WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO OPTIMIZE LOCAL BUSINESS LISTING AND RANK HIGH ON GOOGLE MAPS
It’s worth noting that the vast majority of people, who use Google Maps, have local intent. They are ready to deal with local businesses and purchase their products or services.
All of this means that you’ll get high amounts of targeted traffic to your local business website if you optimize its pages for local keywords.
You have to take two steps to promote your local business on Google Maps:
- Initially, you have to find local keywords that are relevant to your business.
- After that, you have to optimize your Google Maps business listing for keywords that you target.
Without a doubt, the visibility of your local business will increase if your site ranks high and is displayed in the top three Google Maps listings (also known as “local 3-pack”).
There are two different types of searches used in Google Maps. These include direct searches as well as discovery searches.
- About 84% of Google Maps searches are direct searches
- About 16% of Google Maps searches are discovery searches
It goes without saying that a local business has to be found on Google Maps. That’s why you need to put a special focus on Google Maps optimization.
Google Maps business listing optimization has to be a key part of a local SEO strategy.
As a local business owner, you should aim to improve your Google Maps rankings for target keywords and try to attract more targeted search traffic to your local business.
Today, we’ll provide you with insights into Google Maps optimization and provide you with easy and actionable tips that work.
HOW TO IMPROVE LOCAL BUSINESS RANKINGS ON GOOGLE MAPS
Getting the top 3 rankings in Google Maps has become the main objective for so many local and small businesses today.
1) First and foremost, you have to add your business to Google Maps.
2) Next, you should do every single thing possible to optimize Google Maps business listing for better results.
Keep in mind that it’s possible to improve Google Maps rankings of a local business for target keywords in a number of different ways.
You have to do on-listing and off-listing optimizations for a local business. Below, we’ll provide you with the tips that you need to follow to rank higher on Google Maps.
TIP #1: ADD LONG TAIL KEYWORD PHRASES AND LOCATION-BASED KEYWORDS TO YOUR LIST OF KEYWORDS
The reality is, local SEO is very similar to traditional SEO. A local SEO strategy always begins with keyword research. You have to pick local target keywords that you consumers use to find your products and services in local search.
What type of keywords do you have to target on Google Maps? When picking keywords for a local SEO you have to be very selective.
You have to take into account the following factors:
- Relevancy of target keywords
- Amount of local search traffic generated by keywords
- Level of keyword’s completion
Obviously, you should aim to target low competition keywords that can drive high amounts of local search traffic to your business.
Keywords that you are going to target have to be relevant to your products and services. Such keywords will allow you to attract targeted traffic to your local business. With these types of keywords, you will target people, who have an interest in your products or services.
On the other hand, it makes no sense to target general keywords. The reality is, such keywords are highly competitive. So, you may find it difficult to rank high for these keywords in Google Maps.
I would recommend you to keep a focus on long-tail local keywords and location-based keywords for two reasons.
1) These types of keywords are less competitive comparing to general keywords.
2) It’s also important to note that such keywords have high conversion rates.
On top of that, I would advise you to diversify your keyword list and add local keyword phrases that contain words like “nearby”, “near me” to it.
TIP # 2: OPTIMIZE YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS SITE FOR KEYWORDS THAT YOU TARGET
When the list of local keywords is ready, it’s time to do local on-page SEO optimization. The main objective of this work is to make your site’s pages relevant to the keywords that you target. Optimize your local business site’s pages for local keywords.
Make sure that the content on your site’s homepage, service pages or product pages, about page as well as contact page has been optimized for location keywords that you target.
The primary target keywords have to be included in the titles of the site’s web pages. The body text as well as URLs, headings, and image text on web pages have to be optimized for target keywords.
TIP # 3: MAKE SURE THAT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS WEBSITE IS MOBILE FRIENDLY
Today, it’s incredibly important to have a mobile-friendly website for a local business. It’s fair to say that mobile optimization plays a very important role in a local SEO strategy.
A mobile-friendly site is not a trend anymore, it has already become a necessity. The reality is, the vast majority of people choose to perform local searches on Google Maps via their mobile devices.
If your site is not mobile-friendly, then your local business will lose a high amount of local search traffic, potential customers as well as sales. Your Google Maps search traffic will not convert. It would be better to take advantage of responsive design to prevent these kinds of things from happening.
TIP # 4: IMPLEMENT GOOGLE MAPS INTO YOUR SITE’S CONTACT PAGE
As you probably have noticed, so many local business owners choose to integrate their sites with Google Maps. And of course, they choose to do this for obvious reasons.
- If you integrate your local business site with Google Maps, then your prospects will be able to see your location. So, they will find it easy to figure out where your business is located. Google Maps will help your potential clients find your local business quickly.
- Adding Google Maps to the site’s contact page contributes greatly to the site’s user experience and helps improve local SEO. Today’s SