The launch strategy that turned manual chaos into automated discovery across every platform customer actually use.
I had a problem that kept getting worse every single month.
InstaVolt was launching 15-20 new rapid charging sites monthly across the UK and Europe. Every single one had to be manually added to Google My Business. Just Google. Nothing else.
Meanwhile, drivers were searching on Apple Maps, asking Siri, using Waze, checking their car's built-in satnav - and we simply didn't exist there. We had 800+ live chargers that were invisible to half our potential customers.
Manual updates couldn't scale. We were drowning. And every invisible charger was a lost customer at the exact moment they needed us most.
InstaVolt was launching 15-20 new rapid charging sites monthly across the UK and Europe. Every single one had to be manually added to Google My Business. Just Google. Nothing else.
Meanwhile, drivers were searching on Apple Maps, asking Siri, using Waze, checking their car's built-in satnav - and we simply didn't exist there. We had 800+ live chargers that were invisible to half our potential customers.
Manual updates couldn't scale. We were drowning. And every invisible charger was a lost customer at the exact moment they needed us most.
IF YOUR CUSTOMERS CAN'T FIND YOUR LOCATIONS WHEN THEY NEED THEM, YOU DON'T EXIST. PRODUCT QUALITY IS IRRELEVANT.
HOW I TURNED 800+ MANUALLY-MANAGED LOCATIONS INTO ONE AUTOMATED SYSTEM
The solution wasn't just "use a platform" - it was convincing leadership that automated location management was worth the investment, then executing a migration that could have destroyed months of work if it went wrong.
Here's what I did:
Then it nearly fell apart.
Midway through migration, we spotted location data getting scrambled. Addresses pointing to completely wrong places - sometimes miles away. We spent a weekend manually checking every single record, fixing the errors before a single customer got misdirected.
That's when I learned: migrate in small batches. Test each one. Finding mistakes in 50 locations is manageable. Finding them in 800 is a nightmare.
Here's what I did:
- Built the business case: Quantified the revenue leak from invisible locations and competitor advantage. Made it impossible to say no to the budget.
- Chose Yext strategically: Not just for Google - for Apple Maps, Waze, Alexa, Siri, in-car satnav systems, and 60+ directories. One update, everywhere.
- Designed the data structure: Created a unified template that ensured every new site launched with complete, consistent metadata - addresses, amenities, hours, categories.
- Managed a high-risk migration: 800+ existing locations with years of reviews, optimisation, and local data. Lose that, and we'd be starting from scratch.
- Integrated it properly: Worked with Product and IT to make this the single source of truth for all location data, not another disconnected system.
- Added reputation management: Set up structured review workflows so we could respond to customer feedback across 800+ sites within target timeframes.
Then it nearly fell apart.
Midway through migration, we spotted location data getting scrambled. Addresses pointing to completely wrong places - sometimes miles away. We spent a weekend manually checking every single record, fixing the errors before a single customer got misdirected.
That's when I learned: migrate in small batches. Test each one. Finding mistakes in 50 locations is manageable. Finding them in 800 is a nightmare.
IMPACT (THE NUMBERS THAT MATTERED)
- 85% increase in Google Search visibility across the network
- 69% increase in unbranded search terms ("EV charging near me")
- 610,000+ user actions on listings (including 547,000+ direction requests)
- 8% improvement in average review rating
- 100% of customer reviews responded to within target timeframes across 750+ sites
- Sites following the new template consistently outperformed non-standardised locations in both visibility and engagement
69%
Increase in unbranded search
800+
Locations automated
610K
User actions generated
Why it matters
Visibility isn't a marketing nice-to-have when you're in location-based infrastructure. It's the difference between existing and not existing at the point of purchase.
I didn't just implement a tool. I made a strategic bet that automated, multi-platform discovery would pay for itself in captured demand - and then I executed a migration that could have destroyed our existing presence if done wrong.
The system is now repeatable, scalable, and ready for expansion into new markets. Every new site launches everywhere, automatically. And drivers can finally find InstaVolt EV charger wherever they're looking.
I didn't just implement a tool. I made a strategic bet that automated, multi-platform discovery would pay for itself in captured demand - and then I executed a migration that could have destroyed our existing presence if done wrong.
The system is now repeatable, scalable, and ready for expansion into new markets. Every new site launches everywhere, automatically. And drivers can finally find InstaVolt EV charger wherever they're looking.