A recent experience with a BookCleaningJobs client in Maryland reminded us how crucially important it is to maintain a healthy online presence. For many cleaning businesses, Google Business Profile (GBP) serves as an important point of interaction with potential customers. Unfortunately, it's not just about setting up your profile and forgetting it; continuous monitoring is essential, as our client in Maryland recently learned.

While investigating a sudden drop in call volume from his Google Business Profile, we discovered that his Google Maps pin had been moved - to an area 90 minutes away from his actual location! To confuse the matter, the business address was still correct on his listing. So unless you were looking carefully at the map pin, you might not notice that the pin no longer matched the address location.

And it wasn’t just our client’s business that was impacted - a number of other carpet cleaning companies from his city had been moved as well. There is no telling how many calls, leads, and bookings these cleaners have missed as a result of this attack…

Who would wage such an attack on a bunch of carpet cleaners? We suspect it was a nasty competitor looking to divert customer traffic for their own gain (don’t worry, karma and/or Google will get them).

The thing is: Google allows suggested changes for GBPs. Often they don’t check with the business owners before implementing the change - which is why it’s so important to check in on your GBP frequently. Luckily we were able to jump in and quickly fix the issue before it cost our client any more money.

There are several key reasons why regular monitoring of your GBP is vital:

1. Protecting Your Brand Reputation: Your GBP is often the first point of contact between your business and potential customers. Incorrect information or malicious changes can lead to poor customer experiences and damage your reputation.

2. Maintaining Accurate Information: Regular updates are crucial to ensure that your business information (location, hours, services) is accurate. This is especially important during holidays, special events, or when changing your service offerings.

3. Enhancing Local SEO: GBP is a powerful tool for local search engine optimization (SEO). Actively managing your profile, responding to reviews, and updating posts can significantly boost your visibility and attractiveness to potential customers.

4. Preventing Fraudulent Activity: As seen in our client’s case, GBP can be susceptible to fraudulent activities. Regular monitoring helps in quickly noticing and fixing any unauthorized changes that could potentially divert business or mislead customers.

For cleaning business owners, take this lesson to heart: Regularly check your GBP, engage with your customers through it, and ensure its security. 

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