Here's a number worth sitting with: 81% of your clients research you online before they ever call. So when someone gets your name as a referral, they don't just dial — they look you up first. If what they find is thin, inconsistent, or missing, that warm lead goes cold before your phone ever rings.
This guide fixes that. It's the exact 5-step system we teach in our Get Found bootcamp to make sure you own every search result: Claim, Name, Optimize, Connect, Automate. Work through it once and you go from "hard to find" to the obvious choice in your market.
Where clients actually check you
When someone looks you up, they hit three places, in this order:
Google — specifically your Google Business Profile.
Instagram — which Google now scrapes and shows in search results too.
LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube — the supporting cast.
Your job is to make sure your name, your brokerage or company, and your city show up consistently across all of them. That consistency is what turns you into someone the algorithms — and real people — trust.
The golden rule: same name, same handle, same photo, everywhere
Before the steps, internalize this one rule, because it's where most professionals lose. Every profile should use the same name, the same handle, and the same photo.
When your details are scattered — one handle here, a different photo there, an old brokerage on a third — you send Google mixed signals and it stops trusting you. When every source points to the same data, Google marks your information as trusted, matches your profile as real, and starts recommending you. Bonus: you become easy to remember, so the person who saw one post can actually find you later.
Quick gut check: Google your first name, last name, city, and specialty right now. What shows up? That's what your next client sees.
Step 1 — Claim
Start with your Google Business Profile. It's free, and most professionals leave it empty or unclaimed — which is exactly the opening you want to take.
Go to google.com/business.
If a profile for you already exists, claim it. If not, create it.
Complete verification — Google may use phone, text, postcard, or a short video. Don't stop until you're verified.
A few rules that keep you out of trouble:
Use a real physical address — your office, or your brokerage. A condo is fine if allowed. Google favors businesses clients can actually visit.
No PO boxes, UPS stores, or virtual mailboxes. Google knows, and it'll reject you.
Don't claim an entire city or state. "All of Chicago" tells Google nothing about where to promote you. A specific address wins.
One profile per real location. Only create a second profile if you have a genuinely distant office (think Chicago and Vegas, not two neighboring suburbs) — adjacent profiles just confuse Google and can get both disabled.
If Google asks for a video verification, it takes under three minutes: show a street sign, your building number, and the inside of your space.
Step 2 — Name
Now make your name consistent and searchable everywhere.
Google Business Profile: fill in your business name, category (real estate, insurance, mortgage — whatever you actually do), a short description, phone, hours (don't set "24 hours"), and your website.
Instagram: set your handle to your name plus your city or field (for example, SamMehrbodVancouver or SamMehrbodInsurance), and put your first name, last name, and city in the name field — Instagram reads it in search.
Repeat your name, last name, and service across LinkedIn, YouTube, and your website. The repetition is the point.
Step 3 — Optimize
Make each profile actually work once someone lands on it.
Google Business Profile: add your category, real photos (headshot, logo, listings, you at work), and ask five past clients for reviews — the first five are the hardest and the most valuable.
Instagram: switch your account to Business and Public (this unlocks insights, contact buttons, and visibility). Write a bio that says who you help. Add a link (your roomvu website or VuCard). Set up Highlights and three pinned posts — your best-performing content.
Facebook: treat it as a pay-to-play storefront. Use a Business Page, not your personal profile (Meta is banning personal accounts used for business). Same name, same photo.
LinkedIn: this is where people with real money and intent spend time. Set a custom public URL, a searchable headline, turn on profile visibility, and feature your best posts. Full walkthrough: How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile to Get Found.
Not sure where you stand? Run the Bio Coach — it looks you up, scores your visibility, and tells you exactly what to fix on each platform.
Step 4 — Connect
A profile alone won't get found. You have to bring your people to it. Import your existing contacts into each platform and follow the people from your past sphere:
Instagram: Settings → Follow and invite friends → connect contacts.
Facebook: invite friends to follow your Business Page and import email contacts.
LinkedIn: My Network → add past clients and sync contacts.
Aim for at least 200 connections on each. An account with 40 followers tells everyone you haven't done the work.
Step 5 — Automate
Now let roomvu keep it all alive. Connect your social accounts to your Content Calendar, and we post for you automatically — including to your Google Business Profile.
One thing that makes a real difference here: put your face on the content. Add a Face Message so each post is unmistakably you. Content with your face performs dramatically better — as much as 8x on Google and Instagram — and it's the only way to stay "unique enough" that Google doesn't dismiss your posts as AI-generated. See How to Use the Video Face Message Feature.
Your homework this week
Claim and verify your Google Business Profile
Put the same headshot on all four platforms
Fix your Instagram handle and name field
Cross-link all your handles in every bio
Run the Bio Coach for Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
Import contacts and invite your network on each platform
Ask five past clients for a Google review
Claim, name, optimize, connect, automate. Do these five and you stop being hard to find — you become the answer when someone searches your market.