Full Transcript
Lauren: So I was helping a friend look for a plumber the other day, and I searched "plumber Arroyo Grande" and... her business didn't show up at all. Like, not even on page two. And she's been in business for years! What's going on?
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor... We make interwebs and website stuff make sense... Let's get into it.
Honor: Yeah, that's actually super common. And the frustrating part is... it's usually fixable. Most local businesses are invisible on Google not because of some complicated technical thing, but because they're missing the basics.
Lauren: Okay, so what are the basics? Because I hear "SEO" and my brain just... turns off.
Honor: Totally fair. So here's the thing... 46 percent of all Google searches have local intent. That means almost half the time someone searches something, they're looking for a business near them.
Lauren: Oh wow, that's way more than I would have guessed.
Honor: Right? And 76 percent of people who search for something nearby visit a business within 24 hours. These aren't window shoppers. They're ready to buy.
Lauren: So if you don't show up, they're just... calling your competitor instead.
Honor: Exactly. So the number one thing that matters for local search, more than your website, more than anything... is your Google Business Profile.
Lauren: Wait, what's that? Is that different from just having a website?
Honor: Yeah, it's that box that shows up when you search for a business. The one with the map, the reviews, the hours, the phone number. That's your Google Business Profile. And for local searches, it's often the first and sometimes only thing people see.
Lauren: Oh! So that's like your storefront on Google. That's what people are looking at before they even click anything.
Honor: Perfect analogy. And here's what's wild... businesses with complete profiles get seven times more clicks than businesses with incomplete profiles.
Lauren: Seven times?! Just from filling it out?
Honor: Just from filling it out. And consumers are almost three times more likely to consider a business reputable if they have a complete profile. Not a fancy website. Not a big ad budget. Just... a complete profile.
Lauren: That's like... putting up a sign on your store versus having an empty window with no hours posted. People just walk by.
Honor: Exactly. And 62 percent of people will avoid a business entirely if they find wrong information online. Like if your hours are wrong and someone drives over and you're closed? They're never coming back.
Lauren: Oof. Yeah, that would make me so mad. Okay, so what does "complete" actually mean? Like what do you have to fill out?
Honor: The basics: your business name, address, phone number, hours... and keep those hours updated for holidays. Your website link. Pick the most specific business category that applies. Write a description of what you do and who you serve. And photos... photos of your work, your team, your location.
Lauren: So it's not complicated, it's just... thorough.
Honor: Right. And reviews matter too, but that's a whole other episode. The point is, customers are 70 percent more likely to visit businesses with complete profiles. That's a lot of people you're losing just because some fields are empty.
Lauren: So the moral of the story is... if you want to show up on Google, forget the fancy SEO tricks. Go to Google Business Profile and fill out every single field. That's it.
Honor: That's it. It takes maybe 30 minutes, costs nothing, and puts you ahead of most of your competition who never got around to it.
Lauren: And if you want a website that actually helps you show up in local search... give YouGrow a call!
Honor: Yeah, we build sites with local SEO baked in from the start. Your city, your service areas, all structured the way Google wants to see it. Google Analytics setup, mobile-optimized because that's where local searches happen, fast loading, local schema markup. 79 dollars a month, month-to-month, no upfront costs. We're right here in Arroyo Grande. We know SLO County because we're part of it.
Lauren: Love it. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.