Are you a property manager trying to find new ways to grow your online presence? In this day and age, this should be a crucial focus of any business that wants to widen their audience, gain new clients, and stand out from their competitors.
While there are many methods you can use to grow your company’s online presence, there is one that we know is more effective than others, and that is ensuring that your business gets to the top of relevant Google search result pages.
This is called search engine optimization (SEO), and you have most likely heard about it if you’re on a journey of growing your business’s online presence. However, one often overlooked, yet effective SEO strategy that we recommend is owning the Local Map Pack.
This is a map that you will often see show up on any given Google search in between the paid ads and the organic search results. Having your business show up here can lead to a significant increase in traffic for your property management company.
Not sure where to start? Luckily, our team knows just how to help you dominate the local map pack in just a few simple steps. In this guide, we will go through everything you need to know about Google map packs and how they can help your property management company stand out from the competition.
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So, How Exactly Does the Google Map Pack Work?
Have you ever been frustrated that other property management companies with just as much business and traction as yours are able to appear in your local map pack while you struggle to boost your search engine rankings? We understand.
Being able to stand out among your competitors is a crucial part of being successful in any business, especially property management! After reading this blog post, our hope is that this task will seem less daunting.
When it comes to placing on your local Google map pack, there are three primary factors to think about: relevance, distance, and trustworthiness. Below, we will walk you through each of them and why they are crucial to boosting your property management company’s Google rankings.
1. Relevance
The first thing you want to think about is how relevant your business is to whatever the user is actually searching for.
For example, let’s say a rental property owner in Houston, Texas is using Google to search for a property management company near them. When this happens, Google Maps will automatically include the most relevant results in the map pack.
So the real question is: how can I ensure that Google sees my business as relevant?
2. Distance
Distance is another crucial aspect of making sure that your business appears in the local map pack. Your goal is to own the map pack in the areas that you serve and where your company is based. This plays a key role in how effective your SEO strategy is.
But why is your location so important? Well, let’s just say there’s a reason it’s called a local map pack!
Imagine you are on vacation and you are trying to find a new local coffee shop to check out. You make a Google search to help you choose a great one, only to find that the top coffee shops in your search results are all an hour-long drive away.
This would understandably annoy you, especially if there are plenty of great options nearby. That is why Google is so heavily influenced by distance when it is determining what to include in a map pack.
3. Trustworthiness
How trustworthy does your company appear to someone who is searching for your business for the first time? This is always an important question to ask yourself, regardless of what your online marketing strategy looks like.
The truth is that the main pillar of a trustworthy online presence is gaining high-quality, positive reviews from clients and tenants alike. This will help your business build trust with Google and prospective clients that come across your company.
Not only should you be paying attention to your own reviews, but you should also be looking at your competition to make sure that you always stand out. For example, let’s say that your property management company has 40 reviews with an average of 4.3 stars. That’s a pretty good start!
However, if your main competition has 120 reviews with an average of 4.5 stars, that is even better, and Google’s algorithm will most likely favor them when it comes to being included in the local map pack.
If you want to succeed, you have to sharpen your competitive edge. This doesn’t just apply to client and tenant reviews! When it comes to the trustworthiness of your property management company, Google will take many things into account, including how efficient your company website is, backlinks, and more.
So, now that you’ve got a quick rundown on how a map pack works, let’s dig a little deeper to help you figure out how to dominate it!
Google Map Pack Ranking Factors
Relevance
As discussed above, you want to increase your property management company’s relevance in the eyes of the Google algorithm. This can seem daunting, but it is simpler than you may think!
First, if you haven’t already, make sure to claim and verify your company’s Google My Business listing. Update the listing with the most recent and accurate information including your company’s name, contact information, location, website, and working hours.
This is absolutely essential. After all, you can’t improve your company’s relevance if your information is dated or inaccurate!
In order for Google to take notice of your business profile and see it as relevant to users’ searches, you will need to fully optimize your Google My Business listing. Here are some of our top tips for doing just that:
- Describe your business accurately by selecting a primary category that best matches your services
- In the “services” section of your profile, describe what exactly your company does for your clients. (eg. Maintenance, tenant screening, financial reporting) Be sure to include as many keywords as you can to help boost your rankings.
- Include photos of your office, properties you manage, and your team. This is a great opportunity to show off your work!
- Specify the areas that you serve including cities, counties, and zip codes.
