How to Rank Higher on Google Maps

In a sense, “reach” is the reason your company is on social media in the first place. That’s because reach is defined as the number of people who see your content on Facebook. While it’s not as strong of a sign of engagement as a “like” or “follow,” reach is the foundation of your Facebook presence: all other types of social media engagement are built on top of it. Without sufficient reach, your clever plumbing puns and cute dog photos won’t even be seen, let alone engaged with.

Did you know that Google Maps is the most popular navigation app in the United States? That’s right – over 154 million people each month use the tool, which is available on almost every platform and device.

In other words, the era of printing out directions (remember MapQuest?) or relying on crumpled paper maps is long behind us. Hundreds of millions of people use Google Maps to help them navigate different cities all over the world.

But what not every business owner realizes is that Google Maps is also a popular place for people to find businesses to work with. In fact, many people use the tool as a type of local search engine, helping them find service providers they need.

If you’re ranked highly enough on Google Maps, it can become a great source of leads for qualified prospects. Most people looking for a provider on Google Maps are relatively far along the buying journey.

Yet even seasoned digital marketers may not fully understand how exactly to move their business profile – which appears when users search Google Maps – higher in the results pages. Below are some of our best tips on improving your ranking:

Claim and completely fill out your profile

This is the first step in making sure your Google Maps profile is optimized for both improved ranking and inquiries users. It’s a basic part of the process, but you’d be surprised how many companies fail to claim their profile or fill out more than the bare minimum.

Even if this step seems relatively simple to you, it’s worth taking a quick review of your profile to make sure it’s completely filled out. Remember, you want to provide as much information as possible, and Google offers lots of fields to help. Complete as many of them as you can, from your hours to your business category, because each one represents information potential customers could need. Even if you’re confident your profile has been completed, it’s still worth taking time to update it every once in a while.

Use lots of photos and update them frequently

They say a picture is worth a thousand Google Maps listing descriptions. 

Okay, maybe that’s not exactly how the saying goes, but it’s still important to have plenty of recent pictures on your business profile. Google gives companies the ability to upload dozens of photos to their listing. You should take full advantage – include an array of different photos and images depending on the specifics of your business.

As a plumber or home services contractor, you have lots of different options here. Of course you want to include the standards: your logo, a few employee photos, and pictures of previous jobs that customers have allowed you to publish. This is a great foundation of photos to build on.

From there, think about getting creative. For example, some companies upload holiday-themed graphics throughout the year. Not only does this help you stand out among dozens of other listings with few or no images, it also shows prospects that you spend time keeping up your online profile and image. Check out graphic design tools like Canva or Adobe Express, which offer plenty of templates for graphic inspiration to help you make profile images more unique.

Ask for reviews & respond

We’ve previously covered the general importance of reviews for your business and why they matter so much when people are thinking about working with you. In 2023, this is even more true. Studies show that since the COVID-19 pandemic, interaction with reviews is up 50%. People today are pickier than ever before about their home services contractor.

Google Maps is no different. According to Google itself, high-quality reviews from real customers can boost your visibility on local listings. Whether you talk to your previous customers in person or ask them for reviews online, getting the reviews is only half the battle. You also need to respond to them.

When you reply to reviews, it tells people reading your Google Maps listing that you really pay attention to and care about what customers think. Even if someone gives you a completely positive review, you should still thank them for taking the time to write favorable things about your company. Negative reviews may be even more important to respond to. Answering these kinds of reviews calmly will show people you can handle some criticism and won’t erupt in the face of a minor setback.

Post to your Google Business profile

It’s not a widely-used feature, but Google allows businesses to make posts to their profile updating readers about important elements of their company. Posts can be made up of text, photos or videos and are broken down into four categories: COVID-19 updates on changes to company protocol, promotional offers, events, and a general “what’s new” type of post where you can provide information about anything you choose.

Depending on the post type, this information will be displayed high up in your business listing (like COVID-19 updates) and may also appear in a section of your profile called “From the Business.” You don’t need to post every day, but frequent updates can help move you up the rankings and will show visitors you care about communicating with prospects and customers. 

Final thoughts on ranking higher on Google Maps

We know it can seem like Google’s algorithm is a mysterious secret brought here by aliens. But there are concrete, actionable ways you can improve your listing on Google Maps to get seen by more of the people who need the expertise of your home contractor or plumbing business.

The tips above are a great start. If you’re looking for some more help on improving your Google Maps listing or any other part of your digital presence, click here to schedule a call with one of our experts to learn more about how we can help you create a marketing campaign that drives real results.