23 Feb Is Your Google Business Profile Costing You Customers? 7 Tulsa SEO Mistakes to Fix Today
Your Google Business Profile is your digital storefront. When someone in Tulsa searches for what you offer, that little info box on the right side of Google is often their first: and sometimes only: impression of your business.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most Tulsa businesses are screwing this up. Not because they’re lazy, but because they don’t realize their profile is actively driving customers straight to their competitors.
With 84% of “near me” searches happening on mobile devices, your Google Business Profile isn’t just nice to have anymore. It’s the difference between someone calling you or the business three doors down. After working with Tulsa businesses for 12 years, we’ve seen these same seven mistakes cost companies thousands in lost revenue.
Let’s fix them.
Mistake #1: Your Business Information is Incomplete (Or Just Wrong)
This one seems obvious, but you’d be shocked how many Tulsa businesses have incorrect hours, missing phone numbers, or outdated addresses on their Google Business Profile.
Google uses your business name, address, phone number, website, hours, and services to determine if you’re relevant for local searches. Leave any of these blank, and you’re essentially telling Google you’re not serious about being found. Even worse? Having the wrong information makes potential customers give up before they even try to contact you.
The fix: Block out 15 minutes right now. Search for your business on Google and click “Suggest an edit” if you’re not the owner, or log into your Google Business Profile dashboard. Verify every single piece of information is current, complete, and matches what’s on your website exactly.
Mistake #2: You’re Ignoring Mobile Users
Remember that 84% of “near me” searches happening on mobile? Those are high-intent customers looking for SEO Tulsa services, restaurants, plumbers, or whatever you offer right now. They’re not browsing: they’re ready to buy.
If your profile isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, you’re invisible to the majority of people actively searching for businesses like yours in the Tulsa area. Your photos need to load quickly, your contact button needs to be prominent, and your information needs to be scannable at a glance.
The fix: Pull out your phone and Google your business. Does everything load quickly? Can you easily tap to call, get directions, or view your website? If anything feels clunky or slow, that’s what your potential customers are experiencing: and they’re bouncing to a competitor.
Mistake #3: You’re Treating Reviews Like They Don’t Matter
Customer reviews aren’t just social proof: they’re a ranking factor. Google wants to show businesses that actual humans recommend, and they use the quantity, quality, and recency of your reviews to make that determination.
But here’s where most Tulsa businesses drop the ball: they’re not actively generating reviews, and they’re definitely not responding to them. Every unanswered review: positive or negative: signals to Google and potential customers that you don’t care about feedback.
The fix: Create a system for requesting reviews from happy customers. Send a follow-up email after a successful project or transaction with a direct link to leave a Google review. Then: and this is crucial: respond to every single review within 48 hours. Thank people for positive reviews and address concerns in negative ones professionally and promptly. This shows you’re engaged and builds trust with people reading them.
Mistake #4: Your Profile is a Digital Ghost Town
Google rewards businesses that actively maintain their profiles. If you set up your Google Business Profile three years ago and haven’t touched it since, you’re losing ground to competitors who post updates, share photos, and engage with their listings regularly.
Think about it from Google’s perspective: would you rather show searchers a business that clearly cares about their online presence or one that appears abandoned?
The fix: Treat your Google Business Profile like a mini social media account. Post updates about new services, special promotions, or company news at least twice a month. Share new photos quarterly. Update your services and business description when things change. Google notices this activity and rewards it with better visibility in Tulsa SEO rankings.
Mistake #5: Your Photos Look Like They’re From 2009
Visual content matters: a lot. Your Google Business Profile photos are often the deciding factor in whether someone clicks through to your website or calls your competitor instead.
Poor quality photos, outdated images, or: even worse: no photos at all make your business look unprofessional or inactive. Meanwhile, businesses with high-quality, diverse photos showcasing their location, products, services, and team get significantly more engagement.
The fix: Hire a professional photographer or use a high-quality smartphone camera to capture your business in the best light. Include photos of your storefront, interior, products or services, team members, and happy customers (with permission). Aim for at least 10-15 photos that tell the complete story of what working with you looks like. Update these every few months to keep things fresh.
Mistake #6: Your Information is Inconsistent Across the Internet
Your business name, address, and phone number need to be identical everywhere they appear online: your website, Facebook, Google Business Profile, Yelp, industry directories, everywhere.
Why? Google cross-references information across the web to verify your business is legitimate. Inconsistencies confuse their algorithms and hurt your local search rankings. If your website says “McWilliams Media LLC” but your Google profile says “McWilliams Media” and your Facebook says “McWilliams Digital Marketing,” Google doesn’t know which is correct: so it ranks you lower.
The fix: Do a quick audit of your major online listings. Your exact business name, address format, and phone number should match perfectly across all platforms. If you find inconsistencies, update them immediately. This is basic digital marketing Tulsa businesses often overlook, but it has a real impact on your visibility.
Mistake #7: You’re Not Using Local Keywords Strategically
Here’s where Tulsa SEO company expertise really matters. Your Google Business Profile gives you several places to include keywords that help Google understand what you do and who you serve: your business description, services section, and posts.
If you’re a digital marketing agency in Tulsa but your profile talks about “helping businesses grow online” without ever mentioning Tulsa, digital marketing, SEO, or your specific services, you’re missing massive opportunities to rank for the terms people actually search.
The fix: Update your business description to naturally include location-specific keywords. Instead of “We help businesses succeed online,” try “We’re a Tulsa-based digital marketing agency specializing in SEO, web design, and social media management for local businesses.” Add specific services to your services section using terms people actually search for: like “Tulsa website design” or “local SEO services.” Just don’t keyword stuff: write for humans first, search engines second.
Don’t Let Your Competition Win by Default
Your Google Business Profile is free, powerful, and completely within your control. Yet most Tulsa businesses treat it like an afterthought: setting it up once and never touching it again.
That’s a choice that costs you customers every single day.
At McWilliams Media, we’ve spent 12 years helping Tulsa businesses dominate local search results. We’ve seen firsthand how these seven mistakes drain marketing budgets and hand customers to competitors who simply pay attention to the basics.
The good news? You can fix every single one of these issues yourself in a few hours. Or if you’d rather focus on running your business while someone else handles your digital presence, that’s exactly what we do.
Your Google Business Profile should be working for you 24/7, bringing in leads while you sleep. Make sure it’s actually doing its job.