Distance
If you’ve gotten this far on your journey to dominating your local Google map pack, then you are definitely on the right track to boosting your business. So, now that you have laid some of the crucial groundwork required to meet your business goals, we can move on to the distance aspect of Google map packs.
The truth is, once you have fully updated your property management company’s Google My Business page with the most accurate and detailed information possible, you will already be boosting your chances in Google’s algorithm.
This is because you are sending them information that details not just the physical location of your main office, but the areas that you service.
Trustworthiness
Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, and that includes the one you have with Google’s algorithm. Just trust us!
In order to build trust with Google’s algorithm, you will need to take the time to establish a certain level of credibility online for your business. We know that the majority of customers these days rely heavily on online reviews to help them make a decision about where to put their money.
This is true for anything from buying a couch to hiring a property management company to care for your investments. Your goal as a business owner is to show new prospective clients that they can trust you with their properties. How can you build that trust? The key is consistently getting high-quality, positive online reviews!
You may be wondering: how can I increase the amount of online reviews that my property management company is receiving? The answer is simple: just ask!
We recommend starting by asking your current clients and tenants to leave a review on your company’s Google My Business. You can also take the time to reach out to former clients and tenants if you know you have a positive relationship with them!
Still having trouble generating the online reviews that your company needs? Luckily, we have a few tips and tricks for acquiring them.
Our best advice for getting new reviews for your company is to create a process that works and stick to it. For example, try including a message at the end of your emails to clients that encourages them to leave their thoughts on your business page.
Onsite Optimization
Now, you have learned how to truly optimize your Google My Business profile to boost your relevance, distance, and trustworthiness with the Google algorithm. Your work isn’t quite over yet!
In order to consistently dominate your local Google map pack, you will need to go the extra mile and maintain your competitive edge. You can do this by optimizing your property management company’s website for local SEO.
Getting the Most Out of Your Website
Onsite optimization of your website is a crucial pillar of SEO. While there is a lot more that goes into a strong SEO strategy, let’s talk about how to get started.
Here are some things that you can do to help optimize your company website:
1. Include information that is completely up to date.
Your contact information, company name, and address should all match exactly what is said on your Google My Business page. Further, we recommend making this information as accessible as possible to visitors.
2. Refresh your website’s description
Give your website’s description a good refresh by describing your property management services in detail while including any and all areas that you serve.
3. Create high-quality, valuable content.
This is an excellent way to ensure your business ranks higher in your local map pack. Not sure what to post on your property management blog? Here are some ideas to help you get your creative juices flowing and improve your local map pack results:
- Post about some of the listings you may have for properties that are looking for new tenants. Include high-quality photos and show off the property’s most unique features. This is a great way to give new viewers a snapshot of your work while simultaneously advertising the property to new tenants.
- Make a helpful blog post using your industry expertise. This can be about anything from helping readers understand local landlord-tenant laws to your best tips for maintaining a rental property in different seasons. End the post with a call to action inviting the reader to reach out to your company if they have a rental home that needs a bit of extra help.
- Highlight a positive client testimonial to emphasize your dedication to making your clients happy.
As long as your content is valuable and high quality, the possibilities are truly endless. By taking the time to create content on a regular basis, you will be able to build trust with Google’s algorithm and over time, improve your property management company’s search engine ranking results.
4. Include an FAQ section
Besides blog posts, there are many ways to show your company’s expertise in property management. By including an FAQ section on your website, you can answer a long list of questions that local rental property owners and tenants may have about you and your services.
This can be about anything from the areas that you serve, the different types of properties you specialize in, your tenant screening process, your fees, and more. We recommend making this section as detailed as possible in order to make your FAQ relevant to your target demographic.
As an added bonus, including this on your company’s website can help save you time answering client and tenant questions in the future.
5. Write a strong About Us page
When a new visitor comes across your property management company’s website, you want them to know exactly what your business is about, how you can help them, and what makes you qualified to do so. That’s why we recommend featuring a well-written and detailed “about us” page on your company’s website.
Here, you can tell the full story of your company including how you got started, when you were founded, where exactly you are located, and how you have worked to help both property owners and tenants in the community. Including specific areas and cities in this section can definitely help boost your Google rankings in your local map pack.
Google Map Pack Guide: Bottom Line
If you have made it this far, then you now know the importance of using your local map pack as a main pillar of your online marketing strategy. With the tips and tricks we included in this blog post, we are confident that over time, your property management company will be dominating your map pack, allowing you to grow your business.
If you have any further questions about how to rank higher on Google search engine results, our team at Blanket has got you covered. Contact us today!
