Strangers Are Answering Questions About Your Business
Here's something terrifying.
The Q&A section on your Google Business Profile is open to the public. Anyone can ask a question. And anyone can answer it.
That means random people — maybe even your competitors — can answer questions about YOUR business.
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Why This Matters
Q&A answers appear directly in your Google listing — much like the FAQ content strategy on your website. They influence buying decisions. And if someone posts wrong information ("Yeah I think they're closed on Sundays"), that misinformation sits there until you fix it.
How to Take Control
Step 1: Seed your own Q&A. Yes, you can ask AND answer your own questions. Think of the top 10 questions customers ask you on the phone. Post them all with accurate answers.
"Do you offer free estimates?" — "Yes! Call us at [number] or book online at [link]."
"What are your hours?" — "We're open Monday through Saturday, 8am to 6pm."
Step 2: Monitor weekly. Set up alerts or check your GBP dashboard every week for new questions.
Step 3: Answer fast. If a real customer asks a question, answer within 24 hours. Speed signals that you're active and engaged.
Step 4: Upvote your own answers. The answer with the most upvotes appears first. Get your team to upvote the correct answers.
Keywords in Q&A
Hear me when I say this... Google indexes Q&A content. Including relevant keywords in your answers (naturally) helps your listing show up for those terms. Solid local keyword research tells you exactly which terms to work in.
"Yes, we provide emergency plumbing services in downtown Chicago 24/7" is better than "Yes we do." Google's structured data documentation highlights how Q&A content feeds into rich results.
Track Everything
Q&A management is one of the 113 tasks inside SEO Checkup. Free checklist tracker. No credit card. 30 seconds to set up.