In a nutshell, Google Maps marketing is the process of using Google Maps’ functionality to make your business easier to find. Although this can be very useful (and expected) for large companies, it’s even more indispensable for smaller businesses. However, Google Maps marketing isn’t just about visibility – it’s about positioning, and not just that of your store. If used correctly (and strategically), Google Maps can play an important part in your digital marketing strategy.

Formerly known as Google Places, Google My Business enables business owners to claim a listing for their business that may appear in Google search results. Virtually any type of business (with the exception of certain more risqué establishments) can claim a Google My Business listing, which will display information that searchers may want to know, such as address, opening hours, and customer ratings.

Although many businesses claim their Google My Business listing, many simply register their business and provide only the most cursory (or worse, incomplete) information. This, unsurprisingly, results in far less visibility and a poorer overall Google Maps ranking. We will do the right thing making sure that your Google My Business is optimized.

Getting your Google My Business listing verified should be the next first thing you do. The verification process can take up to a couple of weeks, as usually Google insists on mailing a postcard with a unique PIN to the physical address listed in your Google My Business profile to confirm verification.

The ultimate objective of Google Maps marketing is to achieve as high a placement as possible in the local business results listings on the Google Maps results on relevant Google search engine results pages. Let’s take a look at what this means.

Like other digital marketing optimization efforts, improving your visibility in Google Maps marketing can – and likely will – take time. This means there are no quick hacks, no overnight fixes, no easy way to rise to the top of the pack. Even if you implement all the optimizations above, it may still take a while for your business’ visibility to improve in Google Maps.

It’s unclear to what extent user reviews play a part in the Google Maps search algorithm, but a business with no reviews is almost certainly going to struggle to compete with a business with lots of reviews, so it’s vital that you solicit and include reviews in your Google My Business profile.

In May, Google announced that a range of new ad features would soon be coming to Google Maps. 

There are four main ad features that are new to Google Maps. They are Promoted Pins (which can include branding and logos), in-store promotions, customizable business pages, and a local inventory search function. These ads will be shown in Maps results on the Google Maps app, the desktop and mobile versions of the Google Maps site, and on Google.com Expanded Map results.