Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Coffee Shop Uses Google Maps Gift Cards to Drive Winter Traffic
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this coffee shop in Portland — independent, three locations — and they had a brutal January last year. Not unusual, right? January is always slow for cafes. Luna: Yeah, everyone's broke from the holidays and trying to stick to their resolutions. Not exactly running out for a latte every day. Lucas: Right. So the owner, her name is Megan, she's been running this shop for about seven years. She told me she was sitting there on like the second week of January, watching the register, and she realized something: she had never set up gift cards on Google. Luna: Wait — you can sell gift cards directly through Google Maps? I had no idea that was a thing. Lucas: Yeah, it's part of the Google Business Profile. You can add a 'gift card' link under the products tab. It connects to a third-party processor — most people use GiftUp or Tock — and it shows up right on your listing. So if someone searches 'coffee near me' and sees your shop, they can buy a gift card without ever stepping inside. Luna: That's actually huge. Because the barrier to buying a gift card for a place you've never been to is lower than walking in the door. Lucas: Exactly. Megan told me she'd been relying on in-store gift card sales — just a display by the register. But that only works if someone's already there. The Google Maps listing opens it up to anyone searching for coffee in the area, including people who might be considering a visit but haven't committed. Luna: So what did she do? Just turn it on and hope for the best? Lucas: No, she actually ran it like a mini-campaign. First, she created a Google Post — you know, those little updates that show up on your business profile — and it said something like 'Give the gift of great coffee this winter. Buy a digital gift card and they get a free pastry with their first visit.' She included a direct link to the gift card page. Luna: Oh, the free pastry is smart. That gives the recipient a reason to actually go in and redeem it. Lucas: Right. And she didn't just post it once. She updated it every week for the rest of January — new photo, same offer. She also added a gift card link to her website and cross-posted on Instagram. But the key channel was Google Maps because that's where people are when they're already thinking about coffee. Luna: So what were the numbers? Did it actually move the needle? Lucas: Yeah, she tracked it. Over four weeks, she sold about 140 gift cards through the Google listing. Average value was around $15. So that's about $2,100 in pre-sale revenue. But here's the interesting part — she looked at redemption data. About 80% of those gift cards were redeemed within three weeks. And when people came in to redeem them, the average spend was actually $18 — because they'd buy a drink and a pastry, and the gift card covered maybe $12 after the free pastry. So she got an extra $6 per redemption. Luna: So the gift card actually drove incremental foot traffic, and people spent more than the card value. That's the dream scenario. Lucas: Exactly. She estimated that the campaign directly drove about 112 additional store visits in January — a month that's usually dead. And because she used a third-party processor, the transaction data was clean. She could see exactly how many people clicked from Google Maps and bought a card. Luna: I'm wondering — was there any downside? Like, did she have to pay a fee to the processor? Lucas: Yeah, GiftUp charges about 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. So on a $15 card, she paid about 74 cents. That's negligible. And Google doesn't take a cut — it's just a link. The only real cost is the free pastry, which costs her maybe fifty cents in ingredients. So her margin on the incremental sales was still great. Luna: So the lesson here is basically: if you have a storefront, you should be selling gift cards on Google Maps. Period. Lucas: I think that's fair. But I'd add one nuance — it works best if you have a compelling offer. A plain gift card is fine, but if you bundle something — a free pastry, a sticker, a punch card — you increase the likelihood that someone buys it as a gift. And the redemption rate goes up. Luna: What about businesses that aren't coffee shops? Like a hair salon or a plumber? Could this work for them? Lucas: Definitely. A salon could offer a gift card for a blowout. A plumber could sell a gift card for an inspection — though that's a bit weirder. But honestly, any business where people give services as gifts — spas, restaurants, even car washes — it's a no-brainer. The setup takes about 20 minutes. Luna: Let's talk about the technical setup. If someone's listening and wants to do this tomorrow, what do they actually need to do? Lucas: First, make sure your Google Business Profile is verified. Then go to the 'Products' tab — that's where you can add items. For gift cards, Google actually partners with a few providers. You don't need a website — just a link to a checkout page. Most people use GiftUp or Tock because they integrate directly. You set up the card value, upload an image, and hit publish. Luna: And then create a Google Post promoting it, like Megan did. Lucas: Right. And update that post regularly. Google Posts expire after seven days, so you need to keep it fresh. She set a reminder every Monday to swap the photo and repost. Took her maybe two minutes. Luna: One thing I'm curious about — did she see any impact on her Google Maps ranking? Like, does selling gift cards help your local SEO? Lucas: Not directly. Google has said that ecommerce activity doesn't factor into local ranking. But here's the indirect benefit: more foot traffic means more people searching for her business by name, more check-ins, more reviews. Those things do help ranking. So it's a virtuous cycle. Luna: It also builds a relationship with customers before they even walk in. Someone buys a gift card for a friend, and that friend now has a reason to visit. It's like a warm introduction. Lucas: Exactly. And for the gift giver, it's convenient. They don't have to drive to the shop, they don't have to wrap anything. It's a digital gift they can send via text. That lowers the friction. Luna: So what's the one takeaway you'd want a listener to remember from this episode? Lucas: That Google Maps gift cards are an underused tool for driving traffic during slow periods. It cost Megan maybe $100 in fees and pastries, and she got over $2,000 in pre-sales and over 100 new visitors. That's a 20-to-1 return. Not many marketing channels deliver that. Luna: And it's so easy to test. You can set it up in an afternoon and if it doesn't work, you just turn it off. No harm done. Lucas: Right. Low risk, high potential upside. And it's not just for January — think about slow seasons for any business. A landscaper in winter, a beachside cafe in November. Gift cards can bridge those gaps. Luna: I've been thinking about something you said earlier — about how listening to this show has actually changed the way I look at local marketing. It's not just about big campaigns, it's about these small, tactical moves that add up. Lucas: That's exactly the goal. And you know, if these conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own business or recommended to a client, that's what keeps us going. We keep the show ad-free and focused on real tactics, and listener support is what makes that possible. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to keep the podcast independent and honest. If you've gotten value from episodes like this one, consider buying us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps. Lucas: Alright, back to the numbers. One thing I didn't mention — Megan also tracked the source of her gift card sales. About 60% came from Google Maps, 30% from her website, and 10% from Instagram. So Google Maps was the clear winner. Luna: That's a strong signal that people are searching for local businesses on Maps with intent to buy, not just browse. Lucas: Exactly. And I think that's the big takeaway for any local business: your Google Business Profile is not just a listing. It's a storefront. You can sell products, gift cards, even book appointments directly. The question is whether you're using all the tools available. Luna: So for our listeners, if you have a slow season coming up, or even if you don't, try setting up gift cards this week. It might be the easiest win you get all year. Lucas: I'd love to hear from anyone who tries it. Tag us or send us a note. We might feature your story in a future episode. Luna: Alright, that's it for this one. Until next time, keep your business local and your thinking global. Lucas: See you next episode.