Have you ever paid attention to how Google returns search results? When a person searches for “restaurants/mobile repair shops/dentist/__ near me/in __(location),” it returns Google Maps results (also referred to as Google Local 3-pack or Google 3-pack). Just imagine a person looking for a certain store will definitely most intuitively click on those top 3 results first. In this case, if you aren’t taking advantage of Google Maps marketing, you’ll miss out on a great opportunity to attract new clients.
The Google Local 3-pack returns results with three top business listings relevant to the search and near to the area searched in the query and their Maps location. This shows users the overall business information: their working hours and days, time, location address, photos, about, reviews, and a lot more. In this article, we’ll dive deep into top tips to optimize Google Maps marketing strategy. So make sure you read it until the end…..
What Is Google Maps Marketing?
Around 67% of smartphone users head to Google Maps for navigation purposes, WifiTalents confirms. This resulted in businesses shifting their promotional strategy to focus on Google Maps marketing. It involves activities businesses utilize to showcase their listing on Google Maps on top.
From obtaining a GBP listing to utilizing an SEO-friendly approach for boosting Google Maps position, there are several ways to foster your business’ visibility. For one thing, Google Maps receives over 69000 search queries in a second– there is no way businesses can overlook promotions on this platform.
That’s why businesses follow diligent Google Maps marketing strategy and improve their business’ visibility on this app. This also improves chances of appearing in Google Local 3-pack.
Google Maps Marketing– Optimization Tips For Business Promotions
These tips will improve your business’ online visibility on Google Maps, increase foot store traffic and lead conversion:
Create/Update GBP Listing (previously Google My Business)
Today most people look for a business on Google before reaching it out for a service/product. Google Business Profile (GBP) listing provides businesses a non-chargeable service allowing businesses to manage visibility and information over the web. It acts as a virtual business card that provides all the necessary information for prospects. This information includes–
- business name
- address
- contact number
- working hours
- reviews
- ratings
- about
- appointment link
Claiming a GBP listing is crucial to achieve a rank in Google Local 3-pack which returns three top business listings based on the proximity of users’ location and relevance to their search. Unfortunately, many people think that their work is over once they created the GBP listing. However, the case is quite contrary and it is Step 1 in the direction of Google Maps marketing. You must make efforts to optimize your GBP listing by:
- Updating business hours/holidays
- Responding to users’ queries or reviews
- Regularly updating Google posts about offers/events
You can check the Profile Strength Score in the top-right corner.
And the best part? Claiming a GBP listing for your business is free. Learn how to register for Google Business Profile and boost your search visibility across Google’s platforms including Maps.
Verify Your GBP Listing
Another important step you need to initiate before making effective utilization of Google Maps for promotions is getting your business listing verified. There are multiple ways to verify your GBP listing:
- Phone or text message
- Video Recording
- Live Video Call
It can take around 2 weeks to get your listing verified. For businesses operating in multiple physical locations, bulk address verification option is there.
Utilize Google Posts
Google Posts are a feature in Google Business Profile (GBP) listing wherein businesses can share posts related to any announcements, events, offers, or promote products/services. This appears on Google SERP and Maps allowing prospects to go through business updates and remind them about your company.
Consistently updating Google Posts not only elevates the chances of your business coming across a wider audience base but also significantly puts across any:
- new product/service launch
- upcoming/special offers/workshop/seminar
- holiday wishes
- customer testimonials
- awards and achievements
Simply follow these steps to create a Google Post:
- Login to your Google Account (the one with which you created your GBP listing) and search for your business name on Google.
- Then hit the “Promote” or “Add Update” option.
- To proceed, choose the post type from the given options (offer, product, update, or event).
- Enter the relevant details in the given box and adhere to the character limit. In case of an event post, you’ll need to provide the start date, end date, and title. GBP provides an option to add event details (time, venue, date, etc.) which acts as an amplifier for Google Maps marketing.
- Add a CTA (Book Now/Shop Now/Sign Up/Register/Learn More, etc.) to redirect the visitors to the desired landing page.
- Provide an image relevant to the context of your Google Post.
- Recheck the details and hit on the “Post” tab.
Your audience on searching your business name will get to see the Google Posts under the Updates/Products/Events tab in the GBP listing.
Entertain Questions
Answering your prospects’ queries is another splendid thing to get noticed by your audience on Google Maps. Several businesses don’t pay attention to queries until a person really reaches them, however, they must understand that it doesn’t work in their favor. Prospect’s queries must be resolved as soon as plausible. Some of the most obvious questions the audience can ask are:
- Is your hotel/store pet-friendly?
- Is parking available there?
- Does your restaurant have seating and arrangements for a party of 50?
While answering the questions, you must remember to use the business account that you used to make your GBP listing. This will mark your response as “Owner” which makes it more reliable for the prospects.
Ask For Reviews
Reviews are another crucial element of Google Maps marketing strategy because they hold the power to influence people’s purchase decisions. It’s sort of intriguing for prospects and they first land there to check what your previous clients have to say about you. So make your review gathering approach diligent and utilize the following practices depending on your business:
- Run Email marketing campaigns requesting your past customers to give your services or product a review. Positive feedback with shining stars can provide unimaginable benefits to your business’ online reputation.
