Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Local Gym Uses Google Maps Q&A to Convert Listeners
Transcript
- Lucas: So here's a number that stopped me this week: Google processes over a billion Q&A interactions on Business Profiles every single month. A billion. And most business owners treat that feature like a digital junk drawer—they answer a question once, maybe, and then forget it exists. Luna: A billion with a B? That's more than the number of monthly Instagram DMs I think people send. And yet when I look at most profiles, the Q&A section is either empty or full of unanswered stuff from years ago. Lucas: Exactly. It's the most neglected conversion tool on the entire platform. And that's what we're talking about today—why the Q&A section is actually a sleeper channel for local businesses, and how one gym in Portland turned it into their number one source of intro calls. Luna: Okay, I need that story. What's the gym called? Lucas: Iron Roots Strength. It's a small strength-training studio in northeast Portland. The owner's name is Mike. He's been on the show before—actually, we did an episode about how he uses Google Posts to fill classes back in episode 14. But this time he went deeper on Q&A. Luna: Right, I remember that episode. So what did Mike find that most people miss? Lucas: He realized that the questions people ask on Google Maps are way more transactional than the ones they leave in reviews. Reviews tend to be emotional—'great coach, friendly staff.' Q&A queries are practical: 'How much does a membership cost?', 'Do you offer a free trial?', 'Is there parking nearby?' Those are buying-signal questions. Luna: So it's intent-rich. Someone who types a question into a Google Business Profile is probably further down the funnel than someone who just reads a review. Lucas: Way further. Mike told me that of the people who ask a question on his profile, about 60 percent take some kind of action within 48 hours—either calling, requesting directions, or visiting the website. That's insane conversion intent. Luna: So how do you capture that? I mean, you can't control what people ask, right? Lucas: You can't control what they ask, but you can control what's already there. Mike's strategy had two parts. First, he did an audit of every question that had ever been asked on his profile. He found about thirty questions total over three years. Some were still unanswered. Some had answers that were outdated—like a pricing answer from before a rate change. Luna: So the first step is just cleanup. Make sure existing Q&A is accurate and complete. Lucas: Exactly. He answered every unanswered question, and updated outdated ones. That's basic hygiene. But the second part is where it gets clever. Mike started seeding questions himself. Luna: He seeded questions? Like, he asked his own business questions? Lucas: From a personal Gmail account, yes. He thought about the top five questions that a hesitant potential client would have. Things like: 'Do you have a beginner program?' and 'What's the cancellation policy?' and 'Are the coaches certified?' Then he posted those questions to his own profile—and answered them with detailed, benefit-rich answers. Luna: And Google doesn't flag that as spam? I mean, it's your own business. Lucas: Google's guidelines technically say you shouldn't abuse the system, but seeding legitimate, non-promotional questions that real customers would ask is considered acceptable by most local SEO experts. The key is that the questions are genuine—they're not fake positive testimonials disguised as Q&A. They're just preempting the customer journey. Luna: So it's like writing an FAQ for your profile, but in the Q&A format. That actually makes sense because the Q&A section appears right below the reviews on mobile, and it's collapsible. So if someone sees a well-answered question, it builds trust instantly. Lucas: Exactly. And Mike didn't stop there. He also set up a monitoring system. He uses Google's own notification alerts—you can turn on alerts for new questions in the Google Business Profile app. Most people don't know that exists. So when a new question comes in, he gets a push notification, and he answers it within a couple of hours. Luna: Speed of response matters. I've seen data that says businesses that answer Q&A within an hour see higher engagement on their profile. Lucas: Right. Google doesn't officially confirm that as a ranking factor, but it's common sense—if a potential client sees a question from yesterday with no answer, they assume the business is unresponsive. Mike's average response time now is under two hours. And he says the impact has been measurable. Luna: What kind of numbers are we talking about? Lucas: Over a sixty-day period after implementing the cleanup and seeding and monitoring, Iron Roots saw a 40 percent increase in requests for driving directions from the Google profile, and a 22 percent increase in booked intro calls. That's not paid traffic—that's just optimizing an existing free feature. Luna: