Throughout the past few years, Google Maps has been growing in popularity as an avenue for local businesses to advertise to potential customers, and rightfully so. Google Maps Ads is a great way to reach on-the-go users who are ready to buy. Learn how you can take advantage of Google Maps Ads’ features.
When you search for a business on Google Maps, you’ll notice that there may be one or two top results accompanied by a purple ‘Ad’ symbol. Once you click on these ads, you’re taken to that business’s usual information page. The primary purpose of these ads is to increase visibility for local businesses by ensuring that they rank first or second in Google Maps’ location results. Using Google Maps ads can help increase foot traffic for a business by reaching more potential customers.
Google Maps has recently made multiple changes to their ads through features such as promoted pins, in-store promotions, local inventory search, and a customizable business page. Promoted pins are probably the most interesting new feature from Google. In a sea of red “pins” that appear when you search for a business, advertised results show up as purple pins designed to grab the user’s attention. These pins are also accompanied by the business’s logo, which helps the search result to stand out as well. To stand out even further, businesses can use the new in-store promotions feature to showcase coupons and discounts on their ads. Google does not plan to use any further attention-grabbing features, such as audio or interstitials, so as not to distract users who may be driving.
The main reason advertising on Google Maps is so advantageous is that its 150 million monthly users open the app with a specific need in mind that your business may fill. Google Maps Ads are also a relatively new form of advertising, so there won’t be as much competition to grab users’ attention. Since Google Maps is mobile-focused, you’re able to reach people when and where they are looking for you. For this reason, Google Maps Ads is a useful tool for local businesses looking to compete with larger chains.
If your business isn’t currently advertising on Google Maps Ads, consider that around 90% of all global sales this year will happen in stores. Customers are eager to find information on local businesses before they even enter the store, with 82% of customers claiming to consult their phones about purchases before shopping in person. Google Maps ads can further help businesses by allowing them to showcase what is currently in stock with a feature called local inventory ads. Considering one in four people say they avoid stores because they don’t know if a product is in stock, this could be a highly effective way to gain more in-person customers.
The order in which Maps search results are presented to a user is not random; in fact, it relies on a variety of factors such as query context, location, search history, interests, behaviors, time of day, and demographics. Thanks to this algorithm, Google Maps Ads can target potential customers with the most interest in your business.
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