👉 Next: Part 2 of this article covers website SEO

And if you’d like help improving your visibility without having to figure all of this out yourself, you can learn more at
👉 https://woodworkhero.com