Where does Google get the information for Google Maps?
Google gets its information from a number of third-party sources, including business listings and government services. It compiles this information with various other sources including reviews, websites, and social media pages to create a ‘composite’ of your business.
Finally, it encourages Google ‘Local Guides’ and the general public to add/update information about local businesses as well as writing reviews.
How do I get my business listed in Google Maps?
If your business is not already listed in Google Maps, you can create your own listing very easily here:
https://business.google.com/create?service=plus&hl=en&gmbsrc=uk-en-et-ip-z-gmb-s-z-l~mrc%7Cayb%7Cps&skiplp=1
If your business is already listed, you can claim it and go through a verification process using an activation code, which is sent either by post or via your registered business telephone number.
What do people use Google Maps for?
Google Maps is the single most used application that people use to search for local businesses, services and directions. More importantly, it’s used globally, so if you want to attract foreign visitors, you can be confident that they will probably be using Google Maps too.
As a global mapping and business listing application, Google Maps is used by everyone for researching businesses, services and products, as well as finding directions, opening times, phone numbers and information about local services. These services can be businesses, public services, travel information etc…
Can I hide my address on Google Maps?
Whereas most businesses want to be found in Google Maps, people with home-based businesses may not want to reveal their addresses. The good news is that it is possible to list home-based businesses in Google AND to hide your address.
There are limitations on which types of business can do this, and hiding your address can impact the performance of the Google Business Profile listing.
Can a service area business be listed in Google Maps?
If you serve customers in their homes or premises rather than them coming to you, then you can be listed in Google Maps as a Service Area Business. This includes businesses like Locksmiths, Plumbers. Mobile Hairdressers, Carpet Cleaners etc.
This is particularly helpful for small businesses that operate from home.
Service Area Businesses can also ‘hide’ their address, which is useful if they are trading from a home address, however, it does affect local search performance when the address is hidden.
What is the difference between business listings like Yellow Pages and Google Maps?
Most of us remember The Yellow Pages, which was the default place to look for local information about local businesses. Currently, the default place to look for local information is Google Search and Google Maps.
However, the difference is that in The Yellow Pages, businesses paid for an advert if they wanted to appear prominently, and businesses were listed alphabetically or within a certain distance from a particular location.
Now, you can buy adverts in Google Maps to appear at the top of Google Maps listings (at the top of the results), but the format of the business listing is the same for every business – no matter the sector – and businesses are not listed alphabetically. Google also uses several criteria as well as the location, relevancy and consistency of information about a business to determine where it appears in search results.
A business with a free listing in Google Maps can look exactly the same as a business that has paid to advertise theirs. The only thing Google does differently is using paid adverts to get a business found higher up, or at the top of, search results in Google Maps. This is the only time that a business can be found at the top of local search results in Google Maps, no matter what you might have heard from SEO’s.
How does MiShop.local help with building a local presence for your business in Google Maps?
MiShop.local optimise all the features in your Google Business Profile that are proven to raise your profile so that you appear higher up in Google Maps results when customers are searching for your products/services.
We do everything for you so that you can do what you do best: serving your customers.
Whether you’re starting out, or you’re an established business, we manage your information in Google Business Profiles to ensure your business appears when people are searching. We also advise on various tasks that you can do to help your local search performance.
