Last week I was at a networking event chatting to the owner of a local business who was sounding more than a bit frustrated.
“We’ve got more reviews than ever.”
“We’ve got a better website than we had twelve months ago.”
“We’re doing all the right things.”
“So why have enquiries dropped?”
It’s a fair question and it’s one I’m hearing more and more often.
Now, Google haven’t officially announced some huge Google Business Profile update.
But there are definitely signs that things have changed.
Businesses that used to sit comfortably in the top three positions on Google Maps are finding themselves slipping down the rankings.
Others seem to have appeared from nowhere.
And whilst nobody outside of Google knows exactly what’s happening behind the scenes, most local experts agree on one thing…
Google seems to be placing more emphasis on trust and activity than ever before.
Think about it from Google’s point of view.
If somebody searches for “plumber near me” or “accountant in Surrey”, Google wants to recommend a business that appears active, relevant and trustworthy.
Not a business that updated its profile three years ago and then forgot about it.
- Reviews seem to matter more.
- Recent reviews seem to matter more.
- Responding to reviews seems to matter more.
- Adding photos seems to matter more.
- Keeping your services up to date seems to matter more.
In short, Google wants evidence that you’re a real business doing real business.
Think about it in terms of physically owning a shop.
You can have the nicest shop on the high street – but if the windows haven’t been cleaned for six months, the lights are off and nobody ever seems to be going in or out, people start to wonder.
Google is doing exactly the same thing.
It’s looking for signs of life.
The good news?
Most businesses still aren’t doing the basics particularly well – which means there is a real opportunity for those that do.
At The Bright Click, we’ve been helping businesses improve their visibility through our Local SEO service.
That includes:
- Google Business Profile optimisation
- Review generation strategies
- Local landing pages
- Citation building
- Local content creation
- Competitor analysis
- Ongoing profile management
The result?
More visibility.
More calls.
More enquiries.
And importantly, more opportunities to be found by people actively looking for what you do.
If you’d like us to take a look at your Google Business Profile and give you some honest feedback on where you stand, just reply to this email with the word LOCAL and we’ll happily take a look.
The kettle is always on.
Matt
PS – want to take some immediate action? Or Google Local packages start from just £75 +VAT per month! Click here to find out more…