Free Google visibility check
How visible is your business on Google?
Type in your website address and this free check shows how many of Google's AI answers use your website as a source. Add what you do and where, and it also runs the search a local customer would type and tells you whether you are in Google's map results and on the first page. Of the 179 Johannesburg small business websites we checked, 144 were not cited by any Google AI answer on record. It covers South African searches. No email address needed.
What the visibility check shows you
The check looks at three places a customer can find you on Google. The first needs only your website address; the other two need what you do and where.
Google's AI answers
How many of the AI answers Google shows above its results used your website as a source, in the South African searches on record, and which searches they were.
The map results
Whether your business is one of the listings on Google's map when someone searches for what you do in your area, and which businesses Google showed.
The first page
Whether your website is among the first 10 results for that search, and whether Google's AI answer for it used your site.
Your speed on a phone
How many seconds your main content takes to show, and how that compares with 149 working Johannesburg small business websites. About the speed test
Want the full picture?
The free audit goes further: every search you show for on Google, what ChatGPT says when asked for a business like yours, and the three problems that cost you the most. Laurence calls to explain it. Free.
The comparison
How visible are Johannesburg businesses?
Most are not cited by Google's AI answers at all. On 3 October 2026 we checked the 179 Johannesburg small business websites from our speed study and ran 83 local searches on a phone.
- 35 of the 179 websites were used as a source by at least one Google AI answer on record
- The other 144 were not cited by any
- 73 of the 83 local searches, such as "plumber Randburg", showed Google's map results
- 10 of the 83 showed an AI answer, so for a local business the map matters most
- No business in the study is named, and yours is not stored in it
Questions about the visibility check
Is the Google visibility check free?
Yes. The check is free, you do not need to give an email address, and the result shows on the page. We ask for your details only if you want the full audit: every search you show for on Google, what ChatGPT says when asked for a business like yours, and the three problems that cost you the most.
How do I know if my business shows in Google's AI answers?
Run the check with your website address. It reports how many of Google's AI answers, the summary Google shows above some results, used your website as a source in the South African searches on record, and names up to three of those searches. Of the 179 Johannesburg small business websites we checked on 3 October 2026, 35 were cited at all.
Why does the check ask what I do and where?
So it can run the search a local customer would type, such as "plumber Randburg", and tell you whether you are in Google's map results and on the first page. Both boxes are optional. They matter because of what Google shows for local searches: of 83 we ran in Johannesburg, 73 showed map results and 10 showed an AI answer.
Where does the Google visibility result come from?
From DataForSEO, a search data provider. The AI answer count comes from its record of Google searches in South Africa, which is a sample and not every search, so it can miss answers. The map and first page result comes from one live Google search on a phone in South Africa. Google changes its results by place and time, so the order you see on your own phone can differ.
Does it work for a business outside South Africa?
Not yet. Both parts of the check use Google searches in South Africa, so a business that serves customers elsewhere would get a result that does not describe its own market.
Why does it also test my speed?
Because the two go together for a customer: they have to find you, and then your page has to show before they give up. The speed part loads your page on a simulated phone and takes 15 to 60 seconds, which is why the result is not instant. In our study the typical Johannesburg small business site took 8.2 s to show its main content.
I am not in the map results. What can I do?
Start with your Google Business Profile. Check that you have claimed it, that it carries your website address, that its category matches what you do and that its address or service area is right. The check matches map listings to your website address, so a listing without your website on it is counted as not yours.
Not showing up? See what we would change.
We rebuild your site to load fast, and write the articles that get a business found on Google and in AI answers. The free audit shows where you stand. Nothing to sign.
R1 500 a month for the first 6 months, then R750 a month. No setup fee.