Google recently introduced a feature called Ask Maps. They say it’s the biggest update to Maps in more than a decade. Instead of typing keywords like “hiking trails Northampton MA,” users describe their situation and Maps finds what they need.
If you type, “I have two hours in Northampton, what outdoor activity can I fit in?” Maps finds the answer. Ask Maps draws from 300 million place listings and personalizes results based on your search history. It knows something about you before you finish typing.
I first wrote about this in “Grow with Owwtreach,” my weekly online marketing newsletter for local business owners.
Google is capitalizing on what has been happening for years. Voice search changed how people talk to their devices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) started rewarding conversational queries with better results and people adapted. They stopped typing keywords and started describing situations.
Google built a product to match where their users already were. When your best customers are describing where they are, does your business show up?
The Invisible Gap
Think about a busy Saturday afternoon downtown. Someone is walking around with two tired kids and no plan. They’re not searching for “family friendly shops.” They’re typing “something fun to do with young kids right now.” Someone else is planning a first date. They’re not typing “nice area to visit.” They’re typing “romantic things to do that aren’t awkward for a first date.” A college student has $20 and an afternoon to fill. They’re typing “fun things for college students to do this afternoon.”
Three different people and three different situations, all within walking distance of businesses that could serve them perfectly. But because those businesses are describing what they offer, rather than who they might serve, they remain invisible.
Learning From Local Banks
Owwtreach recently did online presence audits of some community banks in western Massachusetts. Eight optimized for the same things: mortgage rates, home equity line of credit and refinancing, and the language of products and services.
One was doing something different. Their content spoke to “nursery ideas for a new baby,” “buying a home in Amherst,” “life as a college student in Northampton,” etc. None of those phrases mention a banking product. But every one of them describes a situation that leads, eventually, to someone walking into a branch.
People give you clues about what they need long before they type in a product-related keyword. Capture them in the process and you create a shortcut to your door.
What This Means for Your Business
When Ask Maps decides whether to recommend you, it reads three things: your Google Business Profile, your customer reviews and your website. It prioritizes businesses that are complete, current and consistent. From ChatGPT to YouTube, every major platform is moving in the same direction. The differentiator is no longer keywords, it is situations.
Join Me Weekly to Learn More
I share useful information to help local business owners navigate the changing world of online visibility in my weekly newsletter. Sign up here at owwtreach.beehiiv.com and stay up-to-date and ahead of the game.
Any content, resident submissions, guest columns, advertisements, and advertorials are not necessarily endorsed by or represent the views of Best Version Media LLC (BVM) or any municipality, homeowners associations, businesses, or organizations that this publication serves. BVM is not responsible for the reliability, suitability, or timeliness of any content submitted, inclusive of materials generated or composed through artificial intelligence (AI). All content submitted is done so at the sole discretion of the submitting party.
