Although there are a range of platforms you can use to advertise your business, Google Maps ads stand out as a great way to connect businesses with potential customers.

With over a billion people using Google Maps, it has become an essential marketing tool for businesses, allowing them to create and manage their Google Business profile listings and improve online visibility.

The application’s use on mobile search makes it a great choice for travellers, commuters, and adventurers alike. It allows them to quickly search for your business on their mobile device whilst they’re on the go.

If you’re a local business owner, understanding how to advertise on Google Maps effectively can significantly boost your visibility and attract traffic to your organisation. For more information on how you can advertise your business on Google Maps, read on!

Optimise Your Google My Business Listing

The key to advertising on Google Maps and the Google Maps app is creating and optimising your Google My Business (GMB) listing. This free tool allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Search campaigns and Maps.

Ensure that your listing contains accurate information, including:

• Your business name
• Your physical address (the area you want to target)
• Your phone number
• Your operating hours

This will help boost your online presence and help potential customers learn more about your business.

Use Enticing Imagery and Clear Descriptions

First impressions matter – and your GMB profile is often the first encounter customers have with your business. It is important that you make your GMB count by adding high-quality images that clearly display your products and services.

Prepare a business description that outlines what you offer and reflects your brand personality. Engaging content can encourage potential customers to explore further and consider your business.

Encourage Reviews and Respond Promptly

Positive reviews can be a game-changer for your business on Google Maps. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews. It’s also important that you take the time to respond to both positive and negative feedback.

This demonstrates that you’re dedicated to customer satisfaction, builds trust and enhances your business’s reputation. Keep in mind that potential customers often read featured customer reviews before deciding where to spend their money.

Take Advantage of Google Posts

Google Posts allows you to share timely updates, store promotions, and events directly on your Google Maps listing.

Presenting this information not only attracts potential customers but also demonstrates that your business is active and engaged with the local community.

Use Google Ads for Local Campaigns

To further enhance your visibility on Google Maps, consider creating a Google Ads account. With location extensions, your ads on Google Maps can display additional information, such as your business address and phone number.

Make the most of target keywords and location-based targeting to ensure your ads on Google reach the right audience for in-store visits.

While these ads involve a cost, the potential return on investment in terms of increased foot traffic and conversions will be worth it.

Make the Most of Google Maps Features

Understanding and making the most of Google Maps features can improve your advertising efforts.

Explore options such as creating posts with offers, highlighting popular products and using the Q&A section to address common customer queries.

Each feature allows you to engage with your audience and show them what makes your business unique.

Staying Consistent Across Platforms is Key

Be sure to be consistent across all platforms – this will help to build trust and credibility. Likewise, ensure that your business information is consistent on your GMB listing, website and social media profiles. This includes information such as contact details and opening hours.

Consistency not only assists your local SEO efforts but also can prevent confusion among potential customers.

Monitor and Analyse Your Businesses Performance

Regularly monitoring the performance of your Google Maps listing provides valuable insights into what is working and where improvements can be made.

Utilise the analytics provided by GMB to track customer actions, such as website visits and phone calls originating from your listing.

This data motivates you to amend your business strategy and make informed decisions to grow your business online.

Engage with the Local Community

Building a strong local presence goes beyond social media. Actively engage with the local community by participating in events, collaborating with other local businesses, and supporting local causes.

Word of mouth remains a powerful marketing tool, and positive local engagement can turn into increased visibility on Google Maps.

Grow Your Business With Quirky Digital!

From optimising your GMB listing to using additional features and exploring paid advertising options, each step helps you with your online business.

By understanding the intricacies of Google Maps advertising and staying proactive in managing your online profile, you can position your business for success.

There are many benefits to advertising on Google Maps, including increasing the visibility of your business, encouraging more visitors to your website, and having the ability to monitor your ads.

By creating and optimising a Google My Business listing for the search engine results pages, you can enhance your online presence. GMB listings can also ensure customers know what they need to know about your business, whether it be your physical location, contact information or operating hours.

Here at Quirky Digital, we are one of the fastest-growing digital agencies in Liverpool and surrounding areas. It is our goal to help ambitious business owners, such as yourself, achieve their goals by ranking their businesses at the top of Google.

We can ensure you get the right types of clicks – we work to drive the right traffic to your website, increasing the number of leads for your business.