Forty percent lift in direction requests is huge. And I love that it's not about spending more money. It's about paying attention to a feature that's already there. Lucas: That's the whole point of this show, honestly. We keep finding these low-cost, high-impact levers in local marketing. And the Q&A section is one of the most underrated. Luna: Before we go deeper, I want to touch on something. You know, we do this show without ads—no sponsors, no commercial breaks. And we keep it that way because we believe the best marketing advice is the kind that's not trying to sell you something else. If these conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your business, and you want to support that independence, there's a link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep this ad-free. Lucas: Yeah, and it genuinely helps us stay focused on what works, not what pays. So thank you for listening. Back to the Q&A playbook—Mike also told me about a mistake he made early on. Luna: What was the mistake? Lucas: He initially answered questions with super short, factual responses. Like, 'Yes, we have parking.' But then he realized that the answers are indexed by Google and can appear in local search results. So he started writing longer answers that included relevant keywords. For example, instead of 'Yes, we have parking,' he wrote: 'Yes, we have free off-street parking behind the building, plus bike racks out front for members who cycle to class.' That answer now shows up in search results for 'gym with parking Portland'. Luna: So the Q&A section is also a mini SEO play. Each answer is like a mini landing page snippet. Lucas: Exactly. And Google even lets you attach photos to answers. Mike added a photo of the parking lot to that answer, and he says the engagement on that specific Q&A doubled. People like visual confirmation. Luna: That's a great tip. Photos in Q&A answers—I don't think many people do that. So is this strategy portable to other types of local businesses? Like, would it work for a plumber or a dentist? Lucas: Absolutely. The intent questions are just different. For a plumber, the top questions might be 'Do you charge for estimates?' and 'Do you work on weekends?' For a dentist, it might be 'Do you accept Delta Dental?' and 'Do you offer sedation for anxious patients?' The format is the same—identify the top five purchase-decision questions, seed them if they're not already there, answer them thoroughly, and monitor for new ones. Luna: One thing I wonder about: if you seed questions, do you risk the same person seeing multiple questions that sound like they're from the same person? Does that hurt credibility? Lucas: Mike thought about that too. He used a few different Gmail accounts and spread out the timing—one question per week. He also made sure the questions had different voices. One might be 'Is this gym welcoming for absolute beginners?' Another might be 'What's the parking situation?' They sound like different people. And the answers are so detailed that they add value regardless. Luna: So it's not about tricking anyone. It's about making sure the most common questions are visible and answered before a potential customer even has to ask. That's good customer service. Lucas: Exactly. And the number one question Mike sees on his profile now? 'Do you offer a free trial?' He seeded that one himself, and his answer includes a link to a scheduling page. He says about a third of his intro calls start from someone clicking that link after reading the Q&A. Luna: That's a direct conversion path. Question, answer, link, booking. No friction. Lucas: Zero friction. And it's completely free. So if you're a local business owner listening, here's your takeaway: open your Google Business Profile right now, look at the Q&A section, answer any unanswered questions, update outdated ones, and think about the top five questions you get from new customers. If they're not on your profile, add them—strategically. Then turn on notifications so you never leave a new question hanging. Luna: And if you do that this week, you might see results in thirty to sixty days. Mike's timeline was about two months to see that 40 percent lift. Lucas: Right. It's not instant, but it compounds. Every well-answered question builds credibility and helps Google understand what your business offers. Over time, your profile becomes a better resource, and Google rewards that with visibility. Luna: I think the Q&A section is one of those things that's easy to ignore because it's tucked away. But once you see the data, it's hard to ignore. Lucas: Absolutely. And we'll link to Mike's profile in the show notes if you want to see an example of a well-optimized Q&A section. For now, that's the play. Clean it up, seed it, monitor it, and answer with photos and keywords. Luna: Next episode, we're looking at another overlooked Maps feature: the products tab. A local retailer used it to increase website clicks by 30 percent. That's a good one. Lucas: Can't wait. I'll bring the data.