Why Your Phone Isn't Ringing (And How to Fix It)
If you’re a business owner in Brisbane, you’ve probably felt the frustration of knowing you’re better than your competitors, yet seeing them show up everywhere online while you’re nowhere to be found.
You might have a great website. You might even be paying for ads. But if your business details—your name, your street address, and your phone number—are a mess across the internet, Google simply won't trust you. And if Google doesn't trust you, it won't show your business to people searching for your services in your suburb.
At Local Marketing Group, we see this every single day. We call it the "Identity Crisis."
In this guide, I’m going to walk you through a real-world case study of a Brisbane-based service business. We’ll look at the data, the costs, and exactly how fixing "local directories" (sites like Yellow Pages, TrueLocal, and Yelp) directly led to more phone calls and more profit.
The Case Study: A Northside Electrician’s Messy Digital Footprint
Let’s look at "John," an electrician based in Chermside. John had been in business for 15 years. He had 40 five-star reviews on Google, but his phone calls had started to dry up. He was being outranked by new guys with three reviews and a basic website.
When we looked at John’s data, we found the problem immediately. Over 15 years, John had: 1. Moved his home office twice (three different addresses online). 2. Changed his business name from "John’s Electrical" to "John’s Electrical & Air Con." 3. Used three different mobile numbers and one landline across various sites.
To a human, it’s obviously the same guy. To Google’s computer brain, it looks like four different businesses, none of which are reliable. Because Google didn't know which address was real, it stopped showing him to people in Chermside.
By cleaning this up, John saw a 42% increase in phone calls within 90 days. He didn't spend a cent more on ads. He just fixed his data.
What Are Local Directories and Why Do They Make You Money?
Think of local directories as the modern-day White Pages. There are hundreds of them: TrueLocal, Yellow Pages, Yelp, HotFrog, Cylex, and even Facebook.
Most business owners think these sites are useless because "nobody uses TrueLocal anymore."
You’re half right. Very few people go to those sites to find a plumber. However, Google visits those sites every single day.
Google uses these directories to verify that you are a real, legitimate business. If 50 different websites all say your business is at "123 Gympie Rd, Chermside," Google feels confident showing you to someone searching for an "electrician near me." If those sites have conflicting info, Google hides you to avoid giving the user a bad experience.
The Data: Does This Actually Work?
We tracked the results for 20 Brisbane small businesses over six months after cleaning up their directory listings. Here is what we found:
Average Increase in Google Map Views: 115% Average Increase in Direct Phone Calls: 38% Time to see results: 3 to 5 months
This isn't an overnight fix. It’s a foundation fix. If you want to own your suburb and ensure your phone rings consistently, this is the first thing you must do.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
Most business owners ignore this because it’s boring. It’s data entry. But let’s look at the actual cost of having messy listings.
If your business generates $10,000 a month in leads from the web, and your messy listings are suppressing your rankings by just 20%, you are losing $24,000 a year in potential revenue.
Compare that to the cost of fixing it. You can do it yourself for free (it will take you about 40-60 hours of tedious work) or you can pay a service or agency to do it for you. Even at a cost of $1,000 - $2,000 for a professional cleanup, the return on investment is massive.
Step-by-Step: How to Audit Your Business Listings
If you want to see how bad your situation is, follow this simple process we use at Local Marketing Group.
1. The Google Search Test
Search for your business name + your suburb (e.g., "John’s Electrical Chermside"). Go through the first five pages of results. Every time you see a directory listing, click it.Check for: Is the name exactly right? (Not "John's Elec" on one and "John's Electrical" on another). Is the phone number clickable and correct? Is the address current?
2. The "NAP" Consistency Check
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. This is the holy trinity of local marketing. It must be identical everywhere.Bad: Suite 1, 10 Main St / 10 Main Street / Unit 1, 10 Main St Good: Choose one format and stick to it religiously.
3. Identify the "Big Dogs"
Not all directories are equal. If you are short on time, focus on these first: Google Business Profile (The most important) Apple Maps (Crucial for iPhone users) Bing Places Facebook Business Page Yellow Pages Australia TrueLocalCommon Mistakes Brisbane Businesses Make
I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I see the same three mistakes over and over. Avoiding these will put you ahead of 90% of your competitors.
Mistake 1: Using Tracking Numbers
Some marketing companies will give you a "tracking number" so they can prove their ads are working. Never put these on directory sites. If you have 50 different phone numbers across the web, Google will get confused and your rankings will drop. Use your main business line everywhere. If you want to get more local customers, keep your data clean.Mistake 2: Paying for Premium Listings
Sites like Yellow Pages will try to sell you a $300/month "featured" listing. In 99% of cases, this is a total waste of money. You don't need the "premium" version; you just need the free version to be accurate so Google can see it. Spend that money on better photos or customer service instead.Mistake 3: Forgetting the Photos
Directories allow you to upload photos. Most people leave them blank. A listing with a photo of your branded truck, your team, or your shopfront gets clicked on far more often than a blank one. People buy from people they trust. Showing your face is the fastest way to build that trust.The "Secret Sauce": Local Relevance
If you’re a plumber in Morningside, you want to be known as the Morningside plumber. When you fill out these directories, don't just say you service "Brisbane." Mention your specific suburbs. List your local landmarks. This helps Google associate you with a specific patch of dirt, making you the obvious choice when someone nearby searches for help.
This is a key part of how you win your suburb without having to outspend the big national franchises. They can't be "local" everywhere, but you can be the king of your street.
How Long Until You See More Calls?
I’ll be honest with you: this isn't like turning on a tap. When you fix a listing on a site like Cylex, it might take Google weeks to find it, verify it, and update its records.
Typically, we see a "lift" in phone calls at the 3-month mark. By month 6, the results are usually permanent as long as you don't change your number again. It’s a slow burn, but it’s the most stable way to grow a local business.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here is your Monday morning checklist:
1. Claim your Google Business Profile: If you haven't done this, stop reading and go to business.google.com. It is the single most important asset you own. 2. Standardise your NAP: Decide exactly how your business name and address should look. 3. Fix the top 10: Update the major sites (Apple Maps, Facebook, Yellow Pages, etc.). 4. Delete duplicates: If you find two listings for your business on one site, get the old one deleted. Duplicates kill your rankings.
Is It Worth Hiring an Agency?
You can absolutely do this yourself. It just takes time. If you’re a busy tradie or shop owner, your time is probably worth $100+ an hour. Spending 40 hours fixing directories is costing you $4,000 in lost labour.
In that case, hiring a professional to do the "grunt work" makes a lot of sense. Just make sure they aren't charging you a monthly fee forever. A directory cleanup should be a one-time project or a low-cost maintenance task, not a massive monthly overhead.
Summary: The Path to More Sales
Local marketing isn't magic. It’s about being the most trusted, most visible option in your local area. By fixing your local directory listings, you are telling Google (and your customers) that you are a real, professional, and reliable business.
It’s the difference between being a ghost and being a local landmark.
If you want the phone to ring more often, stop worrying about the latest social media trends and start fixing the basics. Your bank account will thank you.
Want us to handle the boring stuff for you? At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane businesses get their digital house in order so they can focus on what they do best. If you want more phone calls without the headache of data entry, contact us today.