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Straight answers for local businesses.
Guides for owners who live on the phone — and for the people trying to hire a pro they can trust.
Editing Your Name or Address Voids the Mailed Code. 0 of 5 Say So.
Google says editing your business name, address or category kills a verification code already in the mail. None of the five page-1 guides mentions it.
2026-09-22Getting foundGoogle Says a Facebook Page Isn't Your Website. 10 Guides Skip It.
You don't need a website to be on Google. But Google's profile rules keep Facebook and Instagram pages out of the website box. Here is where they go.
2026-09-19Google Business ProfileGoogle Does Call Your Business. 6 of 9 Scam Guides Say It Doesn't.
Google lists five reasons it calls local businesses, and none is that you asked. Most page-1 guides teach the opposite. Here is the test Google prints.
2026-09-16Google Business ProfileGoogle's 2-Hour Service Area Rule Has an Exception. 0 of 11 Print It.
Google prints the driving-time limit twice and only one copy carries the sentence after it. Two of 11 page-1 guides quote the limit. None quote the exception.
2026-09-11Google Business ProfileWe Counted All 4,045 Google Categories. A Plumber Has One.
Four of eight common trades have exactly one matching Google category, so there is no decision to make. The rule Google publishes for the rest is on zero of page 1.
2026-09-08Getting foundIncognito does not show you what your customers see on Google
Every guide says to check your own name in a private window. Google's help page says it always estimates where you are searching from. Here is a check that works.
2026-08-28Getting found"Normally $2,500 — now 100% FREE" costs $588 to $1,188 a year
Four kinds of “free” contractor website, what each one really costs to keep, and the California rule that requires your license number on the site.
2026-08-08Getting bookedEvery booking-abandonment stat we checked had no sample size, no date, no method
No trustworthy public number exists for local booking abandonment. Here are the six silent failures that kill bookings, and a 20-minute test to find yours.
2026-08-06Getting foundThe map pack shows on 93% of "plumber near me" searches. Your website does not.
Google doesn't require a website to have a Business Profile. What each one actually does in 2026, backed by real data, plus a 30-minute profile checklist.
2026-07-24