Ask me anything about Google Business Profile, rankings, reviews, suspensions, or local SEO. What's your biggest challenge right now? - Getting found - Getting reviews - Getting more calls - Website conversions - Suspensions

A few months ago, I spoke with a business owner who’d done everything right. - Google Maps profile? Optimized. (TICK) - Reviews? Rolling in. (TICK) - Calls? Steady, until suddenly… they weren’t. (AHH!) At first, they thought it was just a slow week. But as days turned into weeks, the silence became impossible to ignore. They tried all the usual fixes, updated photos, tweaked keywords, even asked friends to check their listing. Nothing worked. The most frustrating part? No one could tell them why things changed. Everywhere they looked, it was the same advice: “Complete your profile,” “Add more keywords,” “Get more reviews.” But they’d already done all that. When we finally dug in together, we found the real issue, something no checklist or YouTube video had mentioned. With a few targeted changes, their calls started coming back. If you’ve ever felt like your Google Maps just quietly stopped working (and nobody can explain why), you’re not alone. Drop a comment if this sounds familiar or if you want to know what actually makes the difference. Let’s talk about what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Most business owners think ranking number one on Google Maps is the goal. Well you probably know by now what I'm going to say - It isn't. I worked with a fancy dress shop owner who was paying hundreds a month to an SEO agency. They got him ranking number one alright.... ahem...for keywords no buying customer would ever type. He was invisible to the people who actually wanted to spend money. Here's the thing most agencies won't tell you. Rankings are a vanity metric if your customers aren't using those search terms. Your customer isn't searching for you. They're searching for their problem. So before you chase any ranking ask yourself one question, what would my customer type into Google if they needed me today and they had their wallet out? That one question will tell you more about your Google Maps strategy than any SEO report ever will. What keywords are you currently targeting, and are they actually what your customers are searching for? Drop it below and I'll take a look.

Sometimes the most helpful thing I can do is ask the right question. If you’re using Google Maps and Search to keep your business visible, you’ve probably hit that moment where you think, “Am I even focusing on the right thing?” Maybe your calls dropped, your reviews slowed down, your ranking shifted, or you’re not sure what to post anymore. If you’ve got a specific question I haven’t covered here yet, my full back catalogue is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ZanetDesign Now I want to hear from you. What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing with your Google Business Profile right now—reviews, ranking, suspensions, categories, posts, photos, or something else? Drop it in the comments, because your question might be the reason I make my next tutorial.

I get asked this regularly: 👉 Does the order of secondary categories affect rankings? For example, does category #2 carry more weight than #5? Here’s my honest answer ✅ The only category order that truly matters is your PRIMARY category. ❌ I’ve never seen credible evidence that the order of secondary categories has any impact on rankings. ❌ Adding more secondary categories doesn’t magically improve visibility either. Where categories can hurt you is when they’re inaccurate. If you add categories that don’t genuinely describe your business, you risk: - Confusing users - Increasing poor engagement signals - Creating trust issues with Google And that’s where rankings can slide My rule of thumb: ➡️ Be precise➡️ Be honest➡️ Be customer-first Quality always beats quantity. How many secondary categories are you currently using on your GBP?