Using Google My Maps for Article Promotion: Localism and Travel

Making your own maps with Google My Maps can help drive traffic to your content, especially when people are searching in Google Maps or Google Earth.

The My Maps service by Google is a useful and hands-on tool that can be used to promote any article about travel, local businesses, events, local news, people, or local reviews.

The My Maps service by Google enables anyone to make a public map that is searchable through Google Maps, Google, and Google Earth.

When you make a public map with Google My Maps, you can add photos, rich text, and hyperlinks. The more details and original information and images you can add to the Google map, the more useful it will be to travelers, tourists and even to locals.

Still not convinced?

Let's make a map using Google My Maps.

Preparation Before Using Google My Maps for Article Promotion

1. Make Notes

Open any word or text document where you can store web site links to your article links, video links, slide show links, and photo links. Keep it open through this process.

2. Finding Local Topics

Browse through your content and select a topic that lends itself to map. The most obvious choices are travel, or any local article. You may also find a way to make a map related to your local news, or even national news.

You can either collect the URLs you will be using and store them in one document on the web or on your desktop, or just go to the source when creating the map. The great thing about Google My Maps is that you can re-edit and add new or different content at anytime.

The map is not static, it is dynamic. If you write about the same location again, or forgot something, you can go back and add it later.

Also, by checking what you have first, you may decide to make one or more maps for neighboring towns. People tend to look for maps and travel information for specific cities or towns or zip codes, so it makes sense to make more than one map for neighboring towns or even for different neighborhoods.

Copy and paste the article links, video links, or slideshow links onto the text document. You will need them later.

3. Select Photos

Before you begin, also add any photos you will be using to an online photo site. The only photos that can be added to Google My Maps are photos which are hosted online. Google recommends using Google PicasaWeb, although any reliable online photo site will work.

Copy the URL of the photo itself (not the web page) into the text document, with your other links. Keep the document open.

Using Google My Maps for Article Promotion: Localism and Travel

1. Go to Google Maps google.maps.com

2. Click on My Maps (next to Search results on the left hand side).

3. Select Create a New Map. For my first map at Google My Maps I selected Rockport, Massachusetts. I only have one article about Rockport, but I know I have a lot of photos, and one slideshow. With only a couple of items, and some original photos, I can create a dynamic and useful map for anyone looking for information about visiting Rockport, Massachusetts.

4. Type in a searchable and descriptive title for your map. Also fill in a description (don't worry about it being perfect, you can edit it at any time). Keep it public, otherwise, nobody will find your map, which sort of defeats the whole purpose of using Google My Maps. Now save it.

5. The easiest way to get to a specific geographic location using My Maps by Google is to use the search box. Type in the city or town that relates to the article. I typed Rockport, Massachusetts.

(The other option is to use the hand icon to click on a location, and keep clicking until you have focused in on an area.)

6. Click on the Placemark and drag it to the location. This will be the focal point for the map.

7. Next, click on the Placemark you set to edit the text. Because my main article is about visiting Rockport, I will include the link the article here. Above the description box, choose from Plain text, Rich text, or HTML. The most useful feature to use is Rich text. With this option, bold words or change the color, add a link easily (not html needed), and a add a photo.

8. Adding a photo to the map you make at Google My Maps is important for a visitor. An original photo is best. Chances are if the map is showing a place where your live or a place you have visited, you may have an original photo somewhere.

9. Add local business or not to your map.

10. The key to using Google My Maps to increase pageviews, is to add enough details and photos to encourage the user to click on the links to your articles, slideshows and videos. Don't give it all away at Google My Maps or visitors will have no need to click on the links to your content.

11. Share your Maps Google My Maps

Click on the map you created. In the right hand corner of the map, click on Link to this page. The web site address for the map you created at Google My Maps will appear in the web address bar. Copy the URL. It will be really long, like this:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107077600694927704828.00000112a032785ea0405
&om=1&ll=42.689376,-70.615139&spn=0.10927,0.277405&z=12

Next go to one of these URL shorteners to make the address to the map more manageable.

Like this: http://readthisurl.com/rockport+visit

12. Include the map in a blog, as a related resource on future articles, or wherever you promote your local or travel content. The map you created on Google My Maps is also public, which means anyone searching for the the topic of your map in Google Maps and Earth will find your map, and the links to your content, increasing your pageviews.