Google Maps is much more than just software that helps you locate a specific destination, although that alone is a very noteworthy service in and of itself. Business people can use Google Maps to call much more attention to their businesses, because their business will show up on searches conducted by users who are looking for services or goods in their immediate area. This is another invaluable capability of the software, and to retailers it may be the most critical one. To be sure, usage of Google Maps to highlight your local business is something that most businesses are already doing, but there are some ways you can take real advantage of all the Maps capabilities to get the absolute most out of it. For instance, there are a number of marketing tricks you can use to beef up your business, and we’ve described some of these in the content below.
Optimize your business profile
You can optimize your business profile using Google Business Profile, and this starts with filling out all the useful information accurately so your business can be found by everyone. By completely filling out the information, you will achieve much better rankings for Google searche s, and many more potential customers will find you. Since this puts more information at the disposal of potential customers, they will be better informed so they can make a good decision about where to make their purchases.
When you expand the local three pack, the Local Finder gets displayed, and that’s when your business will appear on the map. When actual Google Maps are displayed to a user, your business profile can be previewed by clicking on the related snippet, and this can help users find out much more about your business. Once you have optimized your business profile, especially if you know information has changed about operating hours, business location, address, etc., it will be to your advantage to always have the most complete and accurate information available on your business profile.
Improve on your customer reviews
Customer reviews and related scores all factor heavily into local search ranking. When you receive predominantly positive reviews and positive ratings, it can significantly increase your local business ranking and make you attractive to many more customers. When you get great reviews, it helps you to rise above the competition and stand out as a desirable organization to do business with. This being the case, you should encourage your customers to leave a review on your business profile, because it can have a major impact on your future success.
Customers can leave reviews on your business profile if you reach out to them in some way to jot down their thoughts about your product or service. You can do this by sending them an email after they’ve had time enough to review your product, you can have an actual conversation with a customer on the phone or in person, and you can even have printed requests on your business cards, store receipts, or other marketing materials. You can also simply display a sign in your store that asks users to write a review of their experience with your organization and about the products you sell.
Use the Q-and-A section of GBP
Google Business Profile is equipped with a Question and Answer section that you can use to answer frequently asked questions about your business. You can also ask or answer questions about your business, but for you personally it’s an opportunity to provide extra information and help more customers who have specific needs. If you do receive questions from consumers, it’s definitely to your advantage to respond politely, promptly, and clearly, so as to make a good impression when you do respond. When answering questions from users, be sure you’re logged into your GBP account, so that all your answers will appear as coming from the owner of the business. This is how readers will know that the information is reliable, because it comes directly from the owner source.
You can also use the FAQ section to add another question, and provide the answer to it right away to help users out. In this way, potential prospects might get all the information they need to cause them to decide to do business with you. They’ll be getting the answers to all their questions without even having to ask, or to wait for any kind of response. If you think of questions that consumers might legitimately have, put these in your GBP question-and-answer section to provide helpful information. If you’re not sure about the kinds of questions that consumers might ask, you should check with your customer service team to see which ones are asked most frequently.
Optimize your website for SEO
The main reason you would want to make your website SEO- friendly is of course so it can result in much better rankings from Google . When Google considers your website to be useful and relevant to the majority of searchers, it will then have the confidence to trust your business profile as well. There are quite a few local SEO techniques you can use to improve your website rankings. For instance, you can build links on local websites, you can publish localized content all around your website, and you can make sure there are no technical or functional issues with your site.
Monitor your performance
You should always be monitoring your business performance so you’ll know whether your marketing strategies are being successful, or whether it will be necessary to tweak something. Ideally, you would want your business listing to be displayed whenever someone searches for relevant local keywords, meaning for products or services in your area. You would also want to rank as high as possible, so that your business gets displayed before others. If you don’t see positive results within a few weeks after your enhancement strategy, it may be necessary to make some adjustments to your Google Maps marketing strategy. One of the first things you should look at is your target keywords, because these are what shows up in search queries that you want to rank for. After that, you should monitor the performance of your website, and how successful it is at driving more customers to your business.
