A specialist digital service has launched a new feature to help estate agents show up in Google Maps search results, as part of boosting their wider online appearance on the platform.

GeoCale, founded by Ben Marley, aims to help businesses in the residential property sector to optimise their Google Business Profiles, making it easier for their Google Business Profile to be found on Google’s local and map searches.

Previously the commercial director at the ESTAS Group, Marley has spent over a decade in the residential property sector. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Rightmove and Feefo, where he was involved in online reviews for estate agents.

This new functionality aims to improve the agent’s ranking in local searches on Google for specific services or specific neighbouring areas that the agent wants Google to know they operate in.

The  ‘direct to Google’ API feature increases visibility for estate agents to keep their business profile more relevant in the Google algorithm with relevant search terms, ensuring they are seen by more people who are proactively looking for an agent in their area.

With almost 50% of searchers engaging with one of the top three businesses in Google Maps, Marley points out that appearing higher in search results can significantly increase valuation enquiries for estate agents from vendors who are actively searching.

He commented: “It’s a huge strategic leap for us, having invested significantly in the technology required to bring this transformative feature to our clients, but results so far have absolutely validated the investment that was required to develop this.”

“As more and more potential vendors rely on Google to search for agents in their area, being in the top three of Google Maps for local searches has never been more important. Our unique new API feature helps estate agents improve their visibility and make sure they’re reaching the right audience, ahead of their competitors. It really is a milestone innovation as far as our existing clients are concerned, and we believe that it will also create a huge point of differentiation and advantage for new agents we onboard to the service moving forwards.”

Markey added: “Everything we do is laser-focused on how we can improve our clients’ Google positions and rankings.  Today’s launch of our disruptive, direct-to-Google API demonstrates our promise to the industry of a new and better way to optimise websites for best performance.”