Last Friday I picked up my phone and searched “plumber Shrewsbury”, the way anyone with a dripping pipe might. Then I counted.
Before I reached the first free business listing, I’d scrolled past two Local Services Ads, a normal Google ad, links pointing me to Checkatrade and Trustatrader, and a sponsored listing at the top of the map. Every paid spot had a big blue call button. The free listings underneath had photos, star ratings and a line from a customer review, but no call button. To ring one of them, you have to tap into the listing first.
That’s what local search looks like on a phone in Shropshire right now, and if your business relies on Google to make the phone ring, you should know about it.
The free listing is still the best deal going
A Google Business Profile costs nothing, and it’s still the cheapest way I know for a local business to get found. Money doesn’t come into the rankings either. Google says “there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google”, and that local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. (Source: Google Business Profile Help)
The experts agree. Every couple of years Whitespark asks local search specialists what moves rankings in the map results. In its 2026 report, based on 47 experts scoring 187 factors, the top five are your main business category, how close you are to the person searching, keywords in your business name, having an address in the town being searched, and being open when someone searches. Taking part in Google Ads came 185th. (Source: Whitespark)
One word of warning on that third factor. Only use keywords that are part of your real business name. Adding extras breaks Google’s guidelines and can get your profile suspended.
So you can’t buy your way into the free listings. You earn them with a complete, accurate profile and a steady flow of reviews.
But the free listing is losing its call button
What I saw in Shrewsbury isn’t a one off. Call tracking company Invoca noted in July that Google now makes people click into a free listing before the call button appears, while paid Local Services Ads keep theirs. (Source: Invoca) Local search agency Sterling Sky has also found Google’s newer AI local results on mobile showing no phone numbers at all, with a big drop in calls as a result. (Source: Whitespark Q1 2026 roundup)
To be fair to Google, the call button hasn’t gone. It’s one tap further in. But every extra tap is a chance for someone to ring the business above you instead.
It depends what you sell
For comparison, I searched “restaurant Shrewsbury” too. This time there were no adverts above the free listings, just links to Tripadvisor and OpenTable, then the map. The free listings sat near the top of the screen, although they had no call buttons either.
My guess is that it comes down to what a customer is worth. An emergency plumbing job is worth paying for, so the space above the free listings fills up with adverts. If you’re a trade, a solicitor or any business where one new customer is worth a lot, assume your free listing is fighting paid ones for attention.
What I’d do about it
Get the free listing right first. Pick the most accurate main category, fill in your services, keep your hours correct (bank holidays included) and ask every happy customer for a review. Reply to the reviews you get. And make sure your name, address and phone number match everywhere else you’re listed, which I covered in why your business details need to match everywhere.
Give people a reason to tap. With the call button now inside your profile, your photos, star rating and that review snippet decide whether someone taps you or the next business. Google even shows the search word in bold inside the review it picks, so what your customers write becomes part of your listing.
Check what’s working. Your profile shows calls, direction requests and website clicks, and you can now see that data in Google Analytics alongside everything else. You can also see how many people viewed each post.
Consider a small ad budget if you’re in a busy trade. Link your profile to Google Ads as a location asset and you become eligible for that sponsored map spot with the call button. That’s my day job, and it works best when the free listing underneath is already in good shape.
If you haven’t got the time
You’re not alone. In Nettl’s 2026 survey of 223 UK small businesses, 25.5% said a lack of time was their biggest barrier to marketing. (Source: Nettl)
Local SEO packages from UK agencies typically cost £300 to £800 a month, according to Whito’s index of published UK prices. (Source: Whito) If your Google profile is the main thing you need help with, my Google Business Profile management starts at £79 a month, and I’ll do a free audit first so you can see how your profile compares with the businesses around you.
