Is your Google Business Profile working as hard as your clinic’s reception? Many established Bangkok businesses treat their online listing like a static advertisement, missing out on crucial visibility. Google, however, rewards consistent, rhythmic updates far more than infrequent data dumps. Discover why understanding this difference can significantly impact your client bookings and local search rankings.
Website Pages vs. Google Maps Updates: Treat Them Differently
The most common mistake business owners make is treating their website and their Google Maps listing the same. They are not the same, and Google doesn’t look at them the same way. When it comes to your main website pages, your services, your ‘about us’ story, your contact details, the best strategy is to publish them as soon as they are complete and well-written. There is no benefit to holding back good, foundational content. Publish it all at once so Google and your customers can see everything you offer.
Your Google Business Profile (what customers see on Google Maps and in local search results) is a different story. This is not a static brochure; it’s a living, breathing signal of your business’s activity. For this, Google rewards a consistent rhythm of small, regular updates. Think of it like a heartbeat. A steady, predictable pulse of new photos, weekly offers, and responses to reviews tells Google that your clinic is open, your restaurant is serving, and you are actively engaged with your community. This is far more powerful than one large “data dump” every few months.
Why a Steady Rhythm Matters to Google
Let’s be direct: Google’s job is to give searchers the most relevant, up-to-date answer. A business that is consistently active online appears more trustworthy and current than one that is silent for months. This concept of “freshness” is not just a theory; it’s a core part of how Google’s systems work. Recent updates to their ranking algorithms have placed an even greater emphasis on timely and helpful information.
In fact, according to Google’s official guidelines, regular updates can signal that your site is active, which can lead to Google’s systems checking on your business more often. By posting a new photo one week and a special offer the next, you are essentially training Google to pay more attention to you. More frequent checks mean your latest information, like a last-minute promotion at your spa, gets indexed and shown to potential customers much faster.
The Trap: The ‘Once-a-Month’ Update Blitz
Many busy owners fall into the efficiency trap. They block out one afternoon a month to do all their “Google stuff.” They upload 30 photos from the past few weeks, post four “weekly” offers at the same time, and finally answer reviews from three weeks ago. While it feels productive, this sudden burst of activity followed by a long silence can look unnatural to Google. It can look like you’re trying to game the system rather than genuinely engaging with your customers in real time.
Imagine a restaurant in Thonglor. A steady stream of photos showing daily specials and happy customers feels authentic. A sudden dump of 25 food pictures on the first of the month, followed by nothing until the next month, feels robotic. Consistency builds trust not just with algorithms, but with the real people looking for a place to spend their money. They want to see what’s happening now, not what happened a month ago.
The Reality of Running Your Business
I remember working with the owner of a fantastic dental clinic near Asoke. Dr. Preecha is a brilliant dentist, but his online presence was lagging because he and his manager were completely swamped with patients and paperwork. They knew they should be updating their Google profile, but it always fell to the bottom of the to-do list, right next to “fix the wobbly chair in the waiting room.”
Their process was to frantically upload a dozen photos from recent patient cases once every two or three months. The updates they posted were often about promotions that had already ended. They weren’t lazy; they simply didn’t have a system. For a busy professional, finding time every few days to log into Google and post a small update feels like an impossible luxury. The daily operational struggle is real, and it’s the biggest barrier to achieving that perfect rhythm.
Creating a System for Consistent Updates
The solution isn’t to work harder; it’s to work smarter with a better system. Instead of relying on random bursts of inspiration, you need a way to make consistency effortless. This is where you can lean on technology to do the heavy lifting for you, ensuring that steady heartbeat of activity happens without you having to think about it every day.
For my clients like Dr. Preecha, we use a tool called OnEveryMap to solve this exact problem. His manager now spends one hour, once a month, scheduling all their Google updates in advance. She can write a post about a teeth-whitening promotion and schedule it for the first week, queue up a new staff photo for the second week, and an informational post about dental hygiene for the third. OnEveryMap then automatically publishes these updates on the right day, creating that perfect, consistent rhythm that Google loves. It turns a chaotic, recurring task into a simple, scheduled workflow, freeing them to focus on their patients.
Find Your Rhythm, Not Your Rush
Ultimately, getting more customers from Google isn’t about one heroic effort. It’s about small, consistent actions that build momentum over time. Get your core website pages published so customers have the information they need. But for your Google Maps listing, focus on creating a steady, ongoing conversation. A weekly photo, a timely response to a review, a new offer, these are the signals that tell Google and your future customers that you are open, active, and the best choice in the neighbourhood.
Wishing you a full appointment book and a busy front door,
Aiyah R.
