Search your business name in an incognito window and look at the box that comes up. That box is most people's entire first impression of you. Here's what they see, in the order their eyes hit it:
Before your name registers, the rating does. 4.6 with 80 reviews reads "safe bet." 3.9 reads "risky." No reviews at all reads "is this place even open?" The stars are doing more selling than anything on your website.
Google picks which photos to feature, and it favors fresh ones. If the newest photo is four years old, that's the message: nothing happening here. A photo a week keeps the listing looking alive, and customer photos join yours whether you like them or not, which is another reason to add good ones yourself.
Open or closed right now, distance from the customer, price signals, and your category. "Closed" at 2pm on a Tuesday because you never set your hours sends people straight to the next result.
People read the newest three or four reviews and, crucially, whether the owner responds. A calm, professional reply to a bad review impresses people more than ten five-stars, because it shows them how you'll treat them if something goes wrong.
Call, Directions, Website. Mobile users mostly hit Call. Which is why the number on your listing should be one somebody actually answers (more on that in the phone number guide).
Some mix of more reviews, better category fit, more complete profile, and proximity to the searcher. You can't move your shop, but the other three are entirely fixable.
You can flag photos that violate Google's policies, but you can't remove a photo just for being unflattering. The practical fix is uploading enough good photos that theirs stops being featured.
Yes, and anyone can answer them, including strangers guessing. Check them occasionally and answer as the owner so the top answer is actually correct.
Rather have someone who does this every day handle it? That's the $75/mo plan. Or keep going solo, that's the whole point of these guides.
The straight answers Text Nick