Why Are My Google Business Profile Calls Dropping?

If your Google Business Profile used to generate a steady flow of phone calls but things have suddenly gone quiet, it can be worrying.

You may immediately assume your rankings have dropped, Google has changed something, or a competitor has taken your position.

Sometimes that is happening. But there are also some much simpler explanations.

When calls from your Google Business Profile start dropping, there are three areas I would look at first:

1. How customers are being encouraged to contact you
2. Whether you are giving Google enough information about your business
3. Whether your reviews are building enough trust compared with your competitors

Let’s go through each one.

1. Check How People Can Call You From Google

The first thing to check is surprisingly simple.

Look at your own Google Business Profile and see what options Google is currently showing potential customers.

In some locations and search layouts, Google has changed the way contact options appear. You may find that customers are being encouraged to visit your website or request directions rather than immediately seeing the call option you were used to.

This can make it appear as though your Google Business Profile has suddenly stopped producing calls.

But there is another important part of this.

If somebody clicks through from your Google Business Profile to your website, how quickly can they find your telephone number?

I use a simple seven-second test.

Open your website as though you are a new customer and try to find the phone number.

If it takes more than a few seconds because the number is buried halfway down the page or hidden in the footer, you could be losing enquiries.

For a local service business, I normally want the telephone number clearly visible near the top of the website.

Then test it on a mobile phone.

Can somebody simply tap the number and make a call?

If not, that needs fixing.

A potential customer looking for a plumber, electrician, roofer or mechanic probably isn't going to copy your number onto a piece of paper and type it manually into their phone.

Make contacting you easy.

2. Give Google More Information About Your Business

The second problem is that you may not be giving Google enough information about what your business actually does.

Think about your Google Business Profile as something that needs feeding.

If you create the profile and then leave it untouched for months, Google has relatively little fresh information to work with.

One simple way to improve this is by regularly adding photographs.

For example, you could upload:

• Before and after photographs of completed jobs
• Photographs of your staff
• Your workshop, office or showroom
• Company vehicles
• Equipment you use
• Examples of different services
• Photographs related to customer reviews

I generally like to see a business build towards at least 50 useful photographs rather than having just two or three old images sitting on the profile.

The photographs also help potential customers.

Imagine somebody comparing two local businesses.

One profile has five photographs that were uploaded three years ago.

The other has dozens of photographs showing real staff, real vehicles and recently completed work.

Which one feels more established and trustworthy?

This is also why regularly adding useful content can be important.

Every photograph, update and piece of business information helps provide more context about who you are, where you operate and the type of work you carry out.

If you are unsure what information you should have on your profile, my Google Business Profile Checklist is a useful place to start.

The important thing is consistency.

Don't upload 40 photographs today and then forget about the profile for another two years.

Keep giving Google and your customers useful information about the business.

3. Compare Your Reviews With Your Competitors

The third area is reviews.

This is one of the first things I look at when a business tells me:

"People are finding us on Google, but we're not getting enough enquiries."

Finding the business is only one part of the process.

People still have to decide whether they trust you enough to make contact.

Imagine you have been operating for 14 years but only have seven Google reviews.

One competitor has 65 reviews.

Another has 111 reviews.

A potential customer looking at those three businesses may naturally wonder why so few of your customers have left feedback.

Your Google Business Profile may therefore be getting visibility without turning enough of that visibility into phone calls.

Reviews are effectively digital word of mouth.

Your happy customers can become some of your best salespeople.

This is why I recommend having a proper process for requesting reviews rather than hoping customers remember to leave one.

You also want useful reviews.

A review that simply says:

"Great company."

is positive, but it doesn't tell somebody very much.

Compare that with a customer explaining:

• What problem they had
• What work you completed
• How your team communicated
• Whether you arrived when promised
• Whether you were clean and tidy
• Why they would recommend you

That gives future customers much more useful information.

It also provides Google with additional context about the services your customers associate with your business.

Reviews Can Increase Leads Without Increasing Traffic

This is an important point that many business owners miss.

You don't necessarily need more people finding your Google Business Profile before you can generate more enquiries.

You might already have enough people finding you.

The problem could be that too many of them are choosing somebody else.

If 100 potential customers see your business and your reviews don't build enough confidence, improving that part of your profile could produce additional enquiries from the traffic you already have.

That's why I think of your Google Business Profile as part of the hub of your local Google presence.

Your website, reviews, photographs, business information and other local signals all work together.

The stronger and more complete that information becomes, the easier it is for potential customers to understand your business and decide whether you are the right company to contact.

What Should You Do If Your Google Business Profile Calls Have Dropped?

Don't immediately assume you need to spend more money on advertising.

Start by checking the basics.

Look at your profile as though you were a potential customer.

Can they easily call you?

If they visit your website, can they find your telephone number within a few seconds?

Can they tap the number on a mobile phone?

Then look at the information you are giving Google.

Are you regularly adding photographs and useful information showing the work you actually do?

Finally, compare your reviews with the businesses appearing around you.

Don't just compare star ratings.

Look at the number of reviews, how recently they are being received and what customers are actually saying.

Those three checks can often reveal why phone enquiries have started slowing down.

And once you understand where the weakness is, you have something specific you can work on rather than guessing.