Our world is getting smaller and more connected. Where city directories and local newsletters used to help us find people and locate stores, these days, anyone can be found, online, with a few clicks of the mouse. It’s a huge benefit to society in many ways, but on the other hand, the wide reach of technology has created a new problem—some businesses are being buried by the sheer amount of information available on the Internet. Faced with the highly competitive and ever-evolving realm of digital marketing, many brands that are not tech-savvy are finding it hard to keep up. Online shopping, accelerated by pandemic control measures, has become a central consumer behavior.
As consumers become increasingly spoilt for choice, even those who prefer to shop in brick-and-mortar stores are researching products and services online before buying. While it may have once been sufficient to simply maintain a website, businesses now need to ensure that their online presence is both optimised and authoritative, to capture their audience’s attention.
Putting Yourself on the Map
Given the wide range of attention-grabbing digital marketing avenues such as advertising, sponsored posts, and influencer collaborations, it is easy to forget that something as plain as a search engine could have a massive impact on your business. Google is the most used search engine globally, holding over 90 percent of the search engine market share and clocking a staggering 3.5 billion searches per day. It is important to note that there is a significant difference between being listed on the first page and the last page.
Research has shown that an average of 28.5 percent of search engine users click on the top result on the search engine results page with click-through rates dropping rapidly as you move down the list of results. Results beyond the first page are rarely considered. Because the majority of the world—including a good chunk of your potential clientele—will likely turn to Google to search for your product or service, it is imperative to invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure the visibility of your brand.
Aside from the standard search engine service, Google’s expansion into maps and navigation over the last decade has presented businesses with another valuable digital marketing opportunity. Just as we used to advertise on AAA magazines and travel directories, Google Maps is an avenue for businesses to reach consumers who are searching for local solutions. With most people using mobile apps on their devices for navigation and local search, having a presence on Google Maps can open the floodgates to a huge number of prospects. Businesses can add their information to Google Maps by submitting a Google My Business listing. At its most basic, a Google My Business listing can display the general information of your business such as your address, hours of operation, and customer reviews. This can be extremely useful, particularly in the current pandemic, where customers are unsure if businesses are operating as usual.
That said, there is a lot more to Google Maps than just submitting business information to Google My Business. Search engines typically display local map results based on the location of their users and the keywords or phrases that are applied. Sounds great, right? But what if numerous businesses serve the same niche as you in the city or town? Because users generally choose the first few results, being poorly ranked may mean that your business listing has zero impact. Thankfully, there are certain steps that SEO professionals can take to ensure that your business listing always comes out on top in your locality.
Send in the Professionals
Search engine methodology is constantly being reviewed and refined as search engines strive to provide users with the most relevant spam-free results. With a thorough understanding of how Google grades its Google Maps search results, Google Maps SEO experts can help to move listings up in the rankings. Part of this involves on-page SEO that tailors your content to the keywords or phrases that your potential customers are most likely to use.
This not only helps search engines to determine that you are more relevant in map-based searches but has the added benefit of increasing your page visibility in traditional searches as well. Then, SEO professionals work to build NAP (name, address, phone number) citations and quality backlinks from respected and established websites to prove the reliability of your page. Together with curated reviews, these actions help to convince Google that your page is trustworthy and informative, thus elevating its ranking.
The methods of improving a website’s organic search and Google Maps rankings can be complicated. Without industry connections, businesses may find it impossible to source authoritative websites for citations and backlinks. Hence, it is best to call in the professionals to assist with your SEO efforts. Because enhancements to your search ranking will persist in the long term, SEO is one of the best-performing digital marketing strategies in terms of ROI.
In this digital age, search engines are the powerhouses of organic lead generation. By leveraging your Google Maps listing, brands can enjoy a higher profile, a larger audience, and more profits for years to come.
