Different zoom levels of spots in Google Maps
-
Most roadmap imagery is available from zoom levels 0 to 18, for example. With zoom level 0 the whole world can be visible.
As we all know, the more we zoom in on Google Maps, the more spots (e.g. name of restaurants, hotels etc.) are visible. Some spots are visible "sooner" - with a lower zoom level, which is of course better for the company. Some companies are only visible with a very high zoom level.
If I have a highly branded company is the zoom level lower? Is this the answer for the different display?
-
Obvious great source and good info from Mike.
Thanks Petra, -
Just wanted to add the answer I got from Mike Blumenthal:
The Place label is determined via algo based on popularity of a given feature. One way to increase the popularity is to increase the rank so that more actions are taken in relationship to the feature. The things that likely increase the popularity of a feature are the impressions actions (as seen in Maps) compared to others in the same market like how many times a listing is viewed in Maps, the Place page is viewed etc
At some point in the past it was possible to increase popularity of a feature by changing the popularity setting in MapMaker and having the change approved by an editor. That feature has been removed (at least for most editors).
-
Hi Petra,
As I suspected, the feedback I received amounted to a guess that it is an algo-driven thing. This just hasn't been documented, as far as I know. Place Labels are seen by many, understood by a few, but documented by a very few people. Sorry not to be able to quote you anything solid on this. If you're researching the issue and reach any strong theories or conclusions, I'm sure people would be interested in reading it.
Miriam
-
Petra,
I agree on your last statement. On the restaurant I mentioned, I zoomed in and out later in the day just trying different ways of looking at it and found that if I started at zero, and continued to zoom out, on the third level, the restaurant was there, but on the fourth it disappeared. (the pin stayed, the places label disappeared). Then, on the fifth it miraculously reappeared only to disappear on the sixth. So, something appears to be at play regarding the buildings around a given location and how they are possibly labeled or geographically identified along with use of polygon for shape, etc.
The link that Miriam provided is a great one and I went back to it on her reminder (second thank you to you Miriam for that link). I remembered the mention of the more you edit (approve other's edits) the faster your listing would get places labels. It does seem to work based on our experience anecdotally, but we have not measured it in any way. Again, even that could be a factor in what we are seeing with where labels appear or disappear depending on the distance zoomed in or out.
Thanks for the very cool question...
Robert
-
Hi Robert,
thank you for your detailed answer.
Google Map Maker is already on my to-do list :-).Your assumption regarding verified listing in combination with Place Labels shown further zoomed in or out is not 100% conform - as far as I could see it.
Greetings
Petra
-
Hi Miriam,
thank you for your help and your links.
Yes, I meant Place Labels.
In the Google Support Link they wrote: "The place labels shown on Google Maps are determined algorithmically based on a large number of factors".
So I guess the zoom level as well has to deal with those algorithmically determinations.But it would be great if you could give further feedback from you local specialists.
Have a nice day.
Petra
-
Hi Petra,
I agree with Robert. This is one of the most interesting questions I've seen this week, and one for which I don't have an answer because I've not seen it documented. I've put a question out to a couple of Local SEOs, but I'm not sure if I'll get feedback - again, because I've not seen this issue documented.
One thing I wanted to ask...are you referring simply to the teardrop pins or do you mean Place Labels (the little grey icons of forks/spoons, etc.)? If the latter, an interesting study was done of this in 2 parts awhile back:
http://www.iexposure.com/2011/06/16/how-to-get-a-google-places-label
http://www.iexposure.com/2011/07/26/how-to-get-a-google-places-label-part-2-update
The official Google page for Place Labels is here, and mentions zooming into a 'certain', but unspecified, level:
http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=174115
However, if we're just talking about pins here, I'm sorry that I don't have a trusted resource to send you to. There could be a number of factors at play, including distance to centroid, authority of the listing, etc. I will come back if I get any feedback from my pals in Local. It really is a good question.
-
Petra,
You get the internationally recognized ?Hmmmmmm? award this morning.
That means when many people see your question they will say to themselves, "Hmmmmmm?"!!
I wish I had a perfect answer for this, but I believe there are actually multiple variables at play here. For those who enjoy learning and/or improving the web, Google MapMaker is a great place to start. This link goes to MapMaker's add a Place page. (those "spots" are called...Places and the icon that is an upside down teardrop - often with a letter in it - is a Marker).
