The verdict in three sentences
In a multi-location network, the first win comes from clean-up (duplicates, inconsistent names, mixed categories) before any growth work. In this illustrative case of 8 franchise territories around Austin, a $490 monthly budget took reviews from 140 to 410 and lifted calls from Google by 2.3 times in 9 months. What made it work was central control of the profiles, with franchisees asking for reviews on every job.
The starting point: visible but messy
The network is fictional but representative: a home services franchise (HVAC and plumbing) with 8 territories across Austin and its suburbs. Unlike a storefront network, most locations are service area businesses: technicians drive to customers, so addresses are hidden and service areas define where profiles can appear.
| Audit finding | Initial state | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate profiles | 3 duplicates (old addresses, one created by a customer) | Merged or removed, reviews kept |
| Profile names | 4 name variants, 2 stuffed with keywords | Exact brand name and territory |
| Primary category | 3 different categories | 'HVAC contractor' everywhere, 3 to 5 secondaries |
| Ownership | 2 profiles held by a former vendor | Ownership recovered by the franchisor |
| Service areas | Overlapping, some covering the whole metro | Clean split by ZIP codes and cities, under Google's 20 area limit |
| Store codes | None | One code per territory for bulk management |
| Website | One 'Locations' page | 8 territory landing pages linked from each profile |
With 8 profiles, the network sits below the 10 location threshold for Google's bulk verification, so each profile was verified individually, which took about 4 weeks including video verification.
Budget and timeline over 9 months
The franchisor paid $1,300 for setup, then $490 a month for all 8 profiles, about $61 per territory.
| Period | Main actions | Cumulative spend |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Audit, 3 duplicates handled, 2 profiles recovered, names fixed | $1,790 |
| Months 2 and 3 | Job site photos, services, landing pages, store codes | $2,770 |
| Months 4 to 6 | 2 posts a week per territory, review requests by text after each completed job | $4,240 |
| Months 7 to 9 | Review replies within 48 hours, category tuning from observed searches | $5,710 |
Tracking was weekly: calls, website clicks and direction requests, territory by territory, shared with each franchisee.
Results by territory
| Territory | Reviews before | Reviews after 9 months | Google calls per month before | Google calls per month after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Central | 32 | 78 | 22 | 50 |
| Round Rock | 20 | 58 | 16 | 38 |
| Cedar Park | 18 | 52 | 15 | 35 |
| Pflugerville | 15 | 48 | 14 | 33 |
| Georgetown | 20 | 56 | 17 | 38 |
| Kyle | 12 | 40 | 12 | 27 |
| Leander | 11 | 38 | 12 | 28 |
| San Marcos | 12 | 40 | 12 | 27 |
| Total | 140 | 410 | 120 | 276 |
Outer suburbs grew as fast in relative terms as Austin Central, because competition there is thinner: 30 to 40 fresh reviews are often enough to reach the top three on the map.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Marcus, marketing director of the franchise, has to justify the budget to franchisees.
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- Extra calls: 276 minus 120, so 156 a month across the network.
- Conservative assumption: 25% of extra calls turn into a booked job, about 39 jobs a month.
- At an average ticket of $350, that is about $13,650 of extra monthly revenue, or roughly $4,100 of gross margin at 30%.
Against $490 a month, the spend is covered more than 8 times on margin. These figures are illustrative: franchisees should tag the call source in their dispatch software to confirm them.
One compliance point: the FTC rule on fake reviews in force since late 2024 bans buying reviews and suppressing negative ones, so the review requests went to every customer, with no discount or gift attached.
FAQ
How much does managing 8 Google Business Profiles cost?
In this example, $1,300 setup then $490 a month, about $61 per location. Per profile pricing usually drops from 5 locations upward.
Can a service area business show an address?
Only if customers are served at that address during posted hours. Otherwise hide it and define up to 20 service areas by city or ZIP code.
How do we recover a profile held by a former vendor?
Ask for an ownership transfer, then use Google's request access process if the vendor does not answer within 7 days. In this example the 2 recoveries took about 3 weeks.
Do franchisees need to take part?
Yes, mostly for reviews: a request sent when the job is completed gets 2 to 3 times the response of a message sent a week later. The franchisor keeps control of names, categories and access.
When do calls start rising?
Here the lift became clear in month 4, once clean-up was done and the first reviews landed. The 2.3 multiple was reached in month 9.
Get found by the customers already searching for you. Start with a visibility audit at 100,000 FCFA (about €152), credited against setup if you start within 30 days, then a Traffic Engine plan sized to your locations, with a weekly report on calls per territory. Traffic Engine. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.