How to Get Your Business Found Online in Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood is a tight-knit city on the shores of Lake Erie, home to around 50,000 people. Its main drag, Detroit Avenue, is lined with independent coffee shops, family-run restaurants, boutique fitness studios, and service businesses like plumbers and electricians. The local economy runs on word-of-mouth and repeat customers. But here’s the problem: when someone in Lakewood pulls out their phone and searches “best pizza near me” or “affordable plumber Lakewood,” too many great local businesses simply don’t show up.
Why? Most small business owners in Lakewood are busy running their businesses—not studying how Google works. They assume that having a website is enough. But Google doesn’t think like a customer. It thinks like a librarian. If your online information is messy, outdated, or missing, Google won’t recommend you. The good news? You don’t need a marketing degree to fix it. Here are a few practical steps you can take yourself.
1. Set up and update your Google Business Profile This is the single most important thing you can do. Go to google.com/business and claim your profile. Make sure your business name, address, phone number, and hours are exactly right. Add photos of your storefront, your team, and your products. If you’re a restaurant, post your menu. If you’re a service business, list the areas you serve (like “Lakewood, Rocky River, and Westlake”). Google uses this information to decide whether to show you in local search results.
2. Ask for reviews—and respond to them Reviews are like social proof for Google. When you have a handful of recent, genuine reviews, Google is more likely to trust you. Ask your best customers to leave a review on your Google profile. Don’t offer discounts or freebies in exchange—just ask nicely. And when you get a review, respond. Thank the person. If it’s a complaint, apologize and offer to make it right. It shows you’re active and care.
3. Make sure your website works well on a phone More than half of local searches happen on a phone. If your website takes too long to load or the text is tiny, people will leave. You don’t need a fancy redesign. Just test your site on your own phone. If you have to pinch and zoom to read anything, call your web developer and ask for a “mobile-friendly” update.
4. Use local keywords naturally When you write about your business on your website, mention where you are. Instead of “We serve great coffee,” try “We serve great coffee on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood.” Instead of “Expert plumbing repairs,” try “Expert plumbing repairs for homes in Lakewood.” These small changes help Google connect your business to local searches.
One more thing: backlinks You might hear the term “backlinks” and tune out. But here’s what it means in plain English: a backlink is when another website links to yours. Think of it like a referral. When a Lakewood community blog or a local news site links to your business, Google sees that as a vote of confidence. The more quality referrals you have, the higher you can rank. That’s where BacklinkUSA.com comes in. We publish articles about businesses like yours on high-authority websites, so you get those valuable referrals and show up more often when local customers search.