The Google Maps Business Profile is one of the best business listing services online and it can bring your business massive amounts of attention when optimized. If you clicked this blog, you’re probably not seeing much, if any attention from your Maps page. I have highlighted some steps and tips to help you grow your presence on Google Maps.
What Keywords you using?
One of the biggest reasons you’re not performing well on Google is probably because of your keywords. Keywords are words used in search queries by clients looking for that specific service. On Google, people search for (“business industry” in “city”). If your Google business profile does not mention your industry or what you sell, Google won’t rank your business high in the search results. Read back your descriptions and services. Add keywords like your industry, service, product, service area and jurisdiction. Make sure your description still explains what your business does and how it can help the customer; it all adds up in the ranking of your business on Google Maps.
Something often overlooked is the business name itself. Google considers the information throughout your Business Profile, including the business name, when determining relevance. If your name naturally includes a keyword that accurately describes what you do, that’s a helpful bonus. But you should never change your business name simply to add keywords. Instead, make sure the remainder of your profile provides the information Google needs to rank your business higher in the results.
Your business categories are another important relevance signal. Google allows you to select a primary category along with additional categories, so choose all of the categories that accurately represent your business. Many owners select only one and leave the others blank, missing an opportunity to provide Google with more context about the services they offer. The same principle applies to your services list. Take the time to complete it thoroughly and include all services you provide. Avoid vague or generic wording. The more accurately you describe what your business offers, the easier it is for Google to understand your services and match your profile with relevant local searches.
Highlight a Local Service Area.
Highlight your service as a few neighborhoods, a city or even a county. Avoid highlighting too many different areas that together form one large region. Highlighting a large region dilutes your rankings amongst other businesses in that larger area, making it harder for you to appear in any area. Stay local, focus on neighborhoods and cities. Eventually you can increase the radius slightly when you get more attention in the current areas you selected. You can also try searching (“industry or service” in “local neighborhood, city or county”) and see what appears in the results. I will use an example from our own company. Since we are in Queens, if you searched for a marketing company in New York, it would only show results in Manhattan. So, we optimized for Queens County in which, we appear at the top of the results. Your situation will be different, which is why I highly recommend you test your area with your own searches and see what appears for you.
This local focus matters even more for businesses that travel to customers rather than having customers visit a physical location. One common mistake is hiding your address and setting an overly large service radius in the belief that covering more territory will lead to greater visibility. In practice, it doesn’t work that way. Google considers factors such as relevance and proximity when determining which businesses to show in local search results. If you’re a cleaning company based in the Bronx, it makes sense to establish a strong presence in the Bronx or the Bronx neighborhood you’re in first. Once your business builds visibility and credibility in its primary market, you may begin appearing in searches for surrounding areas as well. The main point, rather than trying to target an entire region at once, focus on becoming highly relevant within the market closest to your business and let that local authority expands over time.
Having Clear and Working Information.
Always make sure your information is working on your Google Maps listing. Check numbers, services, opening hours, etc. Not only does outdated information cause customers to believe you’re not serious about your business but, if you haven’t updated your listing in a really long time, Google will mark your business as “potentially closed” which is really bad for your listing visibility. Recheck all your links, numbers and hours and make sure that they are updated. Regularly check up on the listing and change any cover photos that better reflect your business’s goals. Clear and precise information builds trust and tells clients that this is an active, professional business.
Additionally, pay attention to your photos. Google Maps listings with more photos get significantly more engagement than listings with few or none. You don’t need a professional photographer. Photos of your business, your team, your work, or your location work well. Consistent activity on your listing signals to Google that your business is active and engaged.
Review Collecting and Responding.
Reviews are crucial for listing growth. The more reviews you have, the higher Google moves up your business. The review benchmarks are 1, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000+. Your rank also depends on how competitive your industry is. For example, if there are 20 plumbers in the Elmhurst all with 25 reviews or more, a plumber business with 10 reviews won’t have the same advantage with Google than those 25+ reviewed businesses have. Now just because you have more reviews than your competition does not mean you will always rank higher, there are other factors, many of which I talked about in this blog. The bottom line is, try to get as many reviews as possible but don’t only rely on them.
One thing not to do is buy reviews. Google will recognize these and eventually, either remove them or, if there are a lot, just ban your business outright. Another scam not to get your business involved with are “negative review removal services”. There just scams and never really remove those reviews. The proper way to handle negative reviews is to use the respond feature to apologize and offer support to the customer if you made a mistake. If you did not make a mistake, mention that you did exactly what was agreed upon. Many people read reviews before judging a company, and when they see a negative review accompanied by a strong, calm rebuttal from the owner, it can suggest that the customer’s review was disingenuous.
Utilize the Update Feature.
Google offers a feature that allows you to post updates about your business. Posting consistently can help improve your visibility and potentially boost your rankings in Google Maps, especially since many of your competitors may not be taking advantage of this feature. Just remain weary that Google may reject or remove posts that violate its terms of service or content policies.
Think of the Google Maps update feature like a mini social media feed attached directly to your listing. You can post promotions, service announcements, behind the scenes content or seasonal offers. A business that posts an update a week looks a lot more credible to both Google and to potential customers than a business whose last activity was two years ago. Aim for at least one post per week. It doesn’t have to be long, just stay consistent and make it a habit. This is one of the lowest effort, highest reward things you can do for your Google Maps presence right now.
Always Use Analytics.
Finally, always check your analytics and adjust accordingly. Google Maps tells you how many impressions and clicks your listing gets. Adjust the keywords you target and do A/B testing to see which words work best for you.
Go deeper than just looking at the numbers. Google business profile analytics will tell you where your customers are finding you, whether it’s a direct search for your business name or a discovery search where they found you by searching a service or industry. If most of your traffic is coming from direct searches, that means people already know you exist. That’s great but it also means you have a lot of room to grow your discovery traffic, which is where new customers come from. If you see high impressions but low clicks, your listing is showing up but something about it isn’t convincing people to engage. That’s a signal to review your photos, headline, reviews, and overall presentation.
Your Google Business Profile Is a Great Starting Point, But It Has Limits.
If you’re just starting out and don’t have a website yet, your Google Business Profile is one of the best places to begin building an online presence. It’s free, puts you on Google Maps, and gives potential customers a way to find you, contact you, and read reviews without visiting a website. For a new business with a limited budget, it’s a practical first step. However, Google Maps optimization can only take you so far. Your Business Profile operates under Google’s rules, which can change at any time. Google can restrict your content, limit how you categorize your business, or even suspend your listing if it determines that you’ve violated its guidelines. Ultimately, you’re building part of your online presence on a platform you don’t control.
That’s why a website should be the next step. Your website is an online asset you own and control. You can fully explain your services, showcase your work, answer common questions, build your brand, and give potential customers more reasons to contact you. A website complements your Google Maps strategy by giving Google additional information about your business and reinforcing your online presence. Our team ay digital marketing solutions international helps business like yours develop websites that do not replace but compliment Google Maps Profiles. We ensure your site properly reflects your brand with custom design choices all while building a search engine optimization strategy for your site.