Getting Found on Google Maps Section of a Search

We discussed the importance of making sure that you are found accurately online in our most recent blog article, “The Hidden Threat: Are You Losing Word-of-Mouth Referrals?” Here’s the YouTube video if you prefer watching instead of reading. 

This obviously includes Google, but also different places…because not everybody is going to Google for their search.  Specifically, we were talking about business listings and online directories.

Assuming that you’ve done that, what’s the next step? 

Check if Your Business can be found in a Search 

You must show up when people are looking for you.  

I’m going to use Dr. Lisa Peters as an example. 

I am searching for Dr. Lisa J Peters, and there she is at the top of the list.

The Google business profile is showing up on the right side. Great!

Check your own business in an incognito search- ideally on someone else’s phone/computer because Google will show you what you want to see on your own device.

Look good?  Great!

NOT showing up in both of these two spots? Please contact us, we can give you a complimentary analysis as to figuring out why. 

Google Maps- Getting Your Business to Show Up

How can your business show up in that really crucial Google Maps section (sometimes called the local three pack) when people are searching for your type of business?

What is it?  Normally when you do a search, you scroll down and you see a little map section, right? 

It’ll show a couple of different businesses. Let’s keep with Dr. Lisa Peters from Chicago as an example. 

You want to show up when someone searches for your products or services or whatever your business does. 

Not just when they’re looking for you specifically- you should already be showing up when someone searches for your business specifically because they’re already a client or likely a referral…so again, if you’re not showing up in a direct search it’s time to panic.  Kidding!  But seriously, get that fixed.

Where is the Map Section?

When I search for “plastic surgeons near me,” I see an ad, three websites, then the Google Maps section:

*NOTE- not all searches will show this right at the top.  Sometimes it’s ads, then maps, or organic search, then maps…it’s always different.

Either way, the Maps section is very, very prominent real estate in a search. In fact, when there’s a map section with businesses listed, they’re getting the most clicks from there rather than Ads or organic web results.

How can your business show up in Google Maps?

First, get your business listings in order!

Our last article talked about all these different business directories that have your name, your address, your phone number, etc., and how important it is for you to control how you appear on these online directories because otherwise someone else will.  

What else? Let’s ask Google!

Check out the article, “How to improve your local ranking on Google.” 

I want to focus on one key area that is kind of a parlay from the last conversation about making sure that you are listed accurately online. This is kind of part two. 

How Google determines local ranking 

1. Relevance. 
2. Distance.
3. Prominence.

Relevance: this is talking about your Google Business Profile. 

• Making sure that you have one. 
• Making sure that it’s accurate. That is crucial. That’s step one. 

Distance: you can’t really do much about this, especially if you are a service area business. If you’re e-commerce, or you cover a wide range, it’s a little bit more difficult. It’s not something that’s an obstacle you can’t overcome. But we’ll just say for the intentions of this blog article, we’ll just say you can’t change that.

Prominence: we’re going to focus on prominence because after you have your GBP, this is the one that you can work with.

What does Google say? Prominence refers to how well known a business is. Some things are more prominent. I’m not going to read everything here, but just landmarks, for example. Prominence is also based on info Google has about a business from across the web like links, articles, and directories. Google review count and review score factor into that. 

Let’s focus briefly on reviews and the online directories or business listings. 

This is like part two of the last article, or the last video (Are Your Word-of-Mouth Referrals Going to a Competitor?). 

Directories

Make sure your business is found on all those different directories. Again, if you need help, go to Moz, go to SEMrush, go to heeboo.com. There’s a whole bunch of places you can go.  Even Google has a free business listings scanner.  Look it up and you should find some options.  Or contact us.

Reviews

If you don’t have any reviews, or if you have a very limited number, always ask for reviews. 

I tell everyone, if you’re in business long enough, you’re gonna get a bad review. I don’t trust a business that has 5,000 5-star reviews. 

Eventually, you’re gonna get a bad review. 

Don’t hold back on asking for reviews because you’re concerned. Of course, I wouldn’t ask someone who’s angry and swearing at you if they leave a Google review… they’ll probably go to Yelp anyways. 

But make sure you make this part of your daily review routine with your clients. If you don’t have an opportunity or if you’ve got your staff, make sure you ask the staff to do it. 

If you have a list of clients, you can send them a blast email or SMS if possible.  Just make sure to give them an easy link- the more clicks they need to do, the less likely they’ll leave a review.  

Go to your GBP and click this: 

You’ll see this:

Now you have the one click access to send people to leave a review.  If you’re reading this, do me a solid and leave us a positive review right now dammit!

Reach out to me if you want some more suggestions on it. I’m happy to give you some guidance there.

But back to the directories here. So you want to make sure that you don’t have competitors listed or the wrong phone numbers. What I want you to do is make sure that they all are identical. Now the place to start is either taking your USPS or Postal Service address assuming you don’t have a Google Business page already.  

Take your mailing address, create the Google Business page, and then from there you want to copy it verbatim across all those directories. Why is that? Because Google is telling us right here how important it is. 

They have a lot of trust in these online directories. And if their algorithms show the exact same information on 50 different directories, well, now they have trust in you, just like they do in those directories.

So, what does that look like? So, when you do a search here, there you are.

Now you want to be found, say, for “___your business industry____+ near me,” right? 

Imagine if your business is ranked number one for your specialty, your services, near me?!!! 

This goes a long way. 

Now, in full disclosure, Dr. Peters and her staff, their business has been clients with us for some time, but when they first came to us, they weren’t looking the way they do now! 

What you want to make sure is not only is it listed accurately, but you’re getting those reviews, that’s gonna help a lot when you’re trying to become the prominent search number one spot when someone is searching in your local area. 

Just don’t forget, don’t use your phone. You’re probably logged into the same email address that you used to create your Google Business page. 

Go incognito. If you can’t find a friend or a family member or co-worker or someone that doesn’t like you nearby, go incognito and do some searches and ask someone. Someone else would search to find your type of business.

Hopefully, that was helpful. Getting those directories, getting those reviews, and in a future search, we’ll dig a little bit more into some of these other components that are important in getting found in the search. 

Have a good one- until next time!