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County Sligo

SEO in Sligo: more customers from Google

Getting found on Google, for Sligo businesses. In October 2026 we checked where the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Sligo town 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 with the bay and Knocknarea west of Sligo town, a river from a lake winding through the streets, a green pin, a search bar and an answer bubbleA fold-out map with the bay and Knocknarea west of Sligo town, a river from a lake winding through the streets, a green pin, a search bar and an answer bubble
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In Sligo town, local businesses' own websites held as many places in Google's first ten as directories did. On our five searches in October 2026, they took 16 of the 50 places, a share only five of our 26 study towns beat. We looked at that, at the map, the ads and ChatGPT's answers, and at what a Sligo business can do in each.

Four places

Where a customer in Sligo 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 Sligo?

Claim your Google Business Profile and fill it in: that profile is your listing on Google Maps. In October 2026 the top four in each Sligo Maps list had far more reviews than the rest: a median of 63 against 9.5 for the other 48 businesses in the same lists. They sat no closer to the centre: a median of 0.3 km from Sligo town centre, against 0.2 km.

Sligo's top four were rated no higher: a median of 4.9, the same as the rest. Of the 20, 19 have claimed their profile and 17 list their opening hours.

Among the 26 towns in our county study, only Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Navan and Naas had a higher median for reviews at the top than Sligo's 63.

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 Sligo town centre

Rest of the list: 0 km from the centreRest of the list: 0 km from the centreRest 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: 0.1 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: 0.1 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: 0.1 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: 0.2 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: 0.2 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: 0.3 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: 0.4 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.5 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.5 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: 0.7 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 0.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 1 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 1.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 2.4 km from the centreRest of the list: 4.7 km from the centreRest of the list: 5.8 km from the centreRest of the list: 7.2 km from the centreRest of the list: 14.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 0 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: 0.2 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: 0.2 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: 0.7 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 1.2 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 1.9 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 2 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 3.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 14.1 km from the centreTop four in Google Maps: 14.1 km from the centre
  • Top four in Google Maps 20
  • Rest of the list 48
Each dot is one business, placed by its distance and direction from Sligo town centre. 12 of the 20 top-four businesses sit within 0.5 km, against 35 of the 48 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 km1235
0.5 to 1 km26
1 to 2 km32
2 to 5 km12
5 to 10 km02
over 10 km21

The top four against the rest of the list

  • Top four in Google Maps
  • Rest of the list

Reviews (median)

63
9.5

Photos (median)

14.5
9

Distance from Sligo town centre (median)

0.3 km
0.2 km

Shorter is closer.

Rating (median)

4.9
4.9

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

17 of 20
42 of 48

Profile claimed by the owner

19 of 20
38 of 48

Website linked on the profile

17 of 20
27 of 48

Booking link on the profile

1 of 20
3 of 48

Reviews at the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first

  • 11 of 20 had a new review in the 30 days before our check
  • 8 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 and the median rating for the rest is over the 42 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 Sligo had in common.

  • More reviews

    A median of 63 reviews, against 9.5 for the rest of the Maps list.

  • Further from the centre

    A median of 0.3 km from Sligo town centre, against 0.2 km.

  • Their Google profile

    19 of 20 have claimed it and 17 of 20 list their hours, against 38 and 42 of the 48 further down.

  • A website of their own

    17 of 20, against 20 of the 48 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 Sligo 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 Sligo searches, local businesses' own websites took 16 of the 50 places in the first ten ordinary results. 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

Not in the map when customers search?

Pick a time for a free 15-minute call and tell us your business name and town. You'll get a straight read on your Google profile and where it shows up in the map.

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2 The ordinary results

How do I rank higher on Google in Sligo?

With a page of your own that answers the search. The ten ordinary results under the map box are web pages, not Google profiles. Across our five Sligo searches in October 2026, local businesses' own websites took 16 of those 50 places.

In Sligo, four of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first made the first ten for their own search, and five of the 16 local websites there belong to businesses outside the first 40 in Google Maps.

Across the 26 towns in our county study, local businesses' own websites took 337 of the 1,300 places in the first ten. Sligo's 16 of 50 is over that: only Dublin, Galway, Cork, Naas and Portlaoise had a higher share, and Dundalk the same.

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 Sligo 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 sligo"63012
"electrician sligo"14140
"cafe sligo"31240
"hairdresser sligo"16301
"physio sligo"52124
What the top-four sites we could read do
  • 12 of 16 read put the trade and the town in the page title
  • 5 of 16 read carry business schema, the code that tells Google what and where you are
  • 2 of 16 read posted on a blog in the last 12 months
  • 3 of 5 searches showed a question about price under "People also ask"

On 14 October 2026, Google showed an AI Overview above the results on two of the five Sligo searches: "plumber sligo" and "electrician sligo".

