Here are seven mind-blowing mobile stats that explain why you must bridge the gap into the mobile Maps world :

• Around 90 percent of all global sales will happen in stores, as opposed to online.
• Nearly a third of mobile searches are related to location.
• Location-related searches have been growing 50 percent faster than mobile searches overall in the past year.
• Over a billion people now use Maps.
• Google searches (on Google.com and Maps) guide consumers to 1.5 billion destinations every year.
• 84 percent of consumers conduct local searches.
• Three out of every four people who search for something nearby using their smartphone end up visiting a store within a day, and 28 percent of those searches result in a purchase.

Starting today, you'll see an updated Google Maps app for Android and iOS that gives you everything you need at your fingertips with five easy-to-access tabs: Explore, Commute, Saved, Contribute and Updates," shared Google in their blog post.

Here's a lowdown on the various new and upgraded features as Google celebrates 15 years of Google Maps:

• Explore tab: The Explore Tab offers reviews and details regarding restaurants, shops, theaters and other venues, taking advantage of location-sensing capabilities in your Android and iOS smartphones.

Businesses with retail presence will now get enhanced business profile information  on Google Maps via the Google Business Listing features. Having a verified business profile helps greatly in being noticed in the Google Maps outlay. And with regular posts on offers and events occuring in the business retail locations by business with photos and reviews by their consumers will enable more visibility to them.

• Commute tab: This tab will make sure to provide efficient routes to or from work whether people are driving or using public transit. It will also set up your daily commute to get real-time traffic updates, travel times and suggestions for alternative routes.

Business and Corporate must have a verified profile on the Google Business listings with complete NAP (Name Address Phone Number) in the listing.  And for every search by a commuter to the same building or block of the business area will ensure more visibility to the brand. With many cab ride commuters, car pooling apps using Google Maps info in their apps, the businesses pinned in Google Maps will get enhanced visibility in the maps info shown to their users too.

• Saved: Saved tab will give the user access to more than 6.5 billion places saved by Google Maps users. One can also share recommendations of the places that you have been with others.
  
  This is more useful for businesses that are in the entertainment, dining and group gathering and literary or performing arts domain. Businesses must ensure that more of their visitors recommend their venues for the above domains on their online profiles in the popular platforms relevant to Search engines with ratings and reviews. This will enhance visibility to the businesses.

• Contribute: The new Google Maps look introduces a "Contribute" tab to a menu at the bottom of the service's mobile app, Google said in a blog post. With the new Contribute tab, you can easily share local knowledge, such as details about roads and addresses, missing places, photos etc to help others looking for recommendations.
  
  The contribute section enables a searcher on Google Maps to upload photos of the business or venue along with a central repository of the users engagement with Google maps, google local, google business etc. i.e. ratings, reviews, edits etc. A business must ensure that their users have a good customer experience in their outlets and encourage them to publish the same online. And engage with influencers to ensure timely ratings for their new products, new events and special occasions.

• Updates: This is another useful tab that will help you in being up to date with the trending spots around you. In addition to discovering, saving and sharing recommendations with your network, you can also directly chat with businesses to get questions answered, adds Google.
  
  Here businesses get to engage with the their users for any queries they have on their brand experience or product query etc. So it is important to have a messaging option open and manned for replies on Google Maps.

Google has more than one billion monthly active users for its app, and has mapped more than 220 countries and territories and is an unmissable platform for businesses to promote their presence.