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County Laois

SEO in Laois: more customers from Google

Getting found on Google, for Laois businesses. In October 2026 we checked where the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise turned up: Google Maps, the ordinary results, the ads and ChatGPT's answers. This page shows what we found, and one step to take in each place.

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A fold-out map of Laois with the Slieve Bloom hills on the Offaly border, a river past the town, a green pin, and a search bar and an answer bubble above itA fold-out map of Laois with the Slieve Bloom hills on the Offaly border, a river past the town, a green pin, and a search bar and an answer bubble above it
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More of Portlaoise's top businesses on Google Maps also made Google's first ten ordinary results than in any study town but Roscommon. In October 2026, eight of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise made the first ten for their own search. Their reviews were no higher than the rest of the list's, so Google Maps comes first below.

Four places

Where a customer in Portlaoise finds a business.

Each has its own section below, with what we found and one step to take.

Checked · Study by , founder · How we checked

I set the rules for this study: one town per county, the same five searches in each, the businesses Google Maps shows first, and no business named.

1 Google Maps

How do I get my business on Google Maps in Portlaoise?

Claim your Google Business Profile and fill it in: that profile is your listing on Google Maps. In Portlaoise, in October 2026, the top four in each Maps list sat closer to the centre: a median of 0.3 km from Portlaoise town centre, against 0.65 km for the other 35 businesses in the same lists.

They did not have more reviews: a median of 24, against 25 for the rest. Portlaoise's top four had a median rating of 4.9, against 4.8 for the rest. All 20 have claimed their profile, and 19 list their opening hours.

Among the 26 towns in our county study, 17 had a higher median for reviews at the top than Portlaoise, and eight a lower one. Six of Portlaoise's 20 had a new review in the 30 days before our check, under the 26 towns together, where it was 218 of the 505 businesses Google Maps showed first.

Three review cards stacked, each with a row of five stars, beside a map pinThree review cards stacked, each with a row of five stars, beside a map pin

Distance from Portlaoise town centre

Rest of the list: 0 km from the centreRest of the list: 0 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.1 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.1 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.1 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.3 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.3 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.3 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.3 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.4 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.6 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.6 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.7 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.9 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.9 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.9 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.5 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.5 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.6 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.7 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.9 km from the centreRest of the list: 2.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 2.3 km from the centreRest of the list: 2.4 km from the centreRest of the list: 4.5 km from the centreRest of the list: 4.5 km from the centreRest of the list: 14.4 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.2 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.2 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.3 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.3 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.3 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.5 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0.6 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 1.4 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 1.4 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 1.6 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 2.2 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 2.4 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 2.5 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 4.5 km from the centre
  • Top four in Google Maps 20
  • Rest of the list 34
Each dot is one business, placed by its distance and direction from Portlaoise town centre. 12 of the 20 top-four businesses sit within 0.5 km, against 15 of the 35 others. The rings are real distances; the space between them is squeezed so the crowded centre can be read.
Show the numbers
Distance from the centreTop four in Google MapsRest of the list
0 to 0.5 km1215
0.5 to 1 km17
1 to 2 km36
2 to 5 km45
5 to 10 km00
over 10 km01

The top four against the rest of the list

  • Top four in Google Maps
  • Rest of the list

Reviews (median)

24
25

Photos (median)

12
10

Distance from Portlaoise town centre (median)

0.3 km
0.65 km

Shorter is closer.

Rating (median)

4.9
4.8

Check where you show up

Search your trade and your town on your phone, from where your customers are, and note where you sit in the map.

Then open your Google profile and check that your hours, photos and services are all there and up to date.

Claim or check your Google Business Profile
The profile and reviews, in numbers

The Google profile

  • Top four in Google Maps
  • Rest of the list

Opening hours listed

19 of 20
32 of 35

Profile claimed by the owner

20 of 20
32 of 35

Website linked on the profile

17 of 20
16 of 35

Booking link on the profile

0 of 20
2 of 35

Reviews at the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first

  • 6 of 20 had a new review in the 30 days before our check
  • 7 of 20 replied to at least one of their ten newest reviews

Not every profile shows every figure: the top four's median rating is over the 19 with a figure, the median rating for the rest is over the 28 with a figure, the top four's median photos is over the 19 with a figure, the median photos for the rest is over the 31 with a figure and the median distance for the rest is over the 34 with a figure.