Directories and listings took 16 of those 50, most often Fresha with four and Yelp with three.

Social media pages took 7 of the 50 places. Social media

General SEO

3 Paying to appear

How do I get more leads from Google in Sligo?

Google ads put your business in the sponsored spots on the searches you pick, and you pay when someone clicks. In October 2026, three of the 17 Sligo 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. No others had an ad from any date.

When we searched, at about 3pm on 14 October 2026, one of our five Sligo searches showed an ad, so someone was paying for a sponsored spot at that moment. Google's own estimate of what one click on an ad costs ran from €0.02 for "cafe sligo" to €4.98 for "plumber sligo".

Across the 26 towns in our county study, 39 of the 322 businesses we could look up had an ad shown in those 30 days. Sligo's three of 17 is over that, with seven towns higher.

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 sligo" €4.98 a click
  • "electrician sligo" €2.70 a click
  • "cafe sligo" €0.02 a click
  • "hairdresser sligo" €1.36 a click
  • "physio sligo" 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 sligo".

Google ads: the businesses and the searches

  • 3 of 17 have ads in Google's ad records, from any date
  • 3 of 17 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 three with no website are left out.

Digital ads

4 AI answers

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

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 Sligo, in October 2026, we asked ChatGPT, with web search on, "Who is a good [trade] in Sligo?" three times for each of the five trades. The sources it cited most were directories and listing sites, 23 of 47; local businesses' own websites were five.

ChatGPT named 11 of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Sligo at least once, plus 17 others, nine of them outside the first 40 in Google Maps. Of the 28 businesses it named, 17 turned up in some answers and not others.

Across the 26 towns in our county study, ChatGPT named 275 of the 505 businesses Google Maps showed first. Sligo's 11 of 20 is a little over that, level with Carlow, Naas, Kilkenny and Clonmel.

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: 47 sources across 15 answers

  • Directories and listings 23
  • Other 14
  • Local business websites 5
  • Official bodies 5

Each answer can cite several sources; 47 in all across the 15 answers.

On the 16 top-four Sligo sites we could read

  • 7 of 16 read have an FAQ section
  • 13 of 16 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 Sligo website.

Read web design in Sligo
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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See the SEO plans and prices

Steps you can take

Four steps for getting found in Sligo, each built on what we found in October 2026.

  1. Build up your reviews and keep your profile full

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

    The top four in Sligo had a median of 63 reviews against 9.5 for the rest of the list, and 11 of the 20 had a new one in the 30 days before our check. Ask every customer for a review when the job's done, and reply to each one you get.

  2. Get into the ordinary results

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

    In Sligo, 12 of the 16 sites we could read already put the trade and the town in the page title, so the next step is a page for each service that answers what people ask. On our Sligo 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

    In Sligo, three of the 17 businesses we could look up had an ad shown in the 30 days before our check, and one of our five searches showed an ad at about 3pm. If you run ads, search your own trade and town at a few times of day. Google's estimate for one click on "plumber sligo" was €4.98, so send each click to the page for that service.

  4. Get listed where ChatGPT looks

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

    For Sligo, ChatGPT cited directories and listing sites 23 times out of 47, and named 17 businesses from outside the top four. 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 Sligo have in common?

More reviews; they sat no closer to the centre. In October 2026, the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Sligo town, across plumbers, electricians, cafes, hairdressers and physio and physical therapy clinics, had a median of 63 reviews against 9.5 for the other 48 in the same lists, and sat a median of 0.3 km from Sligo town centre against 0.2 km. 19 of 20 had claimed their Google profile, and 17 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 Sligo business get found?

In the ordinary results under the map. On our five Sligo searches in October 2026, local businesses' own websites took 16 of the 50 places in the first ten, as many as directories and listing sites, and five of those 16 belong to businesses outside the first 40 in Google Maps. 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 Sligo?

It names some, and in October 2026 it named more from outside the map's top four than from inside it. We asked ChatGPT, with web search on, "Who is a good [trade] in Sligo?" three times for each of five trades. It named 11 of the 20 businesses Google Maps showed first in Sligo at least once, plus 17 others. Of the 28 it named, 17 turned up in some answers and not others, 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 Sligo?

It depends on what a job is worth to you against what a click costs. Google's own estimate of what one click on an ad costs ran from €0.02 for "cafe sligo" to €4.98 for "plumber sligo". In October 2026, three of the 17 Sligo 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.

Digital ads

How did you choose the Sligo businesses?

We searched Google for plumbers, electricians, cafes, hairdressers and physio and physical therapy clinics in Sligo on 14 October 2026, on a phone, logged out, from Sligo 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 Sligo town?

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

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 Sligo 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: 48 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 sligo". 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 16 read" means the 16 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 Sligo 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.