Clients are not showing up on Google Places (Maps)
-
Dear Esteemed Mozzers,
I am having trouble with a few clients not showing up on the map for Google Maps (Places).
What's interesting is that for one of my clients, a number of her competitors (some of them in the same office building) appear on the maps, however, my client does not. Nevertheless, this client is on G+, uses Yext, Yelp advertising, PPC with Google, etc. and as far as I'm concerned, has signed up for every other 'local' listing service of value.
With that, I'm hoping you guys may be able to point me in the right direction to get my clients back on track and showing up on the Google Maps (Places) listings. Thank you all in advance for reading this, I look forward to your responses!
-
I just want to add, in case you haven't seen it, the latest local search ranking factors. I'd pay close attention to the top 30 difference-making factors in competitive markets when you're going through your audit.
-
Hi J.P.,
You are correct that city centroids were once considered a strong ranking factor. This was then edged out by the concept of industry centroids, but this in turn has given way largely to the concept of user centroids. Recommend you read the history of the centroid here:
https://moz.com/blog/mastering-serving-the-user-as-centroid
My answer beyond this is in two parts:
-
To discover whether your client can move up in the local pack rankings you must a) audit her business and b) do competitive analysis to discover if any competitors can be surpassed. Your audit of your client's marketing should include an assessment of their website, citations, reviews and social engagement.
-
Whether this will lead to your client appearing in black text at a lower resolution of the map is not known. I have never seen a thorough study of how Google determines which locations show at the lowest resolutions there, so this would be something you'd want to be sure you weren't promising to the client. In our sample 'newport beach plastic surgeon' the only 2 businesses receiving this treatment at the automatic zoom level are those ranking top 2 in the maps pack, but whether this is the case for every such search, I honestly don't know. If you could get your client to be #1 or #2, perhaps this would lead to them replacing one of the 2 businesses in black text, but I am not 100% sure of that and would need to look at a larger data set to begin drawing such a conclusion. Interesting topic!
Of course, the ideal is always to get the client as high in the local pack rankings/maps pack rankings as possible, but the difficulty in achieving this relates directly to how tough/strong his unique competitors are and how much motivation/funding your client has to make efforts to move up. And, these days, it's really important to bring into the discussion the fact that your client's customers are not likely to see the same rankings that he does or that you do, given the user-as-centroid phenomenon. Sometimes, in a really competitive field, going after hyperlocal or long tail keywords may enable them to earn traffic that they simply can't get from the main searches because the field is already too crowded with strong competitors.
Hope these are helpful thoughts.
-
-
I also wanted to ask you if her appearance (or failure to appear) is related to geo-positioning, specifically the 'centroid'. As I recall, years ago, a business's appearance on the Map corresponded to its proximity to whatever Google determined to be the central point of the city. I don't know if this is still a factor in ranking on the Maps and more importantly, showing up as one of those listings that appears in black, when you look at the map without zooming in.
Beyond that, is there any other ways for a business to improve its positioning on both the maps listing and the top map results portion of the search results page for a given search term?
-
Miriam,
Is there any way for us to improve her position in the listings themselves, so Dr. Lawton appears closer to the number one result and objectively, starts to appear in the 'permanent' black text on the map?
-
Hi J.P.,
I confirm what Donna is seeing. Searching Google Maps, I see your client coming up when I search for 'newport beach plastic surgeon'. Both Donna and I are making a best guess at your search term, so if you're using a different search term, please share it. I'll gladly take another look, but for what I did look up, your client is coming up at position 8 in the Maps pack and if I click on that, is being clearly shown with the red teardrop marker.
Now, what isn't happening is that the client's name doesn't appear in the 'permanent' black text on the map, unlike Cruise Plastic Surgery and Milind K. Albe MD at the automatic resolution of the map - which may be what you are asking about. If you narrow in, however, it does. So, I don't believe there is anything to be concerned about here. Please, feel free to provide further details about the keywords you are searching for or anything else that might help us better understand any concerns you're feeling about the results. Happy to check it out with you!
-
Here's why I'm confused JP. As I said above, when I look at the maps tab, I DO see your clients listed. Dr. Lawson is listed as the 7th ranking entry on the map. (See attachment.) The Ranch at Laguna Beach ranks #1.
So I'm not seeing what you're seeing.
-
No Donna, I am specifically trying to get them on the map for their local area. For instance, when you look on the Maps tab, you see a number of the competitors (some of them in the same building) but for some reason Dr. Lawton does not show up. Any ideas as to why this may be?
-
You mean you want them to show up outside of the geography in which their business is located? For example, you want Dr. Lawton's business to show up in Huntington Beach or Irvine?
-
Donna,
I was much more concerned with where the client(s) (or is fail to) show up on the Maps page. Do you know if there's anything I can do about that?
-
Hi JP,
Dr. Tenley Lawton shows up as the 7th local search result when I search for "Plastic Surgeon Newport Beach CA". Because she's the 7th search result, you have to use the slider on the results window to scroll down to see her first-page listing.
The Ranch at Laguna Beach, CA shows up as my first local result when searching for "golf course Laguna Beach, CA".
So I'm not seeing what you're seeing. What search terms are you using? Where are you searching from?
-
Miriam,
Here are the links to my clients' G+ pages:
https://plus.google.com/+TenleyLawtonMDNewportBeach/posts
https://plus.google.com/116487475034550940260/posts
Let me know if there's anything else i can do to help.
-
Hi J.P.
As Dennis and Donna have suggested, sharing further details of this will help the community look further into your question. If you are unable to share the client's details, that perfectly fine, but it will limit the amount of support the community can give.
-
Maybe share the client's business name and G+ page so we can take a look at it. Perhaps, as Dennis suggests, the business page is not verified. Perhaps it's tied to an individual and not the business. Perhaps it's miscategorized.
