How Google Maps Can Benefit You

by Evan

Recently, I had to locate a store I knew only by name but not the address of. In order to find this store, I used my phone to access Google Maps and searched for the name of the store. Within seconds, I was shown the location of the store as well as the option to get directions to the store from my current location. This little anecdote goes to show it's important to put contact and location information on your site and follow best Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) practices to make sure Google picks up your information.

At the same time, this is purely the tip of the Google Maps iceberg. Here at DogHouse media, we're big fans of embedding Google Maps in Drupal and Magento websites themselves, so much so we put it on our own website! As you can see, we've customised the pop-up bubble and the location pin on the map to reflect the DogHouse brand.

Still, we're just scratching the surface of the power of Google Maps. Here at DogHouse, we've had experience writing custom Drupal modules which fully tap in to the functionality of the mapping service. Below is an image of a Google Maps car-pooling website integration we've worked on with a client. It allows the website users to choose their location and then plans the best route for them, shown as points A and B and the map, as well as showing other website users close to their route, shown as the red pins on the map.

By putting a Google Map of your business on your website, you allow your customers to easily locate and get directions to your business. In terms of fully integrating Google Maps with your website, the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do. So if you're interested in having a Google Map on your website, or you have a great website idea revolving around Google Maps, please feel free to get in contact with us, and find out what we can do for you.