Getting More Footfall From Google Maps
Most gun shops have a Google Maps listing. The question is whether it is doing much beyond showing an address and phone number.
We have covered the basics of setting up a Google Business Profile before, as well as improving visibility for “near me” searches. This is the maintenance side of it: what is worth doing once the shop is already there.
For an RFD, that matters because a Maps search can be quite close to an actual visit. Someone looking at dealers locally may want to browse used shotguns, find somewhere that stocks a particular brand, buy cartridges or ammunition, or arrange an RFD transfer. They are often deciding whether the journey is worthwhile.
There are three parts of a listing that are easy to neglect: photos, reviews and opening hours.
Keep the photos reasonably current
Start by searching for your own shop on Google Maps and looking at the photos.
You may find that the first images customers see are several years old, were uploaded by customers, or no longer represent the shop particularly well. That is easy to fix.
Google allows businesses to add their own photos, so use the opportunity to show what someone would actually see if they visited. A clear photograph of the shop exterior is useful, especially for RFDs on industrial estates or premises that are not obvious from the road. Inside, photograph the counter, gun racks and other parts of the shop that give people a proper idea of the business.
Stock gives you a reason to keep the images moving as well. A delivery comes in, a cabinet has been rearranged or you have a particularly good selection of used guns available. Take a photograph while it is there.
There is no published Google rule saying a business needs to upload a certain number of photos each week. Treating it as a quota would miss the point.
A better test is simply to ask whether the photos still represent the shop.
If your last useful interior photograph was taken three years ago, add some new ones. If nothing has changed since last week, there is little value in uploading another five near-identical pictures just to keep the profile active.
Once a month may be enough for some dealers. Busier shops with stock changing constantly will have more to show. What matters is that a customer looking at the listing is seeing a reasonably current version of the business.
Reviews need an answer
Reviews are already covered in our wider Google Business guidance, but there is a smaller habit worth getting right here: replying to them.
Responses do not need to be long. In fact, they are usually better when they are not.
If a customer says they received good advice when buying a shotgun, thank them for the review and refer to the visit if you remember it. A small independent dealer does not need to sound like the customer service department of a national retailer.
Something along the lines of “Thanks John, glad we could help with the new shotgun. Hope you’re getting on well with it” is perfectly adequate.
The same applies when the review is negative, although it is worth taking more care before replying. Keep the response factual. Correct something if it genuinely needs correcting, but avoid having an argument in public. Where an issue needs a proper conversation, ask the customer to contact the shop.
Think about who else reads that exchange. The original reviewer is only one person. Future customers may come across the same review while comparing local dealers.
There is no need to watch Google reviews all day either. For most independent RFDs, that would be a poor use of time. Checking once or twice during the week means a review is unlikely to sit unanswered for months.
If several people work in the shop, give the job to someone. Small online jobs have a habit of being left when everybody assumes somebody else is checking.
Opening hours are boring until they are wrong
Opening hours probably require the least work and can cause the most obvious problem.
Gun shops do not always follow conventional retail hours. Some close on particular weekdays. Saturday hours vary. Smaller RFDs may also change their hours when staff are away or attending an event.
Google needs to reflect that.
A customer checking Maps before travelling is likely to take the stated opening hours at face value. If Google says you are open until 5pm on Saturday, there is a reasonable chance someone will plan their journey around that.
For a local café, getting the hours wrong might mean someone walks another few hundred yards. A customer travelling to a specialist gun shop may have driven considerably further, perhaps because they want to see a particular firearm or need to deal with an RFD in person.
Bank holidays are the obvious one to watch.
Google Business Profile lets you set special hours for dates when your normal schedule changes. Use them before Easter, Christmas and UK bank holidays, and whenever you know the shop will be closed or opening at a different time.
It is also worth checking Google after changing your normal trading hours. Updating the hours on your own website does not mean the information shown on your Google listing has automatically been dealt with.
This is basic housekeeping, admittedly. But sending a potential customer to a locked shop is a fairly avoidable way to lose them.
Keep your Google Maps listing working
Google Maps does not need constant attention. Keep your photos current, respond to reviews and make sure your opening hours are right. A few small updates can make your listing more useful to customers deciding whether to visit your shop.