You Are Here: Optimizing Google Maps For Success

We’ve made it a point in the past that the Yellow Pages are dead. There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Google Maps. Google is currently the most widely used search engine, owning a staggering 67% market share. One of its most useful features to customers is the ability to pinpoint their location and display local businesses that fit their search results on a map.

However, most small businesses don’t take advantage of this free listing and let their competitors snatch up valuable customers. Follow the below tips to become a master of maps and drive more traffic to your business.

Claim Your Listing

This sounds obvious, but surprisingly most business owners still have not claimed their maps listing (also known as Google Places). Do a Google search for your company name and city/state, and see if your business shows up. If yes, click the “claim this listing” button on the top right of the map to start the verification process. If no, you’ll need to set up a new listing so that customers can find you.

Make sure you claim your business listing while signed into your Google account. Many make the mistake of letting an employee or third party claim their listing, which can come back to haunt you if they are no longer affiliated with your company.

Complete Your Profile

Once claimed its important to completely fill out as much information as possible in your maps listing. You never know what information a customer is looking for, so it is best to include as much as possible including your hours, a description of your products and services, a link to your website, etc. Using Google’s preset categories will yield the best search results, because these are terms commonly searched already. If there are no categories that relate to your business, enter custom tags to help patrons find you.

Add Interesting Pictures and Video

Google lets you add 10 pictures and up to 5 videos to give your business listing a little flair. This is an excellent opportunity to show off your unique personality, so add media that gives your customers insight into your company. Most companies will add photos of the outside of their shop or their latest commercials; can you say boring? Introduce your staff, add pictures of happy customers, or add video testimonials. The more you differentiate, the better chance you have of converting prospects.

Load Up On Reviews

Speaking of testimonials, it’s important to get as many positive reviews as possible in your place page. A business with 50 reviews and 5 stars will typically fare far better than a competitor that has only 3 reviews and 1 star. Remind happy customers to fill out reviews by sending them emails, post cards, or another take home piece. If you can, even have a computer on site that allows customers to fill out reviews immediately after the purchase! For example, a pizza place might print the instructions on a pizza box, or a car salesman might carry an iPad to capture reviews after a sale. Get creative and you’ll reap the benefits.

Be Consistent Across the Web

Google Maps is a great place to add your company information, but remember its not the only place. Sites like Judy’s Book, Yelp, Dex Knows and others serve a similar need and remain in business because customer’s are using their services. Search the web for different directory services and complete the above steps on each of these sites. Giving your customers a consistent experience on the web will help you gain their trust and hopefully their business as well.