Are you sending email blasts about your products but seeing your local competitors outrank you in Google searches? The problem might not be your email copy at all.
Google quietly rolled out a feature years ago that most small businesses still ignore. It’s called Google My Business Products, and it turns your listing into a virtual storefront. But here’s what nobody talks about: this feature works best when paired with your email marketing. When customers search for what you just emailed them about, your products show up right in the local pack.
Why Your Email Subscribers Are Searching Google Anyway
We tested this with a Glendale boutique last year. They sent a newsletter featuring their new spring collection. Within 24 hours, their Google My Business impressions jumped 340%. Turns out people read marketing emails, get interested, then immediately Google the business to see if the products are real and available nearby.
This is where most email marketing tips for small business miss the mark. Everyone tells you to write better subject lines or segment your lists. That’s fine. But if your Google listing looks empty when people verify your claims, you’ve already lost them. They’ll click on a competitor whose products appear directly in search results.
The disconnect happens because business owners treat email and local search as separate channels. They’re not. They’re two parts of the same customer journey. Someone sees your email at 9 AM. By 9:15 AM, they’re Googling your business name plus the product you mentioned. If that product isn’t visible in your GMB listing, the momentum dies.
How to Actually Add Products to Your Google Listing
Sign into your Google My Business dashboard. Look at the left sidebar. If you see a “Products” tab, you’re eligible. If not, you probably need to adjust your business categories. Use the GMB Spy Chrome extension to check what categories your competitors selected that you’re missing.
Click Products. Then click the plus sign. You’ll need to upload:
- A clear product photo (square format works best)
- Product name (keep it under 58 characters)
- Product category from Google’s dropdown menu
- Price (required, even for services)
- Description (up to 1000 characters, but 250 is usually enough)
- Call-to-action button (Buy, Order Online, Learn More, etc.)
The form takes about three minutes per product. Start with your five best sellers. These should match whatever you’re promoting in your email campaigns. If you email about your signature service every month, that service better appear in your GMB products section.
One note for restaurants: Google wants you to use their menu feature instead of products. For service businesses, adding products will delete any third-party service menus. You’ll need to rebuild them using Google’s native tools. It’s annoying, but worth it.
Connecting Your Email Strategy to Local Search Visibility
Here’s a simple system that works. Every time you plan an email campaign about a specific product or service, check your GMB dashboard first. Is that item already added as a product? If not, add it before you send the email. Include at least one photo that matches what’s in your email creative.
When you write the email, use the exact product name that appears in your GMB listing. If your GMB product is called “Organic Lavender Hand Soap” don’t call it “Handmade Lavender Soap” in your email. Keep the naming consistent. Google’s algorithm looks for these matches when deciding what to show searchers.
After you send the email, log into GMB and check your insights. Watch for a spike in search queries containing your product names. This tells you people are doing exactly what we described: reading your email, then Googling to verify. If you see the spike but no increase in clicks or calls, your product descriptions probably need work. Our SEO work with local businesses consistently shows that GMB product descriptions drive more calls when they focus on availability and specific benefits rather than generic features.
Three Email Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners Using GMB Products
First, add a direct Google search link to your emails. Not your website. Not your online store. A link that says “See it on Google” and points to a search for your business name plus the product. When people click that, they land on your GMB listing where the product is already featured. The conversion rate on these clicks is roughly double what we see with website links.
Second, feature only products you’ve already added to GMB. This sounds obvious but most businesses do it backwards. They email about whatever’s new, then add it to GMB later (or never). Reverse that order. GMB first, email second.
Third, use your GMB insights to guide your email content calendar. Check which products get the most views in your GMB dashboard. Those are the items people actually search for. Build your next three email campaigns around those products. Stop guessing what your list wants to hear about. Google is already telling you through search behavior.
We helped a Glendale bakery implement this approach. They were emailing about seasonal items that nobody searched for. GMB insights showed people were actually searching for their custom cake options. They shifted their email focus to match. Orders from email subscribers increased 67% in two months, with zero changes to their email design or frequency. They just started talking about what people were already looking for.
The Local Angle: Why This Matters More in LA
LA County has 110,000 registered businesses competing in local search. That number comes from the LA County Registrar. When your email subscribers Google you, they see competitors immediately below your listing. If your GMB profile is empty and theirs shows products, you lose the sale even though they opened your email first.
The mobile search factor is huge here too. LA residents do 73% of local business searches on phones (BrightLocal data). The products section shows up prominently on mobile local packs. It’s often the first thing people see after your business name and rating.
For Glendale businesses specifically, we’ve noticed another pattern. Customers frequently search for “[business name] products” or “[business name] services” right after reading promotional emails. They want to see everything you offer, not just what you featured in that one message. If your GMB products section is empty, they’ll click through to a competitor’s site to browse instead.
Small retailers face particular pressure here. Amazon and big box stores dominate product searches, but local GMB listings appear above them for location-specific queries. When someone searches “bike repair near me” and sees local shops with specific services listed, they’ll call those shops. The generic listing with no products gets skipped, even if they sent a great email last week.
What to Do This Week
Open your Google My Business dashboard today. Add your top five products or services. Use actual photos from your inventory, not stock images. Write descriptions that answer the question “Do you have this available right now?”
Then look at your last three email campaigns. Did you mention specific products? Go add those to GMB right now. It takes 15 minutes total.
Finally, add one line to your next email campaign: “See [product name] on Google to check availability.” Link that phrase to a Google search for your business name plus that product. Track how many people click it using your email platform’s link tracking.
Most email marketing tips for small business focus on open rates and click rates. Those metrics matter, but they don’t matter if the customer journey breaks down the moment someone tries to verify your claims. Google My Business Products fixes that gap. It’s free, takes minimal time, and works automatically once you set it up. The businesses winning in local search right now are the ones treating their GMB listing as seriously as their email list. Both channels feed each other. Ignore one and you’re only getting half the results.
