Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Local Dentist Used Google Posts to Fill 15 Cancellations in One Day
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this dentist in Austin — a single location, two hygienists, one receptionist — and she had fifteen cancellations pile up on a Tuesday morning. Not unusual for a dental practice, right? People forget, schedules shift. Luna: Fifteen is a lot though. That's basically a full day's revenue walking out the door if you don't fill them. Lucas: Exactly. And most practices would just call the waitlist, maybe send a text blast. But this dentist did something different. She posted a Google Post — you know, that little update box on her Google Business Profile — and she filled every single slot within three hours. Luna: Wait — a Google Post? Not an email, not a social media post, just the thing that shows up when someone searches for her practice? Lucas: That's the one. And it got me thinking: we've done episodes on reviews, on Q&A, on photos, but we've never really dug into Google Posts as a tactical tool. And it's one of the most underused features in local marketing. Luna: It really is. I scroll through Google Maps and most businesses have that 'Post' section blank, or they posted something six months ago about a holiday sale. Lucas: Right. So let's break down what this dentist actually did, because the specifics matter. Her post had a headline: 'Emergency same-day appointments open — free whitening kit with booking.' Then a short description saying they had slots at 10, 11, 2, and 3. And a button that said 'Book Now' linking directly to her online scheduler. Luna: And she posted that at what time? Lucas: Around 8:30 a.m. She told me she'd noticed the cancellations overnight and decided to try something quick before the day got crazy. By 11:30, all fifteen slots were booked. The post got 340 clicks — that's a click-through rate of about 12 percent, which is insane for local search. Luna: Twelve percent? I think the average Google Post CTR is like two or three percent. Lucas: Yeah, from what I've seen across different industries, it's usually between one and five percent. So 12 percent is an outlier — but it's also a testament to how effective a well-timed, specific offer can be. Luna: And it's interesting — if these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own business, that's exactly the kind of thing that keeps this show going. We're able to keep the podcast ad-free because of listeners who find value in it and want to support. You can do that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: And honestly, it's because of that support that we can spend a whole episode on a single tactic like Google Posts instead of having to chase ad revenue. So, back to the dentist — the key factors here were urgency, specificity, and the offer. Luna: Let's talk about each. Urgency first — same-day only, limited slots. Lucas: Right. She didn't say 'call to book anytime.' She wrote 'today only, four slots remaining.' That creates a fear-of-missing-out impulse. And the free whitening kit — that's a low-cost incentive. A kit might cost her twenty bucks, but it fills a slot that otherwise would have been pure lost revenue. Luna: And the 'Book Now' button — that's critical. A lot of businesses just put text and expect people to call. But if you link directly to a booking page, you remove friction. Lucas: Exactly. Now, here's what most businesses do wrong with Google Posts. They post once and never again, or they post generic stuff like 'Happy holidays from our team.' That doesn't drive action. The algorithm on Google Business Profile actually favors businesses that post regularly — at least once a week. Luna: So frequency matters, not just content. Lucas: Right. Google wants to show that your business is active and engaged. A profile with a post from three months ago looks stale. One with a post from yesterday looks fresh. And that freshness can boost your ranking in local search results. Luna: Do you have a sense of what kind of posts work best? Like, is it always offers, or can it be educational content? Lucas: Both can work, but the highest engagement I've seen comes from time-sensitive offers — flash sales, event reminders, limited-time discounts. Educational posts — like 'How to prevent cavities this summer' — get fewer clicks but can build authority over time. The best approach is a mix. Maybe three offers per month and one educational post per week. Luna: And the image — the dentist used a photo of the whitening kit, right? Lucas: She did. A clean, bright photo of the product on a counter. Google Posts with images get way more engagement than text-only. I think it's something like 30 percent higher click-through on average. Luna: So for a small business owner listening, what's the one takeaway? Should they start posting tomorrow? Lucas: Absolutely. But start with a plan. Don't just post randomly. Think about what your customers need right now — same-day appointments, a seasonal service, a new product. Write a short headline, include a clear call to action, and link to a booking page or your website. Then do it again the next week. Luna: And if you get cancellations, use that as a trigger. Lucas: That's the smartest takeaway. Instead of panicking about lost revenue, turn it into a marketing moment. That dentist turned a problem into her best Tuesday in months. Luna: I love that. So we'll put a link to the Google Posts help page in the show notes, but the basic steps are: log into your Google Business Profile, click 'Add update,' write a short post with a clear offer, add an image, and hit publish. Lucas: And one more thing — track your results. Google gives you basic analytics on each post: views, clicks, and actions taken. Use that data to refine. If a post about teeth whitening gets ten times the clicks of a post about checkups, do more whitening posts. Luna: That's the kind of simple, actionable advice that makes this show worth doing. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna.