Today’s Read:
Google Business Page Quick Fix!
Apple Maps Ads
Your Google Business Profile may be seen before your website.
A customer searches for a nearby service, sees a handful of businesses on the map, and makes a quick judgment based on hours, photos, reviews, services, and how active each business appears.
You do not need an afternoon to improve what that customer sees.
You need five focused minutes.
200+ Proven Ways to Make Money With AI in 2026
The next wave of millionaires will be people who figured out how to make AI work for them.
The window to get ahead is still open. But not for long.
Here are 200+ proven ways to make money with AI in 2026.
Sign up for Superhuman AI, the free daily newsletter read by 1M+ professionals, and get instant access to all 200+ ways to profit from AI this year.
🔬 TODAY'S FIELD TEST
SET A FIVE-MINUTE TIMER
Open your Google Business Profile. Complete one action each minute.
MINUTE 1: CHECK YOUR HOURS
Confirm that your regular hours are correct. Then look for any upcoming holiday, closure, or schedule change that needs special hours.
Incorrect hours do more than inconvenience customers. They make the entire profile feel neglected.
If you operate by appointment, make sure the hours accurately reflect when customers can reach or visit the business. Do not promise availability you cannot consistently provide.
MINUTE 2: CHECK YOUR PRIMARY CATEGORY
Your primary category should describe the main thing the business actually is—not every service it provides.
Examples:
Plumber, not simply Contractor
Family law attorney, not simply Law firm, when that accurately describes the main practice
Italian restaurant, not simply Restaurant
Auto repair shop, not simply Automotive
Add relevant secondary categories when they accurately describe substantial parts of the business. Do not add loosely related categories just to appear in more searches.
If the current category is already accurate, leave it alone and move to the next minute.
MINUTE 3: ADD ONE RECENT PHOTO
Upload an original photo from the last month:
a completed project
the team at work
a product or service
the storefront or office
a before-and-after comparison
a detail customers would find useful
Choose a clear photograph that reflects the real business. An ordinary, current photo is generally more informative than a polished stock image that could belong to any company.
MINUTE 4: REPLY TO ONE REVIEW
Choose the newest unanswered review and respond.
For a positive review:
Thank you, [Name]. We appreciate you trusting us with [general service]. We are glad to hear that [specific point from the review] made the experience easier.
For a critical review:
Thank you for sharing your concerns. We take feedback seriously and would like to understand what happened. Please contact us directly at [approved contact method] so we can review the situation.
Keep the response calm and professional. Do not disclose private customer information or argue the entire case in public.
MINUTE 5: PUBLISH ONE UPDATE
Use the photo you just uploaded and add three sentences:
This week, we [completed, introduced, repaired, created, or changed something]. The important part was [one useful detail]. If you are dealing with [related situation], here is what you should know: [practical tip].
Add an appropriate action button—such as Learn More, Book, or Order—and send it to the most relevant page, not automatically to the homepage.
Press Publish.
Your five-minute fix is complete.
📘 WANT THE COMPLETE LOCAL VISIBILITY SYSTEM?
The five-minute fix improves one important channel. The Local Business Visibility Blueprint shows how to build the entire system: Google, your website, reviews, social media, directories, AI search, paid advertising, and a practical 30-day action plan.
The Blueprint is normally $47.99 - NOW on sale for $27.99 and new Visibility Science readers can currently take another $20 off and get it for $7.99!
USE COUPON WELCOME20
GET YOURS HERE
📡 SIGNAL CHECK
WHAT GOOGLE ACTUALLY WANTS
There is no secret button that guarantees first place on Google Maps.
Google says local results are mainly based on three factors:
Relevance: How closely the business matches the search
Distance: How far the business is from the person searching
Prominence: How well known and established the business appears
You cannot control where every customer is standing. You can help Google understand the business by keeping the profile complete, accurate, active, and supported by legitimate reviews and useful business information.
In partnership with
Join Fin, Anthropic, and Clay at Pioneer on October 7th
Pioneer, the summit where CX leaders redefine what’s possible, is on October 7th.
Join leaders from Fin, Anthropic, and Clay for an insightful conversation on the state of AI transformation.
You’ll discover how some of the most innovative minds in CX have transformed their organizations, learn how they think about CX, and hear how they're planning for what's next.
Join the conversation in San Francisco, or tune in virtually.
🧪 THE EXPERIMENT: SEVEN GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE TRICKS WORTH USING
The five-minute fix handles the urgent items. When you have another 20 minutes, work through these overlooked features.
1. SCHEDULE RECURRING POSTS
You no longer need to remember to create every Google update manually.
When creating a post, Google now provides options to schedule it for later and set it to repeat weekly, monthly, or on a custom schedule.
