What is the Google Map Pack?
The three local listings that sit above the organic results of a search engine results page, Google introduced the map pack, also known as the 3 pack, back in 2015. Depending on what you search for through Google, the system will often decide that you’re looking for a local business. When that occurs, the map pack will show three local companies at the top of the results page. Getting into this map pack can drive large amounts of traffic to your site. So naturally, it’s a big deal for companies to make it in these map packs for the search terms that relate to their business.
How to Make it in the Google Map Pack
There are numerous factors that influence your chances of making it into the elite 3 of the map pack. For today, we’ll focus on four key elements that you can work on to improve your odds of making it into Google’s Map Pack.
1. Fully Complete your Google My Business Profile
Make sure all of your information about your business is accurate on Google My Business (that includes name, address, phone number, etc.). Google loves to see more information about local businesses. When users search for local businesses, they want prevalent information about those brick-and-mortar locations. As a result, Google very much wants to provide that information to its users, so they will reward businesses that help them do that.
Also, make sure to add plenty of photos that help illustrate what your business is actually like and the products/services it provides. So, take photos of your products, your storefront, really anything that will help people get a better picture of who you are as a business.
2. Have an awesome website
Google can see how users interact with your site. Are people clicking on links to your site, but immediately exiting out after only viewing the first page? Or, are they spending a considerable amount of time on your site, navigating through multiple pages? Google takes into account how your audience responds to your website when ranking it. So, make sure to have a site that looks aesthetically pleasing and has great images and video with helpful, informative content.
3. Make sure your information is consistent across the web
Chances are, you probably have outdated information out in the digital world. For example, maybe Yelp and Google Local have the correct address for your business. But, Yellow Pages still has the address of your old location for its listing. This will confuse Google’s bots, who crawl these directories for information about your business. So, make sure to get these inaccurate listings updated.
4. Reviews
Now, we may have saved the best for last, as online reviews very well may be one of the biggest factors for getting into the Google Map Pack. When looking at the map pack, the review rating of each company features prominently. That’s not by accident. Google loves reviews because it’s information about the business that’s not provided by the business itself. On top of that, users take review scores into account when choosing local businesses. 88% of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
And remember, once you’re in the map pack, that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. You still have to compete with the other two businesses for those clicks. Since reviews are so prominent and easy to quantify in the map packs, it’s going to be one of the main factors when users are deciding which of the three to choose. Which business has the most amount of reviews? Which of the three has the highest review score? Users will quickly notice these things.
However, most people read reviews instead of leaving reviews. As a result, you can’t just sit and wait for the reviews to come. Because unfortunately, providing great customer service won’t guarantee a large number of positive reviews. That’s why review management software can make a massive difference. For example, here at Brew City Marketing, we provide a review management system to help our clients ask for feedback from customers in a way that isn’t obtrusive. Our system sends emails to past and current customers, giving them a convenient way to leave a review, sending them to the appropriate landing pages in order to submit their review. By asking customers in a respectful manner, we help our clients get those positive reviews that really do matter when trying to make it into the map pack.
Conclusion
Getting into that map pack isn’t easy, and there are many factors that will influence whether you make it there or not. However, if you do the things we’ve talked about, you will be in the running for showing up in the map pack. And, if you’re there already, these tips will help keep you there.
You can hear more about the Google Map Pack and its relationship to reviews from our SEO consultant. Ready to take the first step? We’ve helped small businesses all around the Milwaukee area. Contact us today.