- Address negative feedback with a polite tone instead of leaving it abandoned. This will have a subtle impact on your audience with a sense of responsibility. Offer compensatory assistance for genuine mistakes or ask for specific details if a fake derogatory remark has been made to make your business stand in deep waters.
- You can also ask your customers for review before they leave your physical store or have an online/over the call conversation.
Make Your Local Listings (NAP) Consistent
With local listings– also referred to as NAP (name, address, phone number) listings, businesses can establish their presence across the web. This provides an imperative opportunity for businesses to boost their Google Maps marketing strategy. For this, businesses need to watch out that their NAP listings are consistent across the internet on local business directories.
If your business NAP citations aren’t consistent or show any misinformation, your chances of garnering a place in Google Maps will dwindle. Furthermore, you’ll lose the trust and credibility among your local audience – which is the most important source of conversions. So make sure that your NAP citations are updated and show accurate information.
Google Maps Advertising
Google Maps advertising is a splendid alternative to take your marketing strategy to new levels with paid promotions. You can use Sponsored listings, promoted pins along the route, local search inventory ads, feature customer reviews, etc. to boost your business’ visibility and control how much you want to spend on geotargeting by adjusting the bidding amount.
SEO-friendly Website
Having a fully functional and SEO-friendly website further escalates the chances for businesses to secure a place in Google Local 3-pack. This involves improving:
- content
- link profile
- URL structure
- image sizes
- CTAs
- loading speed
- visual appeal, etc.
of the website.
Through on-page, off-page, and technical optimizations, businesses can stand a chance to offer an exquisite user experience to the users. This also impacts Google Maps search results because when users can have an intuitive and immersive experience, they easily tend to explore the site. Companies also hire SEO experts for this reason to sail through the intricacies of this issue.
Track Performance
Say, you’ve claimed your GBP with a verified tag, positive reviews, updated NAP citations, engage with your audience and respond to their queries, –everything from your side is done to improve your Google Maps marketing technique. But is it actually reaping fruitful results or all your efforts were duped?
GBP allows you to keep track of user impressions and clicks (for calls, profile, and landing page).
But in order to ascertain improvement in your business because of this visibility, you must evaluate the performance of your strategy:
- Track whether or not your business listing is appearing in search results, local 3-pack and Local Finder.
- Jot down your keyword position and refine non-performing ones and top-performing ones.
- See the improvements in CTR, website traffic, and conversion rate.
- Assess the quality of your backlinks.
If there is no significant growth in your business’ search visibility, your Google Maps marketing strategy will require adjustments. You can leverage other on-page, off-page and technical search engine optimization (SEO) activities for this purpose.
Factors Affecting Google Maps Marketing
Businesses need to understand how Google decides the rank allotment in Google search results, Maps and Local Finder. These are the 3 factors it assesses:
Relevance:
How relevant are the offerings to the search query.
Google determines this by analyzing the About section, product description, category selection, etc. in GBP listing. So validate your business listing and use relevant keywords naturally to stand out in the top listings on Google Maps and SERP.
Distance:
How far is the place of location from the location of the searcher.
Google also ascertains how far is the place of business from the searcher’s device location. This helps in suggesting more proximate alternatives for the searcher’s convenience so as to reach out to the place. Businesses must keep their NAP listings updated on local business directories like Yelp. This will help them fetch more credibility and higher chances of seeing their name in local search results.
Prominence:
How renowned is a business in the real world in a particular location.
Brand mentions search volume and GBP reviews are other key aspects that can influence a business’ search visibility on Google Maps. Although it’s hard to control what people have to say about your business, encouraging users to leave a positive review can help secure trust and credibility. Furthermore, turning your back on negative comments is not advisable as it can ruin people’s engagement with your business.
It is noteworthy that the rankings of business listings can vary for Google search results and Maps based on whether the user has turned on their device location since most people use mobile to search for nearby stores/restaurants/shops, etc. In addition, what search query is entered, how well you engage with your audience on social platforms, and your local backlink profile, matters a lot.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What If I don’t have a physical place of operations? Should I still use Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile allows users to come across your business’ existence even before organic search results appear. So yes, even if you don’t have a physical office or business place, you can use it for improving your search visibility if: [i] you provide services at people’s residence (plumbing/painting, etc.) or [ii] you go to deliver products at doorstep.
How to track my Google Business Profile (GBP) Listing performance?
With GBP you can track the impressions, profile clicks, clicks to call, and your website link. In addition, it also allows tracking appointments and messages.
How much does Google Maps marketing cost?
Google Maps promotions involve both free and paid quintessential tips. To begin with, you need a GBP listing for your business– which is free to claim and then you need to get it verified. Actively updating GBP information, NAP citations, and updating Google Posts are a few free marketing activities. However, advertising on Google Maps attracts certain costs depending on your industry, market trends, targeted keywords, etc., and works on the PPC model.
Conclusion
Whenever people are willing to visit a new place that they have heard of, plan a trip to, or have recently shifted to a place, they use Google Maps to know about the local shops or their locations. This sparked a new opportunity for buyers and businesses to connect on the very platform.
Just like Google, people can now search for businesses near them or in a particular area using Google Maps. In addition, they also get to discover their reviews, contact number, and whatnot. Google Maps marketing and advertising has opened a hub of opportunities for business owners to make their business listings, products, and in-store promotional offers a buzzing topic. Be sure to update your business details with time and utilize the top marketing tips shared in the above blog.
