Google’s Map Pack is a powerful asset for your remodeling, windows, siding, or gutter business. If you can land a spot in the top three, you’ll show up near the top of the search page before any organic searches. You’ll also get more information, including star ratings, years in business, and location — along with the ability for customers to message or call you.
Is this important? You bet it is. According to research, 44% of searchers for local businesses click on results within the map pack. Google’s analysis shows that 76% of people who conduct a local search on their phone reach out and/or visit a physical location within 34 hours. More than a quarter make a purchase.
When you consider that nearly half of all searches online are for local businesses or those “near me,” you can quickly see why this is such valuable real estate.
More leads. More customers. More sales. What’s not to love?
How Does Google Determine Who Gets in the Map Pack?
Google uses three factors:
- Distance
- Prominence
- Relevance
Distance
The proximity of your business location to searchers makes a difference. While you can’t control this aspect, you can help your cause by making sure all of your location information is listed correctly in your Google Business Profile, especially Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP).
Prominence
This is the credibility and trustworthiness of your business in the area you service. Google uses online presence, reviews, locations, and your website’s authority to determine popularity. You can help raise your profile with Google by carefully managing your reviews and building your online presence.
Relevance
Google wants to show the most relevant responses to user queries, so you’re more likely to match when Google knows the goods or services you provide. Make sure your Google Business Profile has a list of categories and key services.
Optimizing Your Google Business Profile
We’ve already mentioned it twice, so you’re likely getting the picture of how big a deal this is. If you want to show up at the top of the map, you need a Google-verified business and that starts with your Google Business Profile (GBP).
If you haven’t already claimed and verified your GBP, do it now. You can tell whether your profile has been claimed by looking at your listing. If it says “Suggest an edit – own this business” at the bottom of yours, you haven’t claimed it yet.
Make sure you fill out everything correctly and consistently with how you list your name, address, and phone number on your website. Even slight variations can cause Google to note any discrepancies and hurt your rankings.
You will also want to make sure you:
- Choose the right categories for your business
- Use keywords strategically within your business description
- Mention the city you’re located in
A note about location. Google’s going to pick local businesses that are located in the city nearby search visitors, but the search engine uses city borders. So, even if you’re closer to someone in another city, you may get overlooked if you aren’t within the city limits. There are exceptions, however. If there are not enough competitors in the area, Google may go outside boundaries or if your business is more relevant than others.
Generating and Managing Reviews
Besides your GBP, managing reviews is critical — and often overlooked by service businesses like gutters, windows, siding, and remodeling. With everything on your plate, review management often goes to the back burner. However, one bad review that goes unanswered can undo any goodwill you’ve generated with dozens of positive reviews.
42% of customers told Google that reviews from other customers increase their likelihood of buying products or services.
Google uses reviews on its site and others as a ranking signal. They want to satisfy search intent by delivering results that reflect the best businesses, so the better your star ratings, the more likely you are to get featured.
When it comes to reviews, however, you need to manage quantity, quality, recency, and response.
Quantity
One study showed that 59% of consumers expect a business to have between 20 and 100 reviews to trust their star rating. So, yes, quantity matters. If you’re not actively soliciting reviews from your best customers, you’re missing out on a powerful marketing tool that’s already at your disposal.
Quality
You need good reviews, too. A study by Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center showed that there’s a direct correlation between good reviews and purchases. If the rating is between one and three stars, it certainly doesn’t help. But as soon as star ratings go to three or above, the likelihood of conversion increases. It peaks at between 4.2 and 4.5. If you have all five-star rankings, it’s not seen as credible.
FYI – the higher your average ticket price, the more important reviews are.
Recency
You need current reviews, too. Reviews that are more than three months old are no longer seen as relevant — especially in the home improvement and remodeling business. Customers want to see recent reviews that inspire confidence and trust.
Response
Customers also want to see that you’re paying attention to what people are saying about your business. Responding in a timely matter is key.
People also know that no business is perfect. In fact, the mark of quality service providers is they take ownership of any issues and resolve them. Managing your reviews gives you a way to turn a negative review into a positive one with your response.
How to Generate More Reviews
The simplest way to generate more reviews is to ask for them. When the job is done and the customers are happy with their new roof, siding, gutters, or remodeling, hit them up for a review. This is the time they’re likely most excited and satisfied with the work.
Automate your outreach with texts, emails, and messages on social media. Make it easy for them to post on their favored platform.
Businesses see up to a 50% increase in revenue when they get more reviews, according to Surefire Local research. Choose an online marketing tool that lets you automate requests, follow up with reminders if they forget to leave a review, and manage (and respond) to your reviews at multiple sites in one place.
Online Presence
Your online presence plays a big role in how search engine evaluate your business. They tend to feature businesses that have a good online reputation and presence.
Google is looking online at various sources for proof that your business should outrank others when displaying results, matching search intent.
Citations
Citations are the mentions you get online besides the things you control like your website and social media accounts. When you get a link to your website from another site that is considered authoritative, it sends quality signals to help your search ranking.
This includes:
- Online directories
- Social media sites
- Online review sites
- Local blogs
- Local media
- Industry websites
Content Marketing
Content marketing is important for organic search engine optimization (SEO) and local SEO. It helps Google understand your business to determine relevance.
To boost your local SEO, make sure you include the keywords specific to your location. This might include blog posts about local events or testimonials from happy customers in your local community. This helps showcase your business for searchers in your area.
Blog posts, articles, guides, and how-to videos are all great ways to boost your online presence and demonstrate expertise. Coupled with the right keywords, this can help improve your ranking.
Social Media
Social media plays a more indirect role. While social signals such as likes or shares don’t directly impact rankings, social does affect your visibility and reputation. Greater brand visibility and engagement send a positive message. When social drives traffic to your website, it helps your SEO. In turn, this shows Google your prominence.
It can be challenging to keep on top of social media on all the platforms people use. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X — it’s a long list and growing. A local marketing platform can help you manage these more effectively by letting you post and comment in one place across multiple platforms.
One thing to note here. Google’s new partnership with Reddit is showing Reddit threads higher in search results. So, consider adding Reddit to your local marketing mix.
Boost Your Local Presence and Rank Higher
Surefire Local is the top marketing platform for local businesses. We automate review requests, SEO, social media, online advertising, and more to help you grow your online visibility. Our customers see significant results — up to 320% more leads, customers, and revenue.
You can boost your local presence and get ranked higher in Google’s map pack and manage all of your listings, reviews, content, and lead generation in one place. We make it easy for service industries like yours to grow their business.
Contact the local marketing experts at Surefire Local today and let’s get to work. Request a demo today to see the #1 marketing platform for roofing businesses in action.