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Google is undoubtedly the most-used search engine globally, and its web mapping service, Google Maps, is right up there with it. With a global market share of approximately 80% (and even higher in North America), it's in a property manager's best interest to ensure their parking facility locations are visible on Google Maps.

Ensuring your parking lot is visible on Google is an impactful way to promote the location of your parking lot and, in turn, maximize your parking revenue. This is because drivers travelling 30+ km tend to rely on Google Search and Maps to plan their journeys ahead of time and request directions to their first destination—the parking lot.

Google has recently enabled businesses to add amenities to their parking lots, such as EV charging stations, enhancing the overall impact Google has on successful parking operations.

The best part about registering your parking lot with Google is that it’s one of the easiest, fastest, and cheapest ways to maximize your parking revenue stream, making it an essential requirement for any commercial parking operation.

So, how can you get your parking lot on Google?  

From day one, your parking management services provider should ensure your parking lot location is registered with and verified by Google—both on Search and Maps. It's also their responsibility to make sure your location listing is optimized for Google to increase the likelihood of Google showing your location to your customers.

This involves ensuring the listing displays accurate and up-to-date details about your parking facility, including your hours of operation, amenities (such as EV charging stations), parking permits, and more. If the information online matches what customers see when they arrive at your parking facility, they're more likely to become repeat customers and leave a positive review about you online.

This brings us to another important point. Your parking service provider needs to make sure that all Google reviews on your location listing are responded to promptly. If not, you risk your location not being shown on Google. This is because Google is committed to displaying information that it believes is accurate and suitable to recommend to its users. Deciding on an escalation matrix with your parking service provider will ensure that reviews are promptly addressed.

Lastly, a key component of making sure your listing is highly visible on Google is to link it to a web page that provides details about your parking facility. It’s important to make sure this web page is also optimized for Google’s algorithm (also known as Search Engine Optimization or SEO). Another responsibility of your parking management provider is to make sure it appears in the top search results for relevant search queries. This step should come before registering the location with Google Maps, as the location listing will not perform well without it. Similar to your Google listing, the webpage should include your facility address, rates, amenities and high-quality photos so that customers know exactly what to expect when visiting your facility.

Getting your parking facility on Google will ensure that your parking lot is full, including evenings, downtimes, and weekends. This will keep your parking revenue at an all-time high and help you secure a returning customer base.

If you have yet to get started with essential digital marketing practices for your parking operation, a smart starting point is to reach out to your parking management provider to ask if they can help create an online presence. Digital marketing has become an essential component of parking management services.

Maria Fiorini

Director, Marketing & Communications, Precise ParkLink