How Interior Designers Actually Get Found on Google

Most interior design websites are built to impress — not to be found. Here's what drives real search visibility for designers, and where to start.

Here's something I see constantly: an interior designer with stunning work, a beautiful website, and almost zero search visibility.

The portfolio looks incredible. The brand is polished. But when a homeowner in their area searches "interior designer near me," they're nowhere.

That's not a design problem. It's a structure problem. And it's fixable — once you understand what Google actually needs from your site.

Why Beautiful Design Websites Don't Rank (And It's Not About Aesthetics)

Interior designers tend to build websites the way they design spaces — visually driven, mood-first, detail-oriented. That instinct makes sense. Your work is visual. You want the site to reflect your taste and sensibility.

The problem is that Google can't evaluate taste. It evaluates structure, relevance, and trust signals. And most design websites fail on all three.

The patterns I see over and over:

• Everything lives on one page. Kitchen design, bathroom remodels, full-home projects, color consulting — all collapsed into a single "Services" page. Google needs individual pages to understand what you actually do.

• No local context. If your website doesn't mention the cities or neighborhoods you serve, Google doesn't know where to rank you. A designer in Raleigh competing with designers nationwide is competing with everyone and winning against no one.

• Portfolio without narrative. A grid of beautiful photos isn't content. Google can't read images. Without written context — what the project involved, what problems were solved, what the client's goals were — your best work is invisible to search.

• Slow, animation-heavy pages. Mood-setting transitions and parallax scrolling look great but often tank your load speed, which directly affects rankings.

None of this means your site should be ugly. It means that beauty without structure is a brochure, not a marketing asset.

Local SEO: Where Interior Designers Win or Lose

When someone searches "interior designer Raleigh" or "kitchen designer near me," they're not browsing. They're shortlisting. They're ready to reach out, and they're going to contact the designers who show up first.

Local SEO is how you show up in that moment. And for most designers, it's where the biggest opportunity sits untouched.

Google Business Profile

This is the foundation. Your Google Business Profile is what appears in the map pack — the three businesses Google features at the top of local search results.

To make yours work:

• Complete every section. Services, hours, service areas, business description.

• Add project photos consistently. Not stock images — real completed work with context.

• Collect and respond to reviews. Every single one.

• Post updates. Finished projects, seasonal design insights, availability for consultations.

The more active and complete your profile, the more Google treats it as legitimate and trustworthy.

Consistent Business Information

Google cross-references your business details across the web. If your studio name is slightly different on Houzz than on your website, or your phone number on Yelp doesn't match your Google listing, it creates confusion. Google penalizes confusion.

Your name, address, and phone number need to be identical everywhere: your website, Google Business Profile, Houzz, Instagram bio, any directory listing.

Location-Specific Pages

If you serve multiple areas — say Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary — build a page for each one. Not just a list in your footer. Actual pages with real content about serving clients in those areas.

A page for "Interior Design Services in Cary, NC" that mentions local neighborhoods, the kinds of homes you typically work with there, and what clients in that area tend to need gives Google exactly what it's looking for: relevance matched to a specific search.

Your Website Is a Trust Engine, Not Just a Portfolio

This is the tension I see with almost every designer's site: it's built to showcase work, but not to build trust before someone picks up the phone.

A prospective client who finds you on Google is probably comparing three to five designers simultaneously. They're not just looking at your photos — they're trying to answer a set of unspoken questions: Can this person handle my kind of project? Do they work in my area? Are they going to understand what I want? Can I afford them?

Your website needs to answer those questions clearly, or they'll move on to someone whose site does.

That means:

• Service-specific pages. One page for kitchen design, one for full-home renovations, one for color consulting — whatever your core services are. Each page should describe the service, who it's for, what the process looks like, and where you offer it.

• A clear first impression. Your homepage headline should tell someone what you do, where you do it, and why they should care — in one sentence. "Award-Winning Interior Design in the Triangle" does more work than "Welcome to Our Studio."

• Visible contact information. A phone number and contact form on every page. Not buried in a footer. Not hidden behind three clicks.

• Fast mobile performance. Most people searching for a designer are on their phone. If your site takes more than three or four seconds to load, they're gone.

Your portfolio matters. But portfolio alone doesn't convert. Structure and clarity do.

Content That Builds Authority (Not Just Traffic)

Here's where most designers hesitate — "I'm not a writer" or "I don't have time for a blog." I understand that. But content for an interior designer's site isn't about becoming a blogger. It's about answering the questions your ideal clients are already searching for.

High-value topics for interior designers:

• "How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Interior Designer?"

• "What's the Difference Between an Interior Designer and a Decorator?"

• "How to Prepare for Your First Design Consultation"

• "When to Hire a Designer vs. DIY Your Renovation"

• "How to Choose the Right Interior Designer for a Whole-Home Project"

Each of these targets a real search query. Each positions you as someone who understands the client's decision-making process. And each gives Google meaningful content to index and rank.

You don't need to publish weekly. Two or three substantial posts a quarter — written from your actual experience — will outperform competitors who have nothing.

And here's what's shifting in 2025 and into 2026: AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are answering these kinds of questions directly. When your content is clear, specific, and grounded in experience, these tools cite your website. That's visibility you can't buy with ads.

Reviews: The Trust Signal That Outranks Everything

Google wants to recommend businesses that people trust. For interior designers, the primary trust signal is reviews.

A designer with 30 thoughtful Google reviews will outrank a designer with three — even if the second designer's portfolio is stronger. That's how the algorithm works.

Getting reviews doesn't require a system. It requires a habit:

• Ask after every completed project. In person, by email, or by text.

• Make it easy. Send a direct link to your Google review page.

• Respond to every review you receive. Thank people specifically for what they mentioned.

• Don't chase perfection. A mix of honest reviews looks more authentic than a wall of five-star ratings with no detail.

Reviews don't just affect rankings. They affect conversions. When someone sees consistent, specific praise for your design work, they trust you before they've ever spoken with you. That's the goal.

AI Search: The Visibility Shift Most Designers Aren't Thinking About

Something worth noting: how people find a designer is changing. More potential clients are using AI tools to ask questions like "Who are the best interior designers in Raleigh?" or "How do I find a designer for a historic home renovation?"

If your website answers those kinds of questions clearly — with real experience behind the answers — AI tools will surface your site. If your site is just a photo grid with minimal text, there's nothing for these tools to reference.

The approach is the same as good SEO: clear, helpful content. Specific descriptions of your services. Real context around your work. The content that works for Google also works for AI search. It's not a separate strategy — it's an amplification of the right one.

Here's What This Comes Down To

Ranking on Google as an interior designer isn't about gaming an algorithm. It's about building a site that clearly communicates who you are, what you do, where you work, and why someone should trust you — then supporting that with content and reviews over time.

The fundamentals that matter most:

• Service-specific pages that give Google (and potential clients) clarity on what you offer

• Local SEO through an active Google Business Profile, consistent business information, and location-relevant content

• Fast, mobile-friendly performance so prospects on their phone don't bounce before seeing your work

• Substantive content that answers the questions your ideal clients are searching for

• Consistent reviews that build trust before someone ever contacts you

You don't need an agency. You don't need to become a content marketer. You need a website that's built for how people actually search for designers — and the discipline to maintain it.

Get those fundamentals in place, and you'll be ahead of most designers in your market.

Worth a Conversation?

If your interior design website looks great but isn't generating inquiries from Google, the site's structure is likely the issue — not your work.

I build custom, SEO-first websites on Framer for reputation-driven businesses like interior design studios. Every site is built to rank, load fast, and convert the right kind of client.

Reach out for a conversation about what your site could be doing differently.