Store Locator Plus® Updates: Easier Location Research, Editing, and Imports

Since the September 10 release, Store Locator Plus® has focused on making large location directories easier to build and manage. The updates span the hosted dashboard and the core and Power WordPress plugins, with a new research workflow for eligible SaaS accounts and a more consistent experience for editing and importing locations.

SaaS Updates

The Store Locator Plus® SaaS dashboard adds a Locations Research workflow for Enterprise accounts. Search for places by region and business category, review the results, and add selected places to their location list. Results already found in the account’s locations are marked, helping avoid duplicate additions. The results table supports paging through larger searches, up to 1,000 results per search; narrower searches can help when a region has more matches.

The hosted dashboard also received refinements to the way newly added research locations appear in the Locations List.

This uses the AWS Location Services Places API to search for locations to add to a directory.

WordPress Plugin Updates

The core WordPress plugin now uses a newer location editor integrated with the Manage Locations screen. The editor layout and field labels have been refined, including marker selection. The Locations List also gained improvements to filters, table controls, and bulk actions, making it easier to work through a large set of locations.

The Power add-on has a redesigned location import interface. CSV uploads and loading locations from WordPress are brought together under the Import tab. A Recent Uploads view lets administrators review previously uploaded CSV files, preview their contents, run an import from an existing upload, or remove a file they no longer need. Import feedback and performance have also been improved, particularly for larger jobs.

Admin and Interface Refinements

Across the Store Locator Plus® dashboard and WordPress admin screens, action buttons and layouts are more consistent. The Locations List refreshes after an import or after locations are added through Research, so new records are easier to find without manually reloading the page. The Contact Us form has clearer label and placeholder positioning, and location-list controls have been adjusted for better spacing and sizing.

Fixes and Stability Improvements

This round also addresses location-list filter behavior and an issue that could interrupt the Locations List script. Import processing received safeguards to keep jobs associated with the correct SaaS customer site. Behind the scenes, older location-management interface code was retired as the updated screens took its place.

What You Need To Do

SaaS customers do not need to install plugin packages; hosted dashboard updates are delivered through the service. Locations Research is intended for Enterprise accounts and requires location-administration access.

If you manage your own WordPress site, update the core Store Locator Plus® plugin and any active add-ons through your normal update process. Power users who regularly import locations should take a look at the revised Import tab and Recent Uploads view. As with any production update, test first on a staging site if you have custom location workflows or large import files.

Image by Marius from Pixabay

Location Sensor Can Help Visitors Find Your Store

Finding  Locations Near You

How important is it for people to find a location nearest them?  “Near Me” has been a top-ranked search term on Google for the past seven years. This may be the number one reason to use a location sensor.  Research indicates that the common phrases of “near me” in Google searches is a top-ranked query.   The phrase “handyman near me” might return a  cloud based app that in turn redirects  the users search to some  popular apps but how does your browser,  Google Maps or other platform know where you are?

Location Sensor

Enter location sensor, a browser-based tool that detects where a user is at the time of search.  On GPS-enabled mobile devices it returns the precise location using the device’s built-in GPS sensor.  For the Store Locator Plus users the location sensor can be enabled by checking a box under General Settings.   WordPress Plugin users will need the Power add on.   MySLP service users will need to be subscribed to the Power, Professional, or Enterprise plan.

Mobile App using location sensor
Location sensors in mobile apps can guide people to your store.

Using HTTPS Improves Sensor Performance

Google Chrome’s v 50 and higher ( the most popular browser with the largest market share  at this time)  requires site urls to be served over a secured site before it will allow the location of the user to be transmitted.  They have stated that location is sensitive data and determined that HTTPS versus HTTP  be  required to protect the privacy of your users’ location data.  Other popular browsers , such as Mozilla Firefox, may submit a pop-up box asking the user to grant permission for their location to be known.

In short, if your site is using the location sensor feature it must get an SSL certificate and be serving pages on an https address.   Many browser disable multiple features if you are not a secure site, including the location sensor.   It won’t be long before ALL browsers disable location sensor support if you are not hosting an https site.

Location Sensors Can Increase Sales

If you have a physical location that counts on people walking in the door to make a sale, adding Google Maps and employing the location sensor can have a notable impact on your walk-in traffic.    Your first step is to get an SSL certificate on your site so you can serve secure pages; This also helps boost your Google search rank.   Once you have that completed put Google Maps software that supports the locations sensor on your site.     Add a couple of posts to your site that relate to your business such as “Boutique Near Me” and drop the map code on that post.   It won’t happen overnight, but as your site starts to generate traffic the map will lead people to your store.

 

Have questions?   Contact us.

Top US Travel Cities In 2017

We’ve written articles on Google Search metrics and the Near Me phenomenon now that everyone is mobile. In the “Near Me article” we highlighted the fact that most people search for things near them when they travel. The most common “near me” search is restaurants. This is the companion article of our research on the top travel destinations in the US.

The Top US Travel Cities

Like golf, the lowest score wins. Add ranking of top 10 on all sites. If un-ranked on a site the default score is 15. Any entry must rank at least 10 or higher on one of our sampled sites to appear on the list. Destinations must be a city not a region.