How to maximize your local business’ Google Maps presence

To optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing for Google Maps:

• Maintain up-to-date information: Ensure that store hours, phone numbers, and important business details are current.
• Provide contact details: Include a business phone number, a link to your website, and actively source and reply to customer reviews.
• Use visuals: For businesses with multiple locations like hotels and restaurants, keep your Data Feed updated with accurate pictures, menus, or other relevant visuals.
• Verify information: Make sure your contact information is verified, such as phone numbers, and enable call reporting for performance tracking.

For advertising on Google Maps, the campaign types to consider are:

• Search campaigns: To capture users actively searching for businesses like yours.
• Performance Max campaigns: Choose either Store or Travel goals as your optimization type, depending on your business needs.

Campaigns should be structured based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and can be split by location if there are different goals for each store or city. Location groups can also be set at the campaign level if necessary.

To set up location targeting and exclusions in Google Ads campaigns:

• Target the right locations: Ensure your location targeting captures where your customers are or may be searching from.
• Use location exclusions: Exclude areas where you do not have a presence or do not wish to prioritize.
• Monitor Location reports: After the initial campaign setup, use Location reports (Reports > New Report > most specific location) to identify areas to focus on by increasing budget or to exclude from your campaign.

To create and manage location assets in Google Ads:

• Set up location assets: These can serve across Google Search, Search Partners, Display Network, and YouTube. The setup process can vary depending on whether you own the locations directly, and Google’s Support pages provide detailed instructions.
• Verify your phone number: Ensure your phone number is verified and enable call reporting to measure performance.
• Add location assets as ad extensions: If you have regional KPIs, add location assets at the campaign level. Otherwise, add them at the account level to apply to all campaigns.
• Update business name and logo assets: Keep these current at the account level to improve quality score and brand recognition.

Having a separate Google Maps strategy is important because:

• User search behavior: The way users search for businesses has evolved, with a greater emphasis on Maps placements within search results.
• Google’s focus on Maps: Google is increasingly highlighting Maps in search results, making it imperative to target Maps specifically.
• Performance Max and AI: As Google's Performance Max campaigns and AI-forward search results page continue to evolve, the SERP will increasingly feature Maps-first results.

Simply relying on sitelinks to a “Store Locator” page or bidding on “near me” keywords is no longer sufficient to ensure visibility during a customer's search journey.