Full Transcript
Lauren: So my friend has a Google Business Profile. She set it up like a year ago and she's like, I don't know, it's just kind of sitting there. Is it doing anything?
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor. We make website stuff make sense. Let's get into it.
Honor: That's super common. People claim their profile, add the hours and the phone number, maybe upload the logo, and then just... wait. And nothing really happens. Because claiming it is just step one. The optimization part is where the actual results come from.
Lauren: Okay so what's the first thing she should look at?
Honor: Categories. Your primary category is probably the single most important thing on your entire profile. It tells Google what searches to show you in. And here's the number — 86 percent of all Google Business Profile views come from category-based searches. Not people searching your business name. People searching things like plumber near me or Italian restaurant open now.
Lauren: So if your category is too broad, you're just invisible to all those people?
Honor: Pretty much. A plumber shouldn't just be listed as Contractor. Primary category should be Plumber, and then you add specific secondary categories. Water Heater Installation Service, Drain Cleaning Service, Gas Installation Service. Whatever matches the work you actually do. The more specific, the better.
Lauren: Okay categories are dialed in. What's next?
Honor: Photos. And I don't mean your logo and a stock photo of a handshake. Those don't do anything. Real photos of your real business. Research shows that profiles with 15 or more photos get stronger engagement across the board. More clicks, more calls, more direction requests.
Lauren: Fifteen? That feels like a lot. What do you even take pictures of?
Honor: Your storefront so people recognize it when they show up. The inside of your space, especially if customers visit. Your team — real faces, not stock photos. Your work — before and after shots, finished projects, plated dishes, whatever you do. And those little details like your product display or your workspace. Phone photos in decent light are totally fine. You don't need a photographer.
Lauren: I love the before and after idea. That's like free advertising basically.
Honor: Exactly. Now here's the big one most businesses get wrong. Reviews.
Lauren: Oh I know this one. We just did a whole episode on this. You gotta ask at the right time, make it easy, and respond to every single one.
Honor: That's the whole system. But the stat that still blows my mind is this — 88 percent of consumers would use a business that responds to all its reviews. That drops to 47 percent for businesses that don't respond at all. Almost half your potential customers gone because you didn't type a two-sentence reply.
Lauren: Two sentences. That's all it takes.
Honor: Thanks Sarah, glad we could get that leak fixed before the weekend. Done. And for bad reviews, stay calm, acknowledge what happened, and offer to fix it. You're not trying to win the argument. You're showing everyone else reading that exchange that you care.
Lauren: Okay so we've got categories, photos, reviews. What else?
Honor: Google Posts. Think of them as little mini billboards right on your profile. Most businesses either don't know about them or just never do them. Which means if you post even once a week, you're already ahead of most of your local competition.
Lauren: What kind of stuff do you post?
Honor: Offers — 50 dollars off drain cleaning this month. Updates — we just added Wednesday evening appointments. Events, before and after shots, quick tips. Three signs your water heater is failing. Stuff like that. A couple sentences and a photo. Standard posts stay visible about seven days, so fresh content keeps your profile from looking abandoned.
Lauren: Okay but all of this together sounds like a lot. Like, when does she have time for all this?
Honor: Once you get into a rhythm, it's about 15 minutes a week. Every week, post one Google Post and respond to new reviews. Once a month, add a couple new photos, check your Q and A for spam, glance at your Insights to see what's working. And every quarter, review your categories and make sure your description still matches what you do.
Lauren: Fifteen minutes a week. That's really not bad.
Honor: Block it off every Monday morning. Put it on your calendar. In three months, your profile will look completely different.
Lauren: And if someone's listening and thinking, yeah I'm definitely not going to do this myself?
Honor: That's exactly what our Local SEO service is. For 99 dollars a month, we handle Google Business Profile optimization, review management, weekly posts, and your business listing across 70 plus online directories. Same name, same address, same phone number everywhere. If you'd rather spend Monday mornings running your business instead of updating your Google profile, that's what we're here for.
Lauren: Perfect. Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.