Anyone can edit Google Maps via MapMaker. (All edits are reviewed by others and you cannot review your own edits). One thing you can do is change the shape of something on a map like an area (e.g. a park, stream, etc) or a building. If an editor has used the line drawing feature to change the shape of a feature, that could potentially affect what shows at a given level of zoom. IMO, another thing that could affect what does or does not show at given levels of zoom would be how often that place is searched for, linked to, and/or clicked on. Also, has it been edited by outside editors and then approved? If it has, I would think that site would show more at broader zoom levels than a similar business which had not been edited, especially if there are a lot of places in that given area.
One I tested that proved out: With similar businesses, where one has verified the listing and one has not, the verified listing will stay longer as you zoom further out. (Even with restaurants where the non verified had over 500 reviews and the verified had less than 100 reviews, the verified stayed while the other disappeared).
You also provided me a new mechanism for determining who is or is not an owner verified listing. Thanks!!!
I hope this helped and I urge all to explore Google Map Maker as it really is a COOL TOOL!!
All the Best,
Robert
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Why not just use an alias if the only change is a different domain Name?
We are rebranding our store with a new name. We have purchased a NewDomainName. Can I just make the "Old Domain Name" an alias for the "NewDomainName"? The site will not change in any other way than having a new logo. This is an e-commerce site with over 100 categories of artisan made products. So once we move the site, the old domain will be empty. Thank you Stephen
Branding | | stephenfishman1 -
Google Books
Hi everyone, How does a retailer get listed as a reseller of books in Google SERPs? See this example for what I mean: http://imgur.com/IYAR43R Thanks in advanced! Paul
Branding | | kevinliao0 -
Should I thank a share on Google Plus (as a business)?
Hi, As all that manage their social channels, I often track some of the posts and how people interacted with them. My question is quite simple: As a business page - Should I thank someone for sharing my post?
Branding | | BeytzNet
I assume it would make them feel worthy and will probably cause them to share again... However, will my page's followers see that I thanked someone (and will doing so annoys them if I now thank 10 different people)...? Who sees a comment my page puts on another person's share? Thanks0 -
Rep Management with Google+ > Help Needed
My client, Pareto Law, have set themselves up with a Google Local Business listing:
Branding | | AndrewAkesson
https://plus.google.com/+paretolaw, and when searching for the Pareto Law brand this page appears a bit like a site-link under the main search result. I've noticed that other companies, such as moz.com, have their G+ page ranking seperately on page 1 of the SERPs. This is especially important for my client, as we're trying to push down other sites rankings for our brand. In an ideal world I'd want only their twitter, G+, linkedin, & facebook pages ranking amongst wikipedia entries and the like, as opposed to forums discussing my client. The question is, are Pareto Law able to set themselves up with a G+ business page as well as the G+ local listing page they presently have. Is that an acceptable setup, or are you supposed to have just one or the other? I'm struggling to differentiate between the 2.0 -
How many FaceBook likes do I need to start making a difference?
Just started the social scene. We have a FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/SMSPro.Safety.Management.System Only about a year old, and until two weeks ago, we had about 8-10 likes. Then I started working on getting likes (please like this page if you can). Question: How many Likes do I need for Google to start counting this as significant? Would also appreciate any comments on FaceBook page to help.
Branding | | manintights280 -
Google+ Pages and an unknown owner...how do I claim it or get it removed?
Hello, I am working on a clients social networking campaign and have found a Google+ page for their company. It looks like it was created approx a year ago. The client doesn't know who created it or what account has control of it in their network. I need to make a Google+ page for them so I can use it in their marketing that I can actually access. I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how I can either: Find the owner/email that is associated with the Google+ Page? or Have it removed so I can create a fresh one? which I know I can report the page as compromised but will that work in a timely manner? Please any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated, and thanks!! 🙂 Jeff
Branding | | allstatetransmission0 -
Are there any companies out there that can do Search Retargeting on a local level? I'd like to target a Metro area, or even a large city.
Are there any companies out there that can do Search Retargeting on a local level? I'd like to target a Metro area, or even a large city. I'm talking Search Retargeting, not Site Retargeting.
Branding | | mustang7870 -
Brand Name searches: Low Click Through Rates in Google - What are your CTR in the SERPS for your Brandname?
Hello, Checking the Analytics part - Search Engine Optimization/ Queries - I found suprising results for my website: The website is no. 1 for my brand name but only has a 28% CTR on the brandname in the Google SERPS! Please see exactly what I mean here: http://screencast.com/t/GKjwliZ6GTF7 I'm looking for your experience of CTR of other websites in the same situation. Do you have similar low CTR? Some background info; The website is no1 for the brandname. Sitelinks are shown. Google Maps is shown on right. In the period are no adwords advertisments on my brand name as I know. I checked several times. I cant understand where 72% go after searching for my brandname. Thanks for sharing your experience. Best Regards Daria
Branding | | nmedia0