Every local business has hours that sit empty. The Tuesday morning, the Sunday afternoon, the week between jobs. Most owners treat those hours as dead weight, but they are the cheapest thing you own, and somebody out there needs exactly what you are not using.

A WhatsApp button is being spotted on local business panels. This one is reported by people watching search results, not confirmed by Google. Some searchers are seeing a WhatsApp option on the local panel, either in place of the chat button or next to call, directions and website. Nobody knows yet whether it is a test or a full rollout.

Why it matters: a new button means a new way for a customer to reach you, and an unanswered message is worse than no button at all. Do this: open your profile on your phone today and tap every contact button on it as if you were a customer. Make sure each one lands somewhere a human will see it.

A second wave of ranking movement was reported after the September spam update. Also reported, not confirmed by Google. Trackers and site owners saw rankings shift again around September 30, after a first round in late September. Google announced the update and said the rollout could take up to two weeks, but it has not confirmed that it came in separate phases.

Why it matters: if your website traffic wobbled in the last two weeks, you may be looking at the update and not at something you broke. Do this: before you change anything, write down where you stand today on your three main searches. You cannot tell whether you recovered if you never recorded the dip.

I listened to an event space owner this week who rents his room out for birthday parties. His steadiest money does not come from parties at all. It comes from three churches that rent the same room every Sunday morning, the one slot nobody ever books for a birthday. That recurring rent covers his lease before he sells a single party.

Flip that into your business and the question gets interesting. What is your dead day, and who would happily pay for it every month?

A lawn crew with quiet Tuesdays can sell a monthly route to three HOAs. A hair stylist with an empty Monday can run one standing group booking. A tree service can sell scheduled maintenance instead of waiting for the next storm. The hours are already paid for. You are just deciding whether they earn.

And here is the part that ties back to the Local Guide Method. A recurring customer sees you twelve times a year instead of once, and a customer who sees you twelve times is the one who leaves the review, posts the photo, and tells the neighbor. Your customers do your SEO for you, but only if they keep coming back.

This week: look at last month's calendar and circle the emptiest day. Write down three people or groups in your town who would want those exact hours. Call one of them.

New today: How to check your competitor's Google Business Profile, including the nine things to write down and the three gaps worth fixing first.

What is your dead day, and what have you tried putting in it? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one, and the good answers tend to show up in a future issue.

Google Greg
Local Guide Marketing Academy

Idea spark: Chris Koerner on The Koerner Office.