Ignored Google Tool Costs Small Businesses Customers Daily

BRAESIDE, Victoria - June 2026 -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Digital strategist Goran of Three Nine Digital recently delivered a sold-out Small Business Workshop in Braeside, Victoria, revealing how local business owners are losing customers daily by ignoring their free Google Business Profile. The workshop - held at Events on Citrus - drew a full room of engaged small business owners and generated an 11-person waitlist for the next session within days of concluding.

The workshop emerged from an unexpected source. Melina, owner of Events on Citrus, awoke one night with the realisation that small businesses in her community were pouring resources into social media while neglecting a far more powerful free tool. She approached Goran at their local BNI chapter the following morning and the workshop was online and selling within days.

"Small businesses pile into social media thinking it will grow their business," said Goran, founder of Three Nine Digital. "But social media is spray and pray marketing. The Google Business Profile puts you in front of high-intent customers already searching for exactly what you offer - right now, ready to spend money."

The statistics presented at the workshop were confronting. According to RedSearch and LocalDigital, 46% of all Google searches in Australia carry local intent. Research from Similarweb further confirms that 70-85% of local searches are resolved directly within Google Maps and the Business Profile - without customers ever visiting a website. Goran refers to this as the "zero-click storefront" effect.

Attendees - some of whom had not updated their profile in over a decade - worked through their own profiles in real time, updating descriptions, adding photos and understanding Google's three core ranking factors: Relevance, Distance, and Prominence. One attendee, a home-based tradesperson in Melbourne's south east, discovered their profile had quietly generated 212 direction requests in just six months without their knowledge.

"That's 212 people who decided to physically visit this business - directly from a free Google listing," said Goran. "No website visit. No phone call. They just saw the profile and asked Google for directions."

Attendees described the content as a "game-changer." Eleven business owners who missed the session have since joined a waitlist for the next workshop, with dates being confirmed for the Bayside area.

Business owners can book a free 20-minute Google Business Profile audit with Goran at threeninedigital.com.au.

About Three Nine Digital Three Nine Digital helps small businesses across Melbourne's Bayside, Mordialloc, Cheltenham, Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula get found online through website design, Google Business Profile optimisation and digital strategy. A proud supporter of local charities and sporting clubs, Three Nine Digital believes every small business deserves a powerful digital presence. Visit threeninedigital.com.au to learn more.

Contact: Goran, Director, Three Nine Digital Email: goran@threeninedigital.com.au Website: threeninedigital.com.au