How do you get a place label on Google Maps? Why do some businesses have them, and others do not?

According to Google, “Place labels are a feature of Google Maps that surfaces great content such as landmarks, businesses, and tourist attractions on our base map data […] The place labels shown on Google Maps are determined algorithmically based on a large number of factors”.
Google only populates place labels for some businesses because, stylistically, there simply isn’t room for them all. As you zoom in on Google Maps, different labels will start to appear that weren’t there originally.

Some important Points to consider

• • According to a study, more listings (percentage-wise) that had labels also had websites on them.  Having a website is important if you want a place label on Google Maps.
  • The listings that had place labels with no zooming had an average of 6,455 reviews whereas the average number of reviews for listings without place labels was 21.
  • Older listings are more likely to have place labels.  According to a study, the listings that had the most prominent place labels (without having to zoom in) were around 7 years old whereas the listings that didn’t get labels were 3 years old, on average.
  • If you have an editorial summary, there is a pretty good chance you’ll also get a place label, especially if you’re not part of a chain.
  • The “located in” feature likely has no influence on getting a place label but it still would be a good idea to add it to the listing just in case.
  • Although there is no a correlation between verifying your listing and getting a place label, it’s clearly a good idea to verify your business listing for a variety of other reasons.
  • User engagement is likely a large factor for determining which businesses get a place label.
  • Listings that had popular times graphs on them (ie: businesses that get a lot of physical store visits) were a lot more likely to have a place label.
  • It’s very important to remember that Google uses lots of different factors to determine who gets a place label so just because you have one of the factors doesn’t mean you’ll get one.
  • The primary business category on your Google My Business listing is likely a large factor for determining if you qualify for a place label.  There were no education, emergency service, entertainment, or hotel listings in the data set without place labels.  Professional services (lawyers, dentists etc) are the least likely to have them.
  • Search volume for a business location is like a large factor for determining which businesses get a place label. In a Study, the businesses that had place labels in the 0-3 zoom levels had an average of 8,659 searches a month.  For the businesses that didn’t get a place label, the average was 565.

Conclusion

If you own an online business OR a Bricks&Mortar Shop it is important to have a Listing (Place Label) on Google Maps and be on Google My Business (GMB)
If you need help to set up YOUR Listing please contact me.