76% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a physical place within 24 hours and 28% of those searches result in a purchase – Source
Have you ever thought about how potential customers actually find and contact you as a business? Well according to statistics, 76% of searches on Google will have local intent. For example, I’m sure you have searched for “restaurants near me” over lockdown right? Well in truth, the majority of potential customers for small businesses will use Google with local intent to find local businesses near them, so Google Maps can quickly become a crucial marketing tool for your business1
It’s also worth thinking about the value of local intent searches. Why, will because these type of searches will typically have a much higher intent to physically visit your business within the next 24 hours, with 28% of these searches resulting in a purchase.
So I’m sure you’re wanting to know… how to rank on Google Maps? Don’t worry, this article our Knutsford web design agency will guide you through adding your listings along with what the top Google Maps ranking factors are
How to add your business listing to Google Maps
Simple, visit Google Maps and enter your business name into the search bar. If you can’t find your business, click “Add a missing place to Google Maps”.
Next, you should see a pop up window, this will allow you to fill out basic business information including business sector, location, open hours and much more. Once completed, your Google Maps application will be sent off and you will get an email once it’s been received and approved.
After your business has been added to the Google Maps database, it will be eligible to appear in Maps SERP along with other competitors located around a user’s search.
What are the top Google Map ranking factors?
There are many different signals which all contribute to Google Maps ranking factors but many SEO experts would argue that these can be grouped into 3 different categories which are proximity, prominence and relevance
Proximity – This is defined as your location when you are searching on your phone or computer when searching for something. Although Google will like to guess where you are located, it’s not always accurate which is why they will ask to ‘enable your location’ when you submit a local search.
Prominence – In a nutshell, this basically means how important Google thinks you as a business are and relevant you are to a user’s search query. Prominence is mostly based on information Google will find about your business, so it will crawl data from other websites, reviews, articles, listings, directories etc… which is why Google My Business is also a critical tool for small businesses.
If some businesses are more prominent in real life, search results will also try to reflect this in local rankings so for example, museums, landmarks and well known brands will likely to be more prominent in local search results.
Relevance – Last but certainly not least important, does Google think you are relevant to the query the user has searched for? Relevance is usually decided on what Google can find out about you as a business and will base this opinion by crawling through your website. This means your website content, SEO activities and even your business name will all factor into relevance.
Google My Business vs Google Maps
As a Knutsford web design agency, I’m sure you have heard us preach about Google My Business and its importance in previous news articles… So, do you need Google My Business, Google Maps or both?
Answering this question honestly, I would advise you claim your listings on both!
The crucial difference between both is simple. Google Maps will show your business’ location with directions how to get their tailored the user’s location. Google My Business will provide additional information associated with your business such as reviews, opening hours.
Working in sync together, by having a fully optimized business listing, Google Maps will display more detailed information about your small business which is driven by Google My Business. This could be the difference in potential customers deciding to call or visit you instead of looking at a blank Google profile.
Need further SEO training?
Need some further advice how to claim your listing or would like some help creating a Google My Business profile? As a Knutsford web design agency, we provide training on a range of topics which are all designed on a 1-to-1 basis that will go at your own pace.
For further information, please submit an enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.