Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Bike Shop Uses Google Maps Product Listings to Drive Sales
Transcript
- Lucas: So you walk past a bike shop on Google Maps — maybe you're searching for a new commuter bike or just need a tune-up — and right there in the listing, under the photos, you see actual products. A specific Trek FX 3 Disc, priced at one thousand and twenty-nine dollars. A tune-up package for one hundred and twenty dollars. With photos, descriptions, even whether it's in stock. Luna: That's the Products tab on a Google Business Profile. And it's one of those features I think a lot of local businesses just ignore. Lucas: They absolutely do. And it's a missed opportunity, especially for retailers who sell physical goods. So today I want to look at a specific case: a bike shop in Portland called River City Bicycles. They've got a medium-sized shop, been around for about fifteen years, and they started using product listings seriously about six months ago. Luna: I've actually been in that shop. It's on Southeast Hawthorne. Good spot. What did they do exactly? Lucas: So the owner, a guy named Mike, told me he used to just post occasional photos of new arrivals — you know, a generic shot of a bike leaning against the wall. But then he noticed that competitors who listed specific models with prices were getting more calls and walk-ins. So he spent an afternoon adding products through the Google Business Profile dashboard. Luna: And it's free, right? No ad spend? Lucas: Completely free. It's part of the standard profile. You go to the Products tab, click Add Product, and you can upload a photo, write a title, add a price, a description, and a category like Bikes or Accessories or Services. You can even link to a product page on your website if you have one, but it's not required. Mike listed about forty products — ten bikes, twenty accessories like helmets and locks, and ten service packages. Luna: Forty products sounds like a lot of work, but set-up is one afternoon. And then it's mostly maintenance. Lucas: Exactly. And the payoff was pretty immediate. Within two weeks, he told me his profile views went up about thirty percent. More importantly, his click-through rate to his website from the profile doubled. But the real metric he cared about was foot traffic — people coming in and specifically asking about a product they saw on Google Maps. Luna: And did that happen? Lucas: Yeah. He said he started getting two to three people a week who'd say, 'I saw you had the Trek FX 3 in stock — can I test ride it?' Before product listings, those people might have called first, but now they just show up. It shortened the path from search to sale. Luna: That's smart because bike sales are seasonal. If you're a bike shop and you don't list your inventory, you're relying on someone walking past or searching generically for 'bike shop Portland'. But product listings let you capture people searching for specific models. Lucas: Right. A customer might search 'Trek FX 3 Portland' and if your listing has that product, you're more likely to show up even if the search isn't explicitly for a bike shop. Google treats product listings as additional relevance signals. So your profile can rank for product-specific queries, not just category queries. Luna: And I've seen data that product listings have a higher click-through rate than standard Google Posts. One study from last year showed that products on profiles get about four percent click-through, compared to around one point five percent for posts. That's a big difference. Lucas: That tracks with what Mike saw. He was also smart about using the Service category — he listed tune-up packages with different price points. A basic tune-up for seventy-five dollars, a full overhaul for two hundred. That builds trust before the customer even calls. They know the range. Luna: So if you're a local retailer — not just a bike shop — what's the first step? Because I think a lot of people open their dashboard and don't even see the Products tab. Lucas: So first, make sure your Google Business Profile is verified and you're logged into the correct account. Then on the left-hand menu, you'll see a tab called Products — it's between Posts and Reviews for most businesses. Click that. Then click Add Product. You'll need a photo — at least eight hundred by eight hundred pixels is recommended — and a title. Keep the title specific: not 'Mountain Bike' but 'Trek Marlin 7 Mountain Bike, 2025 Model'. Luna: And pricing — do you include tax? Discounts? Lucas: Mike recommends listing the out-the-door price if you can. So including any assembly or prep fees. He lists the bike price and then in the description he notes 'price includes free assembly.' That way there's no sticker shock. And for seasonal items, you can mark products as out of stock or remove them when they're gone. Don't list something you don't have — that erodes trust fast. Luna: Right. So it's basically a mini e-commerce feed right on your business profile. And it works for service businesses too? Like a hair salon listing haircut packages? Lucas: Absolutely. Any business that has a tangible offer — a price, a description, a photo — can use it. I've seen coffee shops list their beans for sale, even a dentist listing teeth whitening packages. The key is to think about what your customer is searching for. If they type 'teeth whitening near me' and your listing shows a product with a price and photo, you're way ahead of the dentist who just has a generic profile. Luna: And the photos matter a lot. Not just any photo — well-lit, clear, showing the product in use if possible. A bike against a plain background is okay, but a bike on a trail with a rider sells the experience. Lucas: Exactly. Mike told me that the products with lifestyle photos — a bike on the waterfront path, a helmet being worn by a smiling customer — got twice as many views as the plain product shots. So invest a little time in photography. You don't need a professional; your phone camera with good lighting is fine. Luna: And you can also link each product to a specific page on your website, if you have one. That way, when someone clicks, they go straight to the product page instead of your homepage. That's good for SEO too. Lucas: Big point. Google uses that click-through data. If people are clicking from your profile to your site and staying there, that's a positive signal. Mike saw his organic search rankings for product-related terms improve after about a month. Now, correlation isn't causation, but it's a strong signal. Luna: So the takeaway is pretty clear: if you sell physical products or even service packages, list them on your Google Business Profile. It's free, it takes an afternoon to set up, and it can drive real foot traffic and calls. Lucas: And if you get value from episodes like this — whether it's product listings or any of the other local marketing tactics we've covered — it's worth mentioning that listener support is what keeps this show ad-free and independent. A couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. If you've gotten something out of them, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really makes a difference. Even a small contribution helps us keep digging into these concrete strategies rather than chasing sponsors or clickbait. Lucas: Exactly. And on that note, let's get back to what happens after you set up those product listings. Because one mistake Mike made early on was setting it and forgetting it. Luna: Oh, what happened? Lucas: He listed a bike that sold out in two days and didn't remove it for almost two weeks. So people would come in asking for a bike that wasn't there. That's a bad experience. So you need to keep your inventory current. Google doesn't automatically remove sold-out items. You have to mark them as out of stock or delete them. Luna: So it's a commitment. But a small one. A weekly five-minute check to update listings. Lucas: Exactly. And you can also use the Products tab to highlight seasonal offers. In spring, Mike lists new bikes and tune-up packages. In winter, he lists indoor trainers and winter gear. That keeps the profile fresh and relevant. Luna: That's smart for seasonality. A lot of local businesses struggle with slow seasons, but if you rotate your products, you can stay top of mind year-round. Lucas: Right. And one more thing — product listings can also appear in Google Shopping results in some cases. Not always, but if you link to a product page with structured data, your product can show up in the Shopping tab. That's a whole additional channel. Luna: So it's not just local search — it's potentially e-commerce too. That's a big unlock for a small shop. Lucas: It really is. And the barrier to entry is so low. No coding, no ad budget, just a little time and good photos. If you're a local retailer and you haven't touched the Products tab, that's your homework for this week. Luna: I love that. And we'll link to a guide in the show notes on how to optimize product photos for Google. Lucas: Perfect. So to wrap up: River City Bicycles saw a thirty percent increase in profile views and a doubling of click-through rate within two weeks of adding forty product listings. That's a concrete, measurable result from a free feature. If you're a local business, that's worth testing. Luna: And if you try it, let us know what happens. We'd love to hear your results. Lucas: Absolutely. Until next time, keep your listings fresh and your products visible.