"Website linked on the profile" counts any web address in the profile's website field, a Facebook page or a site that no longer works included. "A website of their own" counts only the business's own working site, wherever we found it.

Local SEO

What the top four have in common

What the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise had in common.

  • Fewer reviews

    A median of 24 reviews, against 25 for the rest of the Maps list.

  • Closer to the centre

    A median of 0.3 km from Portlaoise town centre, against 0.65 km.

  • Their Google profile

    All 20 have claimed it and 19 of 20 list their hours, against 32 and 32 of the 35 further down.

  • A website of their own

    12 of 20, against 14 of the 35 further down the list: somewhere to send a customer from the profile to check a price, call or book.

That is what they share. It is not proof of what put them there: Google doesn't publish how it ranks the map. And we searched from Portlaoise town centre, so a customer searching from somewhere else can see a different map.

Across the 112 searches in our all-Ireland study, comparing businesses inside the same search, more reviews went with a higher place on the map in 89% of searches, and being closer to the town centre in 96%.

Your own website works on the list under the map: across our five Portlaoise searches, local businesses' own websites took 17 of the 50 places in the first ten ordinary results, and directories and listings took 19. A page of your own is how you take a place there in your own name, and it's where a customer goes from your Google profile to check a price, or to call or book.

A magnifying glass over a small map tile, its lens on the one green map pin among navy pins

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2 The ordinary results

How do I rank higher on Google in Portlaoise?

With a page of your own that answers the search. The ten ordinary results under the map box are web pages, not Google profiles. On our five Portlaoise searches in October 2026, local businesses' own websites took 17 of those 50 places.

Eight of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise made the first ten for their own search. The other 12 did not, though the map showed them first.

Across the 26 towns in our county study, local businesses' own websites took 337 of the 1,300 places in the first ten. Portlaoise's 17 of 50 is over that; only Dublin, Galway, Cork and Naas had a higher share.

A list of search results with a cursor on the top result, which is lit greenA list of search results with a cursor on the top result, which is lit green

What Google showed for each of the five Portlaoise searches

  • Local business website
  • Directory or listing
  • Social media page
  • News, forum or national chain
  • One of the top four
Show the numbers
SearchLocal business websiteDirectory or listingSocial media pageNews, forum or national chainOne of the top four
"plumber portlaoise"26112
"electrician portlaoise"25120
"cafe portlaoise"14410
"hairdresser portlaoise"53202
"physio portlaoise"71115
What the top-four sites we could read do
  • 6 of 11 read put the trade and the town in the page title
  • 3 of 11 read carry business schema, the code that tells Google what and where you are
  • 0 of 11 read posted on a blog in the last 12 months
  • 4 of 5 searches showed a question about price under "People also ask"

On 14 October 2026, Google showed no AI Overview on any of the five Portlaoise searches.

Directories and listings took 19 of those 50, most often Yelp with five, Golden Pages with four and Plumbers in Ireland with three.

Social media pages took 9 of the 50 places. Social media

General SEO

3 Paying to appear

How do I get more leads from Google in Portlaoise?

Google ads put your business in the sponsored spots on the searches you pick, and you pay when someone clicks. In October 2026, one of the 15 Portlaoise businesses we could look up by web address had a Google ad shown in the 30 days before our check, going by Google's own ad records, and it was the only one with an ad on record from any date.

One of our five Portlaoise searches showed an ad when we looked, at about 3pm on 14 October 2026. That is one look at one moment, and ads can be set to run at certain hours. Google's own estimate of what one click on an ad costs ran from €0.13 for "cafe portlaoise" to €1.95 for "plumber portlaoise".

Portlaoise's one of 15 with an ad in those 30 days was under the 26 towns in our county study together, where it was 39 of the 322 businesses we could look up. Dundalk was level, and 15 towns had a higher share.

A megaphone beside a euro coin, with a price tag hanging from its handleA megaphone beside a euro coin, with a price tag hanging from its handle
Click costs and ad records, in numbers

What one click costs, by Google's estimate

  • "plumber portlaoise" €1.95 a click
  • "electrician portlaoise" €1.81 a click
  • "cafe portlaoise" €0.13 a click
  • "hairdresser portlaoise" €0.91 a click
  • "physio portlaoise" no figure

Google's own estimate of the average an advertiser pays for one click on an ad shown for that search. Google reports this estimate in US dollars; we converted it at the European Central Bank reference rate on 14 October 2026 (1 euro to 1.1195 US dollars). It is Google's estimate, not a Wagyu price. Google gave no figure for "physio portlaoise".

