There are various internet marketers who have little or no knowledge of how Google map maker works and how it can impact the small businesses. Some ignore using it while some really hate it.
But for some, Map maker is an awesome tool which can really benefit the Local SEO community if used in a proper way. Several articles are to be written on using Google Map maker. Here, in this blog post; we will highlight some of the ways that make Map maker a unique tool.
What are the Rules?
The rules of Map maker are different from those of Google My Business. Several SEOs have a bad experience with Map maker as they use it with the guidelines of Google My Business as they are unaware about the difference between the rules of Google My Business and Google Map Maker.
The rules for both are different and in case you are unaware about the differences then you have a less experience.
Here, we have mentioned some of the examples which will show the difference between the two:
- Business that Moves: In Google My Business; if your business grows and steps ahead then the first step is to just update the address in the dashboard. If the business is moving; just update the latest address in the dashboard instead of deleting it.
This will help you to save thousands of reviews and conversations along with followers. With the use of Map Maker; one has to delete the old listing and create a new one. It is deleted due to change in location or due to huge distance.
Here. Google My Business guidelines allow a business to keep its reviews, posts, followers and ranking powers. So, when you marked a listing as closed in Map maker then it doesn’t disappear.
It will still rank on Google because the listing is older and authoritative. Hence, it will outrank the new location. This can be sometimes harmful for businesses and there are chances that customer will be able to see a label of “Permanently closed” when they search for a business name.
Claim the listing in Google My Business and then follow the Google guidelines. Unclaimed listings are stuck with Map Maker guidelines.
- Service Area Businesses: Google my business offers a way for Service area businesses without storefronts in order to create listings which hide their addresses so that these can be listed on a map.
Map maker doesn’t allow service area businesses without storefronts. The main aim behind this is that you will not walk up to a plumber’s house to get the service. You can reach its office but not its home.
Service area businesses must always add their listings via Google My Business.
- Re-brands: With Google My Business; rebrands are not properly mentioned in the guidelines however these are referenced in the couple of useful articles. It says to update the information on the listing.
They can remove reviews from the profile if they were left for the business before the rebrand and the change was evident. With Map makers, one gets two options based on how similar the names are.
You can see that Map maker states that the rules are different by making sure that these rules should not be claimed by Google My Business.
If the business is not claimed by Google My Business and if the new and the old names are similar then the new name can be added as ‘Primary” and the old name can be kept as “blank”.
In case the names are different then Map maker will ask you to delete the page. Google My Business doesn’t require this.
It depends on what you are trying to accomplish. In case you don’t want any association with the old business name then it would be better to delete the page from Google My Business dashboard.
- Duplicate Listings: The guidelines agree on the rule that duplicate listings are not allowed for the same business. When a duplicate listing is reported in Google My Business or Map Maker then two different things happen.
When you report a duplicate in Google My Business; it will issue a note to GMB team at Google which will merge two entries. When you pull up the URL for duplicate listing then it will redirect to new one.
In Map Maker, they ask you to delete duplicate listings. This removes the listing completely and in case you have the link in plus.google.com version of the page that is bookmarked anywhere then it would lead to 404 error.
Among these two; Map maker is better for ranking. When two listings are merged by Google My Business then all the information, history from duplicate is merged and the data is hidden so you can no longer see what it was.
There are situations when this data has overwritten stuff in the dashboard and has changed the categories on the listing. Hence, it is advisable to delete duplicate listings via Google Map Maker.
- Solo Practitioners: Google practitioners have a very specific rule about how businesses with a single practitioner must list themselves. When it comes to solo practitioners who are a part of large company then the rule is as follows:
If a practitioner is a sole public facing one and represents a branded firm then the practitioner page must be the same as organization’s page. So, just make a simple page with the title and the following format:
“Brand/ Company:
Practitioner Name:”The Google Map maker guidelines for professionals shows that if you run a business and provide professional services to Map maker then it is necessary to have your physical business location.
Wind Up:
Google My Business offers more details on this scenario and having few listings is almost always better for ranking. Hence, a solo practitioner must definitely have only one listing with the correct title format.
Let us know if you have any issues with the given guidelines or have some more to say about it. For more such information, stay tuned to Platinum SEO; one of the well known SEO Agencies in Perth.