Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series focused on optimizing SEO and websites to help floral businesses get more sales. Check out this collection of resources on the Floral Education Hub for more digital strategy guidance.
Lynn Angelone keeps close watch on his backyard. The owner of Angelone’s Florist in Raritan, New Jersey, is protective of his shop’s service area and customer base. A small business owner who relies on everyday flower buyers searching online for a local florist, Angelone spends about 10% of his revenue on marketing to maintain an edge over would-be poachers.
“People always want your business,” he says. “You have to protect it.”
To ensure customers are finding him, Angelone closely monitors where his business ranks in Google’s map pack, a map above the organic search results that features three shops in the searcher’s area. Almost 80% of the time, his business is one of the first two. That positioning generates more clicks than the organic search results because users are more likely to click on what they see first.
How do you get your business in the map pack? One expert shared a few tips.
Understand the Map Rank
“Proximity trumps everything,” says Dan McManus, founder and president of TeamFloral, a floral marketing consultancy that specializes in SEO. “Because the primary variable that Google uses is ‘Where is the person searching from?’ they’re always going to recommend a closer business.”
Google uses a searcher’s IP address to determine where they’re located and showcases businesses that are ranked highest using a proprietary algorithm. This means a business that ranks number five on the organic search results could be first on the map pack because it’s closer than the other four. Because proximity is king, shop owners may be lulled into a false sense of security when they see their business at the top.
“If you Google from your shop, you’re always going to be number one,” McManus says. “If you’re not number one, the wheels are falling off.”
Search for “florist” 5 miles away and you might not show up. If you live in a densely populated area such as Los Angeles or New York City, you might not even rank half a mile from your shop.
See Where You Rank
Knowing where you rank on the map pack is key to knowing whether your marketing campaigns and SEO strategies are having the desired impact. Businesses can use paid software such as LocalFalcon to see their search position mile-by-mile or even block-by-block. TeamFloral also offers a free basic scan.
SEO map scanning software also shows where your competitors rank, letting you see who is outpacing you and who is encroaching on your position. McManus recently worked with a shop that was surprised to learn it was showing up as number 16 on the map. The shop owner believed he offered a better product than the higher-ranking businesses.
“You have to look at yourself through Google’s eyes,” McManus says. “They only see what’s online about you. They don’t see your great customer service. They don’t see your beautiful arrangements.”
When that 16th-ranked shop rose to first place in the map pack, it was generating six times more traffic.
“It is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood turf war,” McManus says. “Every neighborhood that Google puts you in the map pack, it’s like you have a billboard in that neighborhood.”
Update Your Business Profile
The easiest way to improve your map rank is the same way you can improve your organic search engine results position: claim and maintain your Google Business Profile. Ensure your information is correct, especially your address.
If you deliver flowers, update your profile’s service area to include up to 20 locations, such as towns, cities or zip codes. This will ensure Google sees the additional locations when it’s determining your proximity to a user. If your service area covers the user’s location — even if your shop’s physical address isn’t the closest — you’re more likely to rank higher.
Don’t Neglect Apple
Google may be the top search engine in the U.S., but mobile users often depend on their pre-installed apps to find local businesses. While Android phones come with Google Maps, only about 47% of Americans use them, according to Statista. The market leader is the iPhone, with 53% of smartphone users.
iPhones come preloaded with Apple Maps, which displays information based on your business’s Apple profile, says Renato Cruz Sogueco, AAF, PFCI, vice president of digital strategy and education at BloomNet. Like Google, Apple generates profile information based on what it thinks is true about your business. For better results, create an Apple Business Connect account and claim your business, Sogueco advises. It’s free. Then fill out your shop’s information, add high-quality images of your work, and showcase any current specials or promotions.
Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
