When a user searches online for aged care provider information, the search engines rely heavily on the information they have in their own local business directory (maps) listings. These listings need to be claimed and managed by the provider at each address where they conduct business. As you have probably seen yourself, just about any search related to ‘aged care’ shows maps listings above the traditional list of websites. Between 50 and 70 per cent of online new business enquiries should be coming from these directory listings. Anything less indicates that the business has low quality listings and is missing out on sales and employment enquiries.
The big three local directory platforms
Google has the largest audience via its search engine and maps app. Microsoft Bing has a strong B2B, government and healthcare audience. Apple has a high income audience predominantly using iPhone services such as Apple Maps and Siri. The services all look very similar and users often assume they are using Google when they are actually seeing information from Microsoft or Apple. Providers must manage all three – not just Google – which collectively account for 99 per cent-plus of the Australian search engine market.
Challenges with data
The data in the listings is more than just basic name, address and phone number information. Google has 65 data elements that need to be kept accurate, Bing 33 and Apple 40. The data supplied by the business is ‘enhanced’ by user suggestions. This means that the platforms may find outdated information from a website, and/or any member of the public may suggest an edit, adding misleading and incorrect information in the listing.
For example, the platforms may add categories and services to your listing that do not accurately represent what you do or what your services are. Even after you claim a listing and log in to check the contents, you may see a notification with the heading Updates. These updates have already been published live to the public; the platform is not asking for your approval to publish the change. You must revert the changes if they are incorrect or misleading. This requires providers to check their listings very regularly.
Challenges with reviews
Anyone with a Google account can write and publish a review on your Google listing. Listing owners cannot disable or remove reviews. Google will remove reviews that break their own content guidelines, however those guidelines are very narrow and don’t stop someone who has never even visited your business from leaving a review.
The solution: active management
Here are some steps to effectively manage your online directory listings:
1. Claim your listings
Start by creating an account and claiming your listings on the following three platforms:
- Google Business Profile > business.google.com
- Microsoft Bing Places for Business > bingplaces.com
- Apple Business Connect > businessconnect.apple.com
2. Check and update data
Ensure that the data accurately represents your business. Be authentic and complete every data field. Don’t try to experiment by changing data frequently to see if it boosts your listing above your competitors; your listing will be demoted as spam forever. If ranking above your competitors is important to you, consider the search engine optimisation guidelines set out by each platform. Continue to frequently check your listings for accuracy, ensuring that the platforms or the public have not made incorrect edits to your data.
3. Focus on reviews and ratings
Reviews and ratings are important for two reasons.
Firstly, a high star rating engenders trust in a provider. A Harvard Business School paper revealed that consumer trust declines significantly when a listing has a rating below 4.3 stars.
Secondly, listings that have been accurately completed are treated as equal in terms of ranking importance. The sole signal that Google uses to determine how to rank the listings is the number and quality of user reviews that a listing has. The listing with the most high-quality reviews appears at the top of the search results.
If appropriate, you should ask for reviews; Google encourages this. Respond to all Google reviews with an acknowledgment. Flag all inappropriate reviews with Google and be prepared to follow-up with their customer service team if their automated system does not remove a review that breaks their content guidelines.
Don’t be concerned that a competitor has far more reviews than you. One of the quality factors is the recency of a review; a new review will count towards ranking far more than a review from a year ago. This is why it is important to encourage a consistent flow of new reviews.
Microsoft Bing does not have reviews, so no action is required. Apple has simple ratings buttons where users can thumbs up (or down) a listing. Users should be encouraged to thumbs up the listing as Apple uses this data for ranking in a similar way to Google.
“The ACCC defines local directory listings as advertising and therefore providers may be in breach of the Australian Consumer Law if their listings are incorrect.”
Ongoing compliance
The responsibility falls on providers to regularly check their local business listings and correct them as necessary. The ACCC defines these listings as advertising and therefore providers may be in breach of the Australian Consumer Law if their listings are incorrect. If it is impractical to frequently monitor your listings, consider outsourcing the management of your listing. This is possible by giving a manager access to your listings via the settings tab of each listing. You continue to own the listings, and the manager can be replaced or removed by you at any time.
AI and the evolution of aged care listings
All three major platforms have begun to evolve from being simple search engines to becoming recommendation engines. Powered by AI, these platforms aim to deliver a simple, perfectly correct answer to a user in response to a query, without providing a list of websites to browse. To date:
- Google upgraded the search engine experience to what it calls AI Overviews (AIOs) in November 2024
- Apple released its Apple Intelligence features to Australian users in an iOS update in February 2025
- Microsoft has aggressively been adding Copilot features to all of its products in the last few months.
The platforms regard the information contained in their own business listings as significantly superior to information published on websites. This includes the user-generated content parts of the listings. Notably, the words that reviewers have used, which are often ill-thought-out, will play a significant role in shaping the perception of your business.
As search engines transition into recommendation engines, the need for keeping listing information accurate becomes paramount. This proactive approach not only helps maintain professional standards but also enhances the customer experience.
Carl Jones is a product specialist at Local Manager
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