Google Maps and AI Overview optimization
Win the map and the AI answer.
For $17, get a Growth Roadmap: where you’re missing customers on Google Maps and in AI answers, and what to fix first. Do the fixes yourself, or have us do them for you.
For local businesses in the US, the UK and Australia. Your Growth Roadmap arrives in 60 minutes or it’s free.
AI answer
- Hollis & Daughter Plumbing (your business)
- Wrenmoor Plumbing
- Kestrel Drain Co.
you’re named
Map results for the example search, in order:
Hollis & Daughter Plumbing
Plumber, 0.6 mi, closes 6 PM
Wrenmoor Plumbing
Plumber, 0.8 mi, open 24 hours
Kestrel Drain Co.
Plumber, 1.4 mi, open 24 hours
- the AI answer, naming you
- the map, with you pinned first
- your business, first on the map
What your Growth Roadmap covers, and what gets fixed
Your roadmap works through six areas and puts the fixes in the order we’d make them to win you more customers.
Categories and description
Your primary category tells Google what you do. A plumber filed under “Plumbing supply store” gets shown to people shopping for pipe fittings.
- The primary category that matches your trade
- Extra categories only where they are true
- A description that says what you do
Opening hours
Before anyone calls, they check whether you’re open. For a trade people need at any hour, it matters whether your listing says you are.
- Your hours, shown on your profile
- Open 24 hours, where your trade gets calls at any hour
Photos and posts
Pictures of your van, your crew and finished jobs show that a real business sits behind the listing.
- Photos of real jobs, added through the year
- Posts about seasonal work, offers and new services
Reviews and replies
Reviews are what customers read before they pick up the phone, and they’re part of what Google’s AI draws on when it describes you.
- A reply to every review, good or bad
- An easy way to ask customers for an honest review of the job
Your listings on other websites
Google checks your profile against the other websites that list you. When the name, address or phone disagree, it has less reason to trust any of them.
- The same name, address and phone as your profile
- A link from each listing to your website that works
Where else to get listed
Directories for your trade, and for businesses of all kinds, help people find your business beyond your own website.
- Websites where your competitors are listed and you aren’t
- Where to sign up on each, and whether it’s free
How Google’s AI Overview picks a local business
An AI Overview is the written answer Google sometimes shows above its search results. For a local search, it can name businesses and explain why they fit. Your reviews, website and public listings give it information to draw on.
A review describing the job and the town, backed by a service page with clear hours and coverage, gives the answer something specific to say. We work on those details alongside your Business Profile.
This is sometimes called generative engine optimization: helping AI search tools understand and describe your business.
the map
the AI answer
both read
What both read:
- your Business Profile
- your reviews
- your website
- other sites that mention you
Three steps to more calls from Google Maps and AI answers
- 1
Get your Growth Roadmap
Tell us your business, where you work and the search you most want to win. We check where you rank on Google Maps across your whole service area, and whether Google’s AI Overview names you or a competitor.
- 2
See what’s holding you back, and why
Your roadmap lists every fix in order and gives the reason for each one. You’ll see where the businesses above you are winning customers you could be getting, and what it takes to catch up.
- 3
Fix it yourself, or hand it to us
You keep your roadmap, so you can follow it on your own. Or have Maptimal do the work for $247 a month: we optimize your Google Business Profile and run advanced local strategies. No contract, cancel any time.
What we measure, and what nobody can promise
We show you the evidence every month. We run a fixed set of your searches, ask each one several times, and record whether the AI answers name you, how many of them do, and who they name instead. Your map rank for the same searches sits beside it.
| Search | In the AI answers? |
|---|---|
| emergency plumber near me | Not named in any of 3 |
| water heater repair near me | Named in 2 of 3 |
| plumber near me | Named in 3 of 3 |
We asked each search three times. AI answers vary by person and day; we record what we see on the day we check.
What we measure
- The same searches every month, chosen with you
- Whether the AI answers name you, and in how many of them
- Which businesses they name instead
- Your map rank for the same searches, side by side
What nobody can promise
- A guaranteed place in the AI answer
- The same answer for every person who searches
- A date by which you will be named
How much does the service cost?
Growth Roadmap: $17, one time. You see where you’re missing customers, what’s holding you back and what to fix first, with the reason for each fix. You keep your roadmap.
Then four weekly follow-up checks of your map rankings and what AI Overviews say, by email. You can stop them any time.
Google shows an AI Overview for some local searches, not all. Your roadmap says which of yours get one and what it says.
Your Growth Roadmap arrives in 60 minutes or it’s free.
100% money-back guarantee: if you’re not happy with your Growth Roadmap, contact us within 30 days of purchase.
Done for you: $247 a month. We make the fixes and report every month. You can cancel any time.
The Maptimal Promise: after 90 days of implementing our strategies, if your business isn’t recommended more often across the same questions, we keep working for free until it is.
What $247 a month covers
- Your Google Business Profile, optimized and kept up to date
- A post on your Google listing every day
- Daily social posts for your business
- Your business listed on the directories that matter
- Profiles on other websites in your business name
- Website and listing changes, so the facts match everywhere
- Advanced local strategies, aiming to lift your map rankings in under 60 days
- A monthly report: your map rank grid and the AI answers for your searches, side by side
We aim to lift your map rankings in under 60 days. That’s a target, not a guarantee: nobody can promise a position on Google, and we won’t.
Common questions
What does it cost?
The Growth Roadmap is $17, one time. If you want us to do the work, it’s $247 a month, covering your Business Profile, the website and listing fixes, advanced local strategies and a monthly report.
Is there a contract?
No. The service runs month to month and you can cancel any time. You keep your Growth Roadmap either way.
Can I do the fixes myself?
Yes. Your roadmap lists each fix in order and explains why it matters, so you can work through it on your own.
How long before changes show?
Profile edits usually show up within days. Map positions tend to move over weeks, and we aim to lift yours in under 60 days. Nobody can promise you a position, and we won’t. The Maptimal Promise: after 90 days of implementing our strategies, if your business isn’t recommended more often across the same questions, we keep working for free until it is.
Is SEO being phased out?
No. Clear service pages, accurate listings and useful reviews still help people find and understand your business through regular search results, Maps and AI answers.
Does AI Overview work replace Google Maps optimization?
Both are included. We agree one plan for your profile, website and listings, then track your map positions alongside what the AI answers say.
Do I need a website?
It helps, because Google checks your site for the same facts as your profile. If you don’t have one, your roadmap says what the profile can do on its own.
Do you work with businesses in the US, the UK and Australia?
Yes, all three. We work remotely with local businesses in all three countries. Who runs Maptimal
Do I keep ownership of my profile?
The profile lives in your own Google account. Google lets the owner add people as managers and take them off again whenever they like.
What about other AI assistants?
Your Growth Roadmap checks other AI assistants too. Each one can name different businesses for the same question, so it shows whether each one names you.
Isn’t a Google Business Profile free?
Yes, Google doesn’t charge for it. What takes the time is filling it in properly and keeping it that way, and your roadmap shows what yours is missing.
See where you stand for $17.