Create one evergreen post answering a common customer question, add a useful photo and button, and schedule it to repeat. Review recurring posts periodically so outdated information does not continue publishing.
This is especially useful for:
weekly appointment reminders
recurring classes or events
monthly maintenance tips
seasonal services
a continuing first-customer offer
Google generally archives posts after six months unless they have a specified date range, so recurring updates can help keep the profile from looking abandoned.
If a post discusses one service, send the customer directly to that service page.
If the goal is an appointment, send the customer to the booking page.
If the post describes an offer, send the customer to the page that explains and fulfills the offer.
Every unnecessary step creates another opportunity for the person to leave.
Check your booking, ordering, reservation, or appointment links as well. If several links appear, Google may let you mark one as the business-preferred option.
Google Business Profile can display links to supported social platforms.
Open Edit profile, select Contact, and look for Social profiles. Add the active accounts that represent the business.
This gives customers another way to examine your work, personality, activity, and community presence before contacting you.
Do not add an account that has been empty since 2021. An abandoned social profile can work against the active impression you are trying to create.
4. CREATE A REVIEW LINK AND QR CODE
Google can generate a direct review link and downloadable QR code.
On a computer, open the profile, select Read reviews, and then Get more reviews. Copy the link or download the QR code.
Use it in appropriate places:
a personal follow-up email
a thank-you card
a printed receipt
the checkout counter
a completed-project folder
a post-service text message
Ask for an honest review. Do not offer a reward, pressure the customer, or request only positive reviews.
5. COMPLETE YOUR SERVICES AND ATTRIBUTES
Categories tell Google what kind of business you are. Services explain more specifically what you do.
Add the real services customers can purchase, using natural descriptions. Also complete relevant attributes—such as accessibility, payment options, amenities, or appointment availability—when the profile offers them.
These details help customers decide whether the business fits what they need.
6. CHECK THE PROFILE AS A CUSTOMER
Sign out—or use a private browser window—and search for the business by name.
Then check it on a phone.
Ask:
Is the correct phone number prominent?
Does the website button work?
Are the best current photos visible?
Is the first impression accurate?
Are there old offers or incorrect links?
Can a customer quickly understand the services?
The management screen tells you what you entered. The public view tells you what customers experience.
7. DO NOT USE THE “KEYWORD-STUFFED NAME” HACK
You may see advice telling you to change a profile from Smith Plumbing to Smith Plumbing — Best Emergency Plumber in Portland.
Do not do this unless those words are genuinely part of the business's real-world name and are consistently used on signage and other branding.
Google requires the profile name to match the real business name. Unnecessary additions can trigger edits or suspension. Build relevance through accurate categories, services, descriptions, posts, website content, and reviews—not a fake company name.
🗺️ NEW CHANNEL TO WATCH: ADS ON APPLE MAPS
Google is no longer the only map offering local businesses paid placement.
Apple has introduced ads in Apple Maps for businesses in the United States and Canada. Ads can appear:
in Suggested Places before someone begins searching
near the top of relevant results after someone searches
Customers can then view the business, call, or request directions from Maps. Businesses choose their own budget and can start or stop campaigns.
Apple is also advertising a limited Grand Opening Promo that provides 15% back as a monthly statement credit for up to one year, subject to its terms and a maximum credit of $1,000 per month.
This does not mean every business should immediately move advertising money away from Google. It means there is a young local advertising channel worth examining while many competitors are still unaware of it.
TODAY'S APPLE MAPS CHECK
Before paying for an ad, search for your own business in Apple Maps.
Check:
business name
map location
category
hours
phone number
website
photographs
available actions
If anything is missing or incorrect, claim and improve the location through Apple Business first. Advertising an incomplete listing only pays to show more people an incomplete listing.
Once the place card is accurate, consider a small test with a clear budget and compare calls, directions, visits, or other valuable actions against your existing advertising.
🎯 BEFORE YOU CLOSE THIS EMAIL
Give Google five minutes today: hours, category, photo, review response, and post.
Then search for the business in Apple Maps and see what an iPhone user sees.
Reply and tell me which part of your Google or Apple listing gives you the most trouble—or what marketing topic you want broken down next.
Bottom line: You do not need a mysterious local-search trick. Keep the information accurate, show real evidence that the business is active, make the next action easy, and test new channels before they become crowded.
❓ WHAT DO YOU NEED HELP WITH?
We want Visibility Science to help with the marketing problems you are actually facing—not the ones marketers assume you have.
Reply to this email and tell us:
What part of marketing do you need help with right now?
What have you been trying to figure out?
What would you like me to explain or show you in a future issue?
It can be a broad question or one very specific problem. Your reply may help shape one of the next experiments we work through together.
Marketing engineered for business growth.
Till next time,