Since Google Street View arrived in SA, the benefits of getting your company listed correctly in Google Maps is becoming more of a necessity than a need. There a few factors that come in to play when getting you company found on Google Maps and I am going to help you with a few easy to follow steps to make your maps listing effective.

1) Get a Google Places account

You will need a Google account to do this, see Creating a Google Places Account for instructions on how to do this step by step as well as claiming your account which is important if you have not done so already.

2) Mention your secondary locations in the description

Your location is very important, even though Google already knows where your primary location is, it gives you an extra boost to mention any secondary locations. eg. for my site if someone searches SEO johannesburg there is a good chance my company will come up, but what about SEO Gauteng or SEO Sandton if I was lucky enough to be in that area. If the trends show that there are high searches in your area then you may want to target those location names in your Google Places listing. Don’t forget, if someone goes to Google Maps and searches for a location and business there, you have more chance of coming up if you have mentioned your location.

3) Display your logo and website

When creating your Google Places account be sure to put up a nice logo as this will make your page look better. The logo is the only thing you can customise so make it look great. In addition to this it is very important that your website is listed – DO NOT leave this blank. With the website URL Google will help match other Google features to your Google Places account like reviews and website listings under more about this place.

4) Does your business look nice from the street

Google’s street view cams have been taking pictures of almost every street in South Africa. Go take a look at what your property looks like from the street. If you are a bed & breakfast or real estate agent then people will most probably use Google Maps to look at the properties so be sure that the front of your business is always clean and presentable and that any signs or house numbers are clearly visible from the street. You never know when the Google Car will be making its next trip around your neighbourhood.

5) Mark all business locations

If your business is a franchise then you may want to create a KML layer. You can do this in your Google Maps Account by adding a custom map. If you clearly tag every property you own then this will increase your chances of being found. This is very effective for real estate agents promoting properties on an on going basis.

Conclusion

A Google Maps listing done well will increase your international visits as international countries have been using Google Maps for years as their bandwidth is not restricted. As South Africa gets better broadband you will see an increase of Google Maps use in SA.  Use this strategy to stay ahead of your competitor or give me a call and I will set up a Google Places profile for you.