-
Is their Google+ My Business page verified? Just to clarify it.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google Business Listing Verification for Unmarked Facilities
We have been trying for over a year to get Google My Business listing verification on our facilities, which are separate from our company HQ. We have 31 facilities around the world that do not have business signs on them. We have tried sending postcards and are told that no one is receiving them. The folks who receive the mail are guards and it's tricky to ensure they field them. This has been an ongoing challenge as Google says that the alternate method requires a business sign located next to the building number, which we don't have. What do you recommend we do to get listed in GMB?
Local Listings | | EvoqueDCS0 -
How do I win the Google knowledge panel?
Hi everyone, so my company has a knowledge panel that show up for some keywords. I use to be #1 on the map (for my favorite keyword) when Google was showing several listings. Now that it show only one, it's not me anymore and I wonder why. So what are the SEO leverage I need to focus on to win this new google knowledge panel? Thank you very much.
Local Listings | | JimJ0 -
How does Google choose the photo added above a Google+ result?
When I do a brand name search for a client, it pulls their G+ info into the right side bar and it adds three images above the G+ info. One is a photo, one is the Streetview, and one is the Google Maps results. On this particular client, the photo being pulled is from Google Images and not from the G+ page. Their G+ page is verified and has 17 photos in it, none of which are this particular photo. Please advise.
Local Listings | | LocalEnthusiast0 -
Google Local Result- Competitor Ranks without an Address. Why is this happening?
My client is in a fairly competitive local market and there is a competitor who has ranked locally for around 2 years, but they have no actual address on their Google business listing. Just city and state. The listing is always top three and it does have their website listed, but directions aren't even available as there is actual no address. The listing is extremely keyword dense (basically spam but they actually created a business with the spam name). Citation Example: Keyword dense business name, phone number, city and state only Have you seen this? Can you explain why this is happening? Is this against the rules/anything I can do? Thanks!
Local Listings | | mgordon0 -
Google Listing showing my map But not showing on google.com search organic.
Hello All again, How are you doing? Please try to help me again. I have big trouble with my google plus business and never back ranking for 2 years. Before 2 years my google plus business #1 page google with any keywords: nail salon pigeon forge tn nail salon sevierville tn pedicure pigeon forge nail salon, nail shop pigeon forge,.... My google plus business: http://plus.google.com/+Sassy-nails/ website:http://sassy-nails.com http://sassy-nails.com after i claimed another page to the same account. I lost all review, stars and scores 2 days ago It was been back again but All ranking losting all. and not Whe I seach google.com organic" My listing " http://plus.google.com/+Sassy-nails/about It is not showing up on google.com oganic ranking but I will showing on my. Please big help for me please. the link i attach here" Sassy nails salon " Under " Hair Expo" and top " Spazzi nails" i am looking farward to here you soon. data=!3m1!4b1
Local Listings | | sassynailsalon0 -
Unable to update client address in G+/Moz Local
Hello, I'm having an issue with Moz Local that involves a few complicating factors. I have a client who has moved to a new office and I was hoping to use Moz Local to help keep their NAP consistent during the transition. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the Google+ page that was set up for the business (and neither does my client). The client is relatively new, so we suspect the page was set up by the person/agency that set up their website previously. And since Moz Local gets the business address from the Google+ page it finds, and I can't access that page to change its address, I can't update the address in Moz Local. I DO have access to the client's website and Facebook account, and have already updated their listed address on those pages, but the Google+ page seems to still be a problem for verification. One of the other wrinkles is that since I have updated the Facebook page to show the new address, Moz Local has picked that up as a completely separate listing (a listing that uses an "and" instead of an "&" in the name). I was hoping to claim/verify THAT listing and see if I could merge the 2, but this other listing shows up as a separate purchase on Moz Local. I would prefer not to have to pay twice for the same listing, if at all possible. I would try to change the Facebook page name to use "&" instead of "and" in the hopes that Moz Local might recognize that it's the same business, but it looks like Facebook only allows you to change a page's name once, and I don't want to burn what might be needed to solve some other future problem. Lastly, the Moz Local listings are under another Moz account. I DO have access to that account, and can provide any specifics to the Moz staff if needed. To sum up: I can't change an address on Google+ and therefore cannot change the address on Moz Local. I'm not sure if this is a Moz Local issue, a Google+ issue, or (most likely) an issue on both ends, so any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks!
Local Listings | | BrianAlpert780 -
How to show on Google Maps for specific areas close to me?
Hi there, Im wondering the best approach to get more consistent listings for google map searches (the pins on the map) for a business.
Local Listings | | Ampweb
Here is a small overview. My client provides storage services in London. His business is very local as customers will only want to use them if they are from surrounding local suburbs within the City. His business is showing on the map for some of the suburbs close to his business, but it does not actually show when you search for the closest location (suburb) that his business is located in, or other local suburbs. What would be the best approach to ensure google shows a pin for his search results when users search for all close-by suburbs to his business address? Is this possible or will it just happen over time? He already has landing pages on his website for each of his suburbs that he is trying to target, eg: "Self Storage Camden".0 -
How do URL's influence Google Rankings?
Hi There, I have a new client who wishes to rank in Google UK for 'Antique Fireplaces London'. Currently they rank 49th. They do not know their logins for Google Local (where they have 40+ positive reviews). And have very mess social activity (which i am trying to sort out). The domain is around 8 years old - website has just been redone (drupal) where a lot of the former SEO errors were corrected) but they seem to be outranked by much newer websites that have much lower domain authority and less inbound links. My client also has much more recognition in online trade magazines and newspapers than most of their competitors. Would buying some additional domains with the keywords they wish to rank for help? Or will this look dodgy to google? Any other quick tips to give them a boost?
Local Listings | | skehoe0