With Google’s top three search results capturing most intent-driven clicks nowadays, Patrick Rombyer of On Par Media Solutions used his presentation to share practical, mostly-free strategies that small businesses can use to improve their visibility.
His core message: your Google Business Profile is your most important free marketing tool, and most businesses set it up once and never touch it again. That’s a problem.
Here’s what to do instead:
Claim and verify your profile. If you haven’t done this, it’s urgent. An unclaimed profile can be edited by anyone, and competitors can appear to own it. Verification now typically requires a video walkthrough.
Choose your primary category carefully. This tells Google what kind of business you are. Match what your top competitors use — and you can add up to 9 categories, though fewer targeted ones often outperform a long list.
Write a real business description. 750 characters to tell Google and customers who you are. Include your business type, city and service area, key services, a trust signal, and a call to action. Vague paragraphs about “passion for service” don’t rank.
Get and respond to reviews. Reviews are the single biggest trust factor in local search. Five-star profiles are four times more likely to be clicked than three-star ones. Ask every happy customer — and respond to every review.
Upload real photos. Team members, your space, your work in action. No stock photography — Google can tell the difference.
Post regularly. Most competitors aren’t posting at all. One post per week puts you ahead of the majority.
Align your website with your profile. Consistent name, address, and phone number across every page. A page for every service. Your city in every page title. A real About page with a photo and bio.
Speed matters. A slow website costs you both rankings and customers. Test yours free at pagespeed.web.dev — a score under 50 on mobile needs attention.
Patrick’s closing point was the right one: none of these things is magic individually. Together, they compound — like a credit score. Every action you take adds to Google’s trust in your business over time.
If you’d like to know exactly where your business stands, Patrick Rombyer at On Par Media Solutions offers a full audit scored against your competitors and prioritized by impact. Connect with him today.
And if Wednesday mornings at 7am with Border 2 Border Business Connections aren’t yet on your calendar, this is exactly the kind of actionable content the group brings every week. We’d love to have you join us.
