Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Pet Store Uses Google Maps Posts to Drive Daily Visits
Transcript
- Lucas: Alright, so let's talk about a tool that almost every local business owner has access to, but almost nobody uses well: Google Maps posts. Luna: The little update cards that pop up when you scroll down a listing? I see them sometimes, but they always look like an afterthought. Lucas: Exactly. Most businesses either ignore them entirely, or they post once and forget about it. But I found a case in Denver that shows just how powerful they can be when done right. Luna: Oh, I'm listening. What's the business? Lucas: It's a pet store called Paws & Claws, owned by a woman named Maria. She's been running the shop for about five years, but foot traffic had plateaued. She was relying on word of mouth and the occasional Yelp review. Luna: That sounds like 90 percent of independent retailers I know. Lucas: Right. So about six months ago, she decided to try something different. She started posting on Google Maps every single day. Not just a generic 'we're open' post—but specific, timely updates with photos. Luna: Every day? That's a commitment. What kind of content? Lucas: She posted new inventory arrivals—like a photo of a fresh shipment of dog beds. She posted short video clips of the puppies they had in store for adoption events. She even posted about a 'treat of the week' with a special price. Each post had a call to action button: 'Learn More,' 'Call Now,' or 'Get Offer.' Luna: And did it actually move the needle? Lucas: Within three months, she saw a 40 percent increase in requests for driving directions through Google Maps, and a 25 percent lift in in-store sales. The store was getting discovered by people who had never even heard of it before. Luna: That's a big jump from just posting photos. What's the mechanism? Why does this work? Lucas: Part of it is that Google Maps posts give your listing a freshness signal. When Google sees you're actively updating content, it's more likely to show your business in local search results. But the bigger factor is that these posts catch the eye of someone who's already searching—they're in browsing mode, not just look-up mode. Luna: So it's less about SEO and more about conversion from search to visit. Lucas: Exactly. Maria told me that several customers mentioned they saw the post about the golden retriever puppies and drove across town to see them. And once they were in the store, they bought food, toys, the works. Luna: I can totally see that. I actually did something similar last month—I saw a post from a boutique near my office about a sale on scarves, and I went in during lunch. Ended up spending eighty bucks. Lucas: There you go. So the key takeaway is consistency and relevance. Maria didn't just post once a week—she posted daily, and every post had a reason to exist. She wasn't just filling space. Luna: What about the mechanics? How do these posts actually work on the backend? Lucas: So from the Google Business Profile dashboard, you can create a post in about two minutes. You choose a category—'What's New,' 'Event,' 'Offer,' or 'Product.' Then you add a photo or video, a short description, and a button. The post lives on your listing for seven days, then it expires. That's why daily posting matters—you always have something fresh. Luna: Seven days is the lifetime? I didn't realize they expired that quickly. Lucas: That's the default. Maria actually set reminders on her phone to post at 9 AM every morning. She'd snap a photo of something in the store, write a sentence, and hit publish. It took maybe three minutes a day. Luna: That's manageable. But I imagine the photo quality matters—you can't just snap a blurry shot of a shelf. Lucas: Absolutely. Maria invested in a simple ring light and used her iPhone. Her photos are bright, well-composed, and show the product in use. One of her most effective posts was a short video of a cat playing with a feather toy—it got over 500 views on the listing. Luna: Video on Google Maps posts—I didn't even know that was an option. Lucas: It's been around for a couple of years, but adoption is still low. That's a huge opportunity for small businesses. While competitors are ignoring the feature, a smart owner like Maria is capturing attention for free. Luna: So what's the biggest mistake businesses make when they try this? Lucas: They treat it like a billboard. They post a generic 'We're open' with no visual, no offer, no call to action. That does almost nothing. The post needs to give someone a reason to click or visit right now. Luna: So urgency or novelty. 'New shipment of organic dog treats'—that's novelty. '20 percent off all collars this weekend'—that's urgency. Lucas: Exactly. Maria also used the 'Event' post type for her weekly adoption events. She'd include the date, time, and a button to call for more info. That drove both phone inquiries and foot traffic. Luna: I want to go back to the results. 40 percent increase in direction requests—that's a metric I don't hear people talk about often. Lucas: It's one of the most actionable metrics for a brick and mortar business. Google Business Profile gives you insights on how many people asked for directions, how many called, and how many viewed your photos. Maria tracked all of that. Luna: Did she see a bump in reviews too? Lucas: She did. New customers who discovered her through posts left reviews mentioning what they found. One review said, 'Saw the post about the puppy adoption and came in—ended up adopting a cat!' So the content created a narrative that people wanted to talk about. Luna: That's the kind of virtuous cycle every small business dreams of. Lucas: Right. And it didn't cost her a dime in advertising. Just her time. Now, not every business can post every single day, but you can start with three times a week and see what happens. Luna: What about businesses that aren't retail? Like a dentist or a plumber? Lucas: Good question. For service businesses, the 'Offer' post type works well. A plumber could post 'Ten percent off drain cleaning this month.' A dentist could post a photo of a new teeth-whitening service with a 'Learn More' button. The key is to give a reason to engage. Luna: And if you're a restaurant? Lucas: Post your daily special with a photo. A taco shop near Maria's store started posting their lunch specials on Google Maps after seeing her success. They told me their call volume went up noticeably. Luna: So this really is a universal playbook for local businesses. But I feel like the biggest barrier is just remembering to do it. Lucas: For sure. Maria uses a simple habit loop—every morning, before she opens the register, she takes a photo and posts it. It became part of her routine. And honestly, if this episode has sparked something you've actually used, we want to keep these conversations going ad-free. Luna: Yeah, listener support is what keeps the podcast independent. If you got value from today, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Even a small gesture helps us keep bringing you specific, actionable episodes like this one. So coming back to Maria's playbook—she also experimented with post timing. Luna: What did she find? Lucas: She tested morning posts versus afternoon posts. Her data showed that posts published between 9 and 10 AM got the most views and clicks. She thinks that's when people are planning their day, including errands and shopping. Luna: That makes sense. I usually check Google Maps around breakfast to see what's near my office. Lucas: Exactly. So the timing matters as much as the content. And she also noticed that posts with a clear call to action—like 'Call Now' or 'Get Offer'—had a 50 percent higher click-through rate than posts with just 'Learn More.' Luna: So the button choice actually changes behavior. Lucas: Yes. 'Call Now' is direct and urgent. 'Get Offer' implies a deal. 'Learn More' is softer—good for awareness but not for driving action. Maria uses 'Call Now' for adoption events because she wants people to call and ask about availability. Luna: I love that level of detail. It shows she really thought about the customer journey. Lucas: She did. And she also repurposed content. The photos she took for Instagram she'd also use for Google Maps posts. That way she wasn't creating original content from scratch every day. Luna: Efficiency hack. I like it. Lucas: One more thing: she tracked which posts performed best. Her top post was a video of a new litter of golden retriever puppies—over 1,000 views and 50 clicks on the 'Call Now' button. That single post drove multiple families to the store. Luna: Cute puppies win again. But seriously, that's a great example of knowing your audience. Pet store customers love seeing animals. Lucas: Right. So the lesson is: post daily, use high-quality photos or videos, include a strong call to action, and time your posts for when people are planning their day. If you do that for a month, you will see results. Luna: And if you're not a pet store, find your own 'puppy equivalent'—whatever is visually appealing and timely for your business. Lucas: Exactly. That's the takeaway. And we'll put a link to Maria's store in the show notes so you can see what a consistent Google Maps posting strategy looks like in action. Luna: Looking forward to seeing those puppy photos again.