Found a cheap way to get my old website to actually show up on Google Maps

My little bakery in Austin was basically invisible online for 6 months. I tried all the usual stuff like posting on social media and asking customers for reviews. Nothing moved the needle until I noticed my Google Business profile had the wrong category. I switched it from "bakery" to "cake shop" and added photos of my actual storefront. Within 3 days I got my first call from someone who found me through Maps. Has anyone else fixed a simple setting that made a huge difference for their business?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew96525d ago

Fixed my buddy's food truck problem same way. He had "Mexican restaurant" as his category but he's really a taco stand with a truck. Changed it to "taco restaurant" and boom. Phone started ringing within a week. Also made him turn on his messaging setting. People were trying to text him orders but his profile had it disabled. Small switches like that can totally change your visibility.

phoenix_carter25d agoMost Upvoted

Did you notice if his photos matched the new category too? Like if someone searches "taco restaurant" and clicks on his listing, they expect to see pics of tacos and a truck, not some generic stock photo of a burrito platter. That mismatch can kill the click-through rate even if the category is right. Also worth checking if he had his service area set too wide or too narrow. I've seen guys put "serves entire city" when they're really just parked in one lot, then Google doesn't know where to show them. Little details like that stack up.