When someone already knows they want what you sell – "farm shop near Visby", "sourdough bread Gotland", "organic vegetables delivery" – they're actively looking. This is the easiest and cheapest place to win, because the customer already wants to find you. Your only job is to be there.
Paid vs organic
On Google there are two kinds of results:
- Organic – what Google's algorithm shows for free, based on how relevant and well-kept your information is. "Your information" means the content on your website and in your Google Business Profile – the two places you control yourself.
- Paid – ads placed at the top because someone pays.
For most small food producers the big win is in the organic results – and it's free. Don't pay unnecessarily before the basics are in place.
Google Business Profile – start here
This is the single most important thing you can do to be visible digitally – and it's free.
When someone searches for your name, or for "farm shop near me", the Business Profile is often the first thing they see: the panel with photos, rating, opening hours and directions. For many customers that panel is the whole impression – they never click through to any website. If the profile is empty or out of date, they choose someone else, often without you ever noticing.
A well-kept profile does the work for you, around the clock:
- You show up when it matters. A better place in local search results and on Google Maps – at the very moment someone nearby is looking for what you sell.
- It answers the customer's first three questions. Are they open? Where are they? Does it look good? Photos, hours and directions – without a single extra click.
- The reviews sell for you. The rating shows right in the search result, and other people's words carry more weight than your own.
- It keeps your details right everywhere. An address, phone number and hours that are correct build trust. Wrong Sunday hours cost you a customer – and maybe a sour review.
- AI services read it too. When someone asks an AI assistant "where's a good farm shop near Visby?", the answer is often pulled from Business Profiles.
Filling in the profile properly takes an afternoon the first time, then a quarter of an hour now and then – the worksheet at the bottom of the page takes you through it step by step. Make sure address, phone and hours match everywhere they appear. And look at the example alongside: this is what it looks like done.
Reviews – an underrated tool
Reviews are social proof: other customers sell your business for you. No other tool has the same power.
- A rise in average rating, say from 4.3 to 4.6, can lift purchases by 10–20%.
- Reviews affect both how high you appear on Google and whether people choose you.
- A steady stream of new reviews signals to Google that your business is alive.
How to ask: ask at the right moment – as a visit or purchase is ending, or via SMS/email within a day. Make it easy with a QR code or a direct link. A personal ask from you beats automated mass mailings. Never offer a discount or gift for a review – it breaks Google's rules. Five new reviews a month is enough to keep the profile feeling active.
Reply to them – all of them, not just the bad. Other customers read how you reply – your reply is marketing. Open the template below when it's time to answer.
How to reply to reviews – template for positive and negative▾
Positive reviews
- Reply to all of them – not just the bad ones. Silence signals indifference.
- Within 48 hours – speed shows that you read and care.
- Personal – use the customer's name and refer to a specific detail from the review.
- End with an invitation to come back or try something new.
- Avoid copy-paste replies – other customers read how you answer.
Negative reviews
- Other customers judge you more on how you reply than on the complaint itself. The reply is marketing.
- Reply within 24 hours – calmly, without defensiveness, without arguing in public.
- Follow the 4-step template: 1) thank them for the feedback, 2) acknowledge the specific problem, 3) explain briefly or apologise, 4) offer to take the dialogue offline (phone or email).
- Is the review fake or unfair? Flag it with Google instead of arguing.
Do this next
Download the worksheet and set up (or polish) your profile this afternoon – and put page 2 on the noticeboard. Next step: social media – where you spark curiosity and stay in touch.