Finding the right ways to market your dispensary shop can be difficult if you don’t have much experience with online marketing. Even if your business is centered almost entirely on your brick-and-mortar store, effective online marketing can push your dispensary to new levels of success. One of the easiest methods to promote your dispensary business online is by optimizing your Google Maps business listing. The following takes a closer look at why you should optimize your Google Maps listing and the benefits of doing so.
What are Google Maps Business Listings?
If you want your dispensary to show up on Google Maps, you will first need to create a Google Maps business listing. These listings are easy to make and can be optimized further to make sure your business is viewed by as many potential customers as possible.
To understand just how beneficial it can be to have your business displayed on Google Maps, keep in mind that Google processes upwards of 8.5 billion Google searches every day. Many of these searches are meant to look for businesses and shops near the user’s location.
Importance of Ranking Higher on Google Maps
There are many reasons why your dispensary should focus on creating a Google Maps listing and ranking higher on the platform. Even without optimizing the listing, having your business on Google Maps will help you bring in new customers, generate additional business, and stand out among the competition. Keep in mind, however, that it’s not enough to create a business listing with Google Maps.
Even if your business is listed in the area that you operate out of, this doesn’t automatically indicate that Google will rank your business for local searches. If you want your dispensary to be visible to users who search for nearby dispensary shops, you’ll need to optimize your Google Maps business listing.
Keep in mind that 67% of all users prefer Google Maps over other navigation apps. The vast majority of potential customers never look past the first three results of a search query. Optimizing your Google Maps business listing should help you reach the top three results for relevant keywords, which will significantly increase the visibility your dispensary receives.
Google Map Optimization Tips and Techniques
Because of how easy it is to create a Google Maps business listing, optimizing this listing is rather straightforward. Here are some tips to guide you through the optimization process.
Add Your Dispensary to Google Maps
Performing Google Maps optimization can only be done if you have already created a business listing on the platform. If you have yet to do so, creating this listing can be done with the Google Maps app or at Google.com/maps.
Type your business name into the drop-down menu. If your dispensary doesn’t have a listing, the drop-down menu will give you the option to “Add a missing place”. After clicking this option, you can add the name, location, and category of your dispensary.
Claim Business Listing
While creating a listing is necessary to get your business on the map, claiming the listing is the only way to add more information for users to get access to when they click on your business. Adding more information to your business listing will help with optimization.
If you want to claim your business listing, you will first need to have a Google My Business account. In the event that you have an account with Google My Business, you can claim your business on your Google Maps business listing. This option will be available via prompts like “Own this business?” or “Claim this business”.
Add Details and Photos to Listing
Now that your Google Maps business listing has been linked with your Google My Business account, you should start adding photos and details about your business to your business listing. The pieces of information that should be added to this listing include your dispensary’s phone number, hours, and a business description. Adding high-quality images to your listing is also a great way to rank higher with Google.
Obtain Google Reviews
Google provides higher rankings to businesses with a considerable amount of reviews. When you create a Google Maps business listing, your dispensary can start receiving reviews immediately. However, you shouldn’t just wait around for reviews. Being proactive in requesting reviews from customers and even responding to these reviews is essential if you want to encourage customers to review your dispensary.
Google Maps optimization can be a boon to the popularity of your dispensary. By making sure that your Google Maps business listing is up-to-date and properly optimized, you should start gaining better rankings in Google Maps, which boosts visibility and should increase traffic to your store and website.