There are probably four main reasons a business might not appear on Google Maps:
- Your Google My Business (GMB) account is not verified.
- Your Google My Business account has been suspended.
- You relocated and didn’t update your address properly (which can result in a suspension).
- Poor SEO.
In this blog we’ll be concentrating on the last bullet point. As long as you actually have an active listing you will be searchable, but there’s a lot of competition out there and your business might lack ‘location authority.’
What is location authority?
A lack of location authority means you’ll only appear within a small radius on Google Maps, and will be out competed by other businesses on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). SEO is what we do at Alloy Marketing, and it’s the key to having a decent location authority on Google Maps.
If you’re not using your listing properly, you will lose out to people who are. At an absolute minimum, you need to make sure these basic details are correct:
- Business name.
- Address.
- Phone number.
- Website URL.
But there’s a lot more you can do with your GMB listing, and Google prefers businesses who take advantage of everything they have to offer. Beyond keeping these basic details up to date, other features of GMB include the ability to:
View latest reviews and star ratings
According to surveys conducted by software company Dixa, 97% of participants said customer reviews play a role in their buying decisions, and 92% of consumers hesitate to make a purchase when they can’t see any customer reviews.
This alone makes it absolutely essential to be proactive when it comes to asking customers for reviews, but it’s important to note that Google will also favour businesses with lots of reviews and a better star rating compared to others.
Even if you receive some bad reviews, Google (and most customers) will appreciate it if you reply to those comments and try to make things right for the customer. Be empathetic, acknowledge their frustrations and thank them for their feedback.
All in all, if you can maintain an average review score of four stars and above you will improve your click through rate and hopefully get more conversions.
Create Local Service Ads
At Alloy Marketing we have many years of experience working with all kinds of businesses so they can get the best ROI with their Local Service Ads and concentrate on what they do best: converting leads.
A well-constructed Local Service Ads campaign can:
- Drive visibility and clicks to your website.
- Utilise specific targeting options to ensure you’re ad only appears when and where you want it to appear.
- Save time and money by only paying for a lead once a user sees your ad and decides to reach out to you.
- Get an accurate idea of how much you need to spend to get a positive return on your investment with Google’s Cost-Per-Lead (CPR) estimate.
- Promote consumer confidence with a Google Guarantee badge.
Create a Google Post
If you can help customers see what services you offer at a glance, they’ll have a better idea if you’re the business they’re looking for. That’s where Google Posts come in.
Google Posts can include text, photos, videos, offers and ecommerce listings. There are also a variety of category specific posts you can add, such as:
- Restaurants and bars can upload menus, dish photos, and popular dishes.
- Hotels can display class ratings, sustainability practices, highlights, check-in and out times, and amenities.
- Businesses also have access to different types of buttons based on their category, such as appointment bookings, reservations, and orders.
- If your business is service-oriented you can display a list of your services.
Photos and videos are a great way to catch the eye in a Google Post, along with writing short (only the first 80 show up on the SERP), punchy copy with a call to action in the headline.
Set up a Q&A section and respond to messages
You’ve probably got a bunch of questions you commonly get asked by your customers. With GMB you can add these to your listing and allow people to ask questions of their own.
If a customer does ask you a question in the Q&A section, try to reply as quickly as possible. Nobody knows exactly what goes into Google’s search algorithms, but there’s a very good chance it’ll improve the SEO for your business if you reply promptly to questions as well as chats/messages from customers.
Google Business Messaging is a great opportunity to show customers your business is responsive and knowledgeable, increasing customer confidence and click through rates. And if you’re a small to medium sized business that lacks brand recognition, the Q&A section at the bottom of your Google Maps listing can be make-or-break when it comes to getting an edge over your competition.
