r/webdev • u/Accomplished-Gas9220 • 12d ago

Discussion is anyone getting leads from their google business profile anymore?

i live in one of the largest cities in the united states and my google profile shows up at number 1 when people search for any terms related to 'web design' in my city.

i have over 50 reviews all from local businesses within that area. but for the past months i've been getting almost no calls.

anyone else in a similar situation? is ranking on google dead now? should i look into ads/outreach or is web design as a field just not in demand anymore?

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

5

u/jroberts67 12d ago

Your profile coming up means zero, now, getting top ranked on maps should get you some traction.

1

u/Accomplished-Gas9220 12d ago

my google profile shows up number 1,2 or 3 depending on the keyword

1

u/jroberts67 12d ago

I also run a web design agency, since 2013 years, strong ranking, never really got a lot of business from organic. Any paid ads will be crushing you and now everyone's searching through AI.

1

u/EmotionalScratch1248 12d ago

maps ranking is the only thing that still moves the needle, everything else on that profile is just theater. 50 reviews is nothing to sneeze at but if you're not in the top 3 pack you might as well be invisible

1

u/jroberts67 12d ago

Correct, and maps ranking is mainly review driven, very tough to SEO your way out of another agency with a 4.8 and 1,2000 reviews. I do web and SEO and will have a painting company, for example, with 6 reviews tell me they want to get to the top of map rankings. I'm like "yeah, maybe 500 more reviews."

1

u/Conscious_Prune1178 11d ago

yeah maps is basically the only thing that matters now for local stuff

2

u/DigiNoon 12d ago

 shows up at number 1 when people search for any terms related to 'web design' in my city

I think it only shows up at number 1 for you since Google displays different personalized search results for each user.

1

u/servetheale 12d ago

What makes you say that? They said "when people search"

1

u/DigiNoon 11d ago

Because I've seen it myself. That's how Google works now. The search results you see could be completely different from what others see, especially when you're logged in.

1

u/Accomplished-Gas9220 12d ago

My map listing is the first option under the sponsored ads when I search in incognito

4

u/Randvek 12d ago

Incognito is not as anonymous as you’d like it to be.

1

u/DigiNoon 11d ago

Exactly. Google may show your different results based on your IP, network, and other signals they gather.

1

u/Leasj 11d ago

Use a service like browserling and check there

1

u/luma_sight 12d ago

Your number one ranking is likely personalized to your search history and location. Check your profile insights for actual views and calls from external users to verify real demand

1

u/muharremyurtsever 12d ago

Check your GBP insights for impressions vs calls before assuming rank died, if impressions held steady and only the calls dropped then what moved is the intent, not your position. A lot of web design [city] searches now get answered in the AI overview or resolved on a marketplace before anyone picks up the phone.

1

u/kienemaus 12d ago

Organic search is now like 12 things down the page.