If you would like more information on the services we offer, talk to us today. We have helped countless businesses achieve number 1 rankings across a range of industries – and can help you too. Get a quote today!

Google is the world’s leading search engine, and if you want to rank with Google Maps and “near me” searches, registering your business with Google is key.

Google My Business (GMB) is the first place that your customers will look for relevant information about your company – whether it be your location, contact information, opening times, social media accounts, or simply what your business can offer.

Keep reading to learn more about Google My Business, including why it’s so important, and how you can set up a GMB page for your business.

What Is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a useful SEO tool that enables you to display information about your company on Google – on both Google Maps and local search results.

It enables you to provide potential customers with valuable information via Google Maps and Google Search – such as when your business opens and closes, contacts information, links to your website and social media accounts, and a brief summary of your services.

Chances are, you’ve viewed hundreds of listings and locations. If you’ve ever searched ‘takeaways near me’ or ‘nearest Tesco’, then you’ll most likely have acquired the relevant information from the Google my Business section.

It is usually found on the right-hand side at the top of the Google search results – you’ll find three top businesses that most relate to your query.

For example, if you search ‘supermarket near me, you’ll find three stores near you accompanied by contact information and their address.

Creating a GMB enables you to access and customise your profile on Google – for example, if you decide to close on Sundays, you simply update your business profile with Google.

There are some extra steps you should take to ensure that your GMB ranks with Google. As well as adding the area you serve, contact details, and photos, you should also include attributes – are you wheelchair accessible, or do you offer free wi-fi?

Another feature of GMB allows you to post blog and article posts and link to them, as well as information about any upcoming events.

Why Is Google My Business Important?

Many business owners will create a business profile – but they aren’t aware that if you don’t set up your business profile with Google, then Google may use other information found on the internet to describe your business.

People will still be able to leave reviews about your business, but you won’t have any control over them.

Creating a business profile with Google will enable you to gain more management over your Google profile – it’s one of the most effective ways that your business can be found online.

User reviews can make or break a business – you wouldn’t want to go to a restaurant that has 0/5 stars and a stream of negative reviews, would you?

On the other hand, positive reviews can draw people to your business. Google My Business allows users to review your business – and high quality, positive reviews will improve your business online visibility.

It’s a free service that every business owner should take advantage of, regardless of the industry.

Nowadays, there are more geographically specific search queries than ever, and as you may know, Google’s algorithms are developed to consider the user’s intention.

Google is forever changing its algorithms, and it’s more important than ever to ensure your GMB listing is regularly updated and optimised.

All businesses should dedicate time to understanding and implementing SEO. Google has algorithms for pretty much anything – not just websites.

Their algorithms also cover business profiles, so optimising your business profile will ensure that you get the best possible results.

Incorporating keywords and using clear, concise language is important if you want to rank in local search results, as well as choosing clear photos, using the correct categories, and completing every section that you can.

Another great Google My Business feature is the dashboard. This enables you to view key insights about your audience, as well as information about your local search performance.

Using the analytics tab, you can view queries that customers use to find your business profile. You can view where they found your profile – whether it was Google Maps or Google Search, as well as a breakdown of the customer’s journey to your listing.

This enables you to learn more about your customers – you can find out where exactly people requested the information from, which means you can target customers in that area and know where to expand your business.

On the analytics tab, you can also view how well your photos are performing in comparison to your competitors.

How Do I Set Up A GMB Page?

Creating your business profile is the same as adding a location to Google Maps. Anybody can do it – to get started, simply visit google.com/business and click the ‘manage now’ button.

This will take you to the necessary steps to complete your account. You simply need to provide Google with the name, location, and category of your business.

Google will then need to confirm that your entry isn’t a duplicate – once this has been confirmed, your business profile will be created for that specific location.

The profile will be open for any customers to add photos, ask and answer any questions, as well as leave reviews about your business and service.

However, creating a Google My Business account won’t allow you to automatically access your business profile. You’ll need to locate your business profile on Google Maps, and then claim the business by clicking the ‘Own this business’ button on the profile.

You’ll need to verify this – there are several ways of doing so. The easiest way of confirming your business is by using your phone number, but some other ways include by postcard, by company email, by bulk verification (if you own several businesses), or instant verification if you’re eligible.

Only when this step is completed, you will be connected with your Business profile and be able to manage it successfully.