Google ads: the businesses and the searches

  • 1 of 15 have ads in Google's ad records, from any date
  • 1 of 15 had an ad shown in the 30 days before our check
  • 1 of 5 searches showed an ad when we looked

Google's ad records are looked up by web address, so the five with no website are left out.

Digital ads

4 AI answers

How do I get ChatGPT to name my business in Portlaoise?

With more reviews, a higher rating and a place on the sites it reads. Across our all-Ireland study, more reviews and a higher rating went with being named by ChatGPT. For Portlaoise, in October 2026, we asked ChatGPT, with web search on, "Who is a good [trade] in Portlaoise?" three times for each of the five trades. More than half the sources it cited were directories and listing sites: 22 of 42.

ChatGPT named 13 of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise at least once, and 11 other businesses, two of them outside the first 40 in Google Maps. The names changed between answers, so any single answer is one moment.

Across the 26 towns in our county study, ChatGPT named 275 of the 505 businesses Google Maps showed first. Portlaoise's 13 of 20 is over that, level with Cavan; only Tullamore, Dundalk and Bray had a higher share.

A speech bubble holding a short list, with the middle item tickedA speech bubble holding a short list, with the middle item ticked
Sources and site checks, in numbers

What ChatGPT cited: 42 sources across 15 answers

  • Directories and listings 22
  • Local business websites 13
  • Other 4
  • Official bodies 3

Each answer can cite several sources; 42 in all across the 15 answers.

On the 11 top-four Portlaoise sites we could read

  • 1 of 11 read have an FAQ section
  • 9 of 11 read let AI crawlers in (robots.txt)

AEO services

The websites

The websites of the same 20 businesses.

They have a page of their own: what the sites have, what they miss, and four fixes for a Portlaoise website.

Read web design in Laois
A phone showing a shop's website with a green call button, beside a booking calendar

Not sure where you show up?

Send your website address and you'll get a straight read on how it shows up on Google, from the map to the ordinary results.

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Steps you can take

Four steps for getting found in Laois, each from a gap we measured in Portlaoise.

  1. Build up your reviews and keep your profile full

    13 of 20 businesses Google Maps showed first replied to none of their ten newest reviews

    The top four in Portlaoise had no more reviews than the rest of the list, a median of 24 against 25, and six of the 20 had a new one in the 30 days before our check. There's room to stand out: ask every customer for a review when the job's done, and reply to each one you get.

  2. Get into the ordinary results

    12 of 20 businesses Google Maps showed first did not make the first ten results for their own search

    Of the 11 top-four Portlaoise sites we could read, six put the trade and the town in the page title. Put both in yours, then add a page for each service that answers what people ask. On our Portlaoise searches, Google's "People also ask" box asked "What is the cost of an electrician per day?"

  3. Check your ads show when people search

    4 of 5 trade searches showed no ad when we looked

    Ads were rare at the top in Portlaoise: one of the 15 businesses we could look up had an ad shown in the 30 days before our check. If you run ads, search your trade and town at a few times of day to see whether yours appears, and weigh what a job is worth against Google's estimate of a click.

  4. Get listed where ChatGPT looks

    7 of 20 businesses Google Maps showed first were not named by ChatGPT

    Directories and listing sites were 22 of the 42 sources ChatGPT cited for Portlaoise. Get onto the directories for your trade with the same name, address and phone as your Google profile, and keep the reviews coming.

Where we can help

Our work

See the work we've done.

Every site here is real client work, live and public. Have a look around before you talk to us.

See all our work
Questions

What owners ask about getting found.

What do the businesses Google Maps shows first in Laois have in common?

A shorter distance from the centre; they had no more reviews. In October 2026, the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise, County Laois, across plumbers, electricians, cafes, hairdressers and physio and physical therapy clinics, had a median of 24 reviews against 25 for the other 35 in the same lists, and sat a median of 0.3 km from Portlaoise town centre against 0.65 km. All 20 had claimed their Google profile, and 19 of 20 listed their hours. Across the 112 searches in our all-Ireland study, more reviews went with a higher place on the map in 89% of searches, and being closer to the centre in 96%.

Where does a website help a Portlaoise business get found?

In the ordinary results under the map. Across our five Portlaoise searches in October 2026, local businesses' own websites took 17 of the 50 places in the first ten, a bigger share than in any study town but Dublin, Galway, Cork and Naas. A website is also where a customer goes from your Google profile to check a price or the area you cover, or to call or book.

Does ChatGPT recommend businesses in Portlaoise?

It names some. In October 2026 we asked ChatGPT, with web search on, "Who is a good [trade] in Portlaoise?" three times for each of five trades. It named 13 of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Portlaoise at least once, a higher share than in any study town but Tullamore, Dundalk and Bray, plus 11 others. The names changed between answers, so any single answer is one moment. Across our all-Ireland study, more reviews and a higher rating went with being named.

Is it worth paying for Google ads in Portlaoise?

It depends on what a job is worth to you against what a click costs. In October 2026, one of the 15 Portlaoise businesses we could look up had a Google ad shown in the 30 days before our check, and one of our five searches showed an ad when we looked, at about 3pm. Google's own estimate of what one click on an ad costs ran from €0.13 for "cafe portlaoise" to €1.95 for "plumber portlaoise".

Digital ads

How did you choose the Portlaoise businesses?

We searched Google for plumbers, electricians, cafes, hairdressers and physio and physical therapy clinics in Portlaoise on 14 October 2026, on a phone, logged out, from Portlaoise town centre. From each Google Maps list we took the first four local businesses, after removing chains, wrong trades, duplicate listings and businesses outside the county: 20 in all. Four per trade is enough to count, but too few to compare one trade with another, so this page doesn't.

Do you only work with businesses in Portlaoise?

No. We work with businesses across Ireland. The study looked at Portlaoise because our method takes the biggest town in each county, and in County Laois that is Portlaoise.

Michael Collins, founder of Wagyu Digital
MethodHow we checked
  • Checked October 2026. The searches ran on 14 October 2026 at about 3pm Irish time; ChatGPT was asked on 14 October 2026.
  • The 20 businesses are the first four local businesses in the Google Maps list for each of five trade searches. The searches ran on a phone, logged out, from Portlaoise town centre. Chains, wrong trades, duplicate listings and businesses outside the county were removed first. "The rest of the list" is everyone else in the same cleaned lists: 35 businesses.
  • "The first ten results for their own search" means the first ten ordinary results, under the map and the ads, for the business's trade-and-town search, such as "plumber portlaoise". Each result was put in one of four kinds: a local business's own website, a directory or listing, a social media page, or news, forums and national chains together.
  • Review figures come from each Google profile: the number of reviews, and the ten newest reviews, for when they were posted and whether the owner replied.
  • A website counts only if it is the business's own. A Facebook or Instagram page alone does not.
  • A website linked from the Google profile counts as live even when its host shows our checks a bot check or refuses our requests. We cannot read those sites, so they are left out of every page check: "of 11 read" means the 11 sites we could read.
  • Google ads come from Google's Ads Transparency Center, looked up by the business's own web address, plus one look at each search. So the ads figures count only businesses with a web address of their own, including sites that no longer work. The ad records cover every ad Google lists for that address, from any date; "in the 30 days before our check" counts the businesses with an ad last shown in that time. Facebook ads were not checked.
  • Cost per click is Google's own estimate for each search. Google reports this estimate in US dollars; we converted it at the European Central Bank reference rate on 14 October 2026 (1 euro to 1.1195 US dollars). It is Google's estimate, not a Wagyu price.
  • ChatGPT was asked "Who is a good [trade] in [town]?" three times for each trade, from Ireland, with web search on. A business counts as named if any of the answers names it. Its sources are the pages it cited, each put in one kind.
  • Distances run from the Portlaoise town centre point to each business's map pin. On the ring chart they are rounded to 0.1 km, and directions to 5 degrees.
  • The all-Ireland lines on Google Maps and ChatGPT come from every cleaned Maps list in the study with five or more businesses: 112 searches, 1,721 businesses. They compare businesses in the same search, and show what goes together, not what causes what.
  • Figures "across the 26 towns" add up the same count for all 26 study towns, one town per county. Every town was searched the same way on the same day, 14 October 2026.
  • Anything else we could not check is left out of that count, and the count says so.
  • A median is the middle value. With an even number of businesses it is the average of the two middle values.
  • No business from the study is named on these pages.

Sources: Google Ads Transparency Center; European Central Bank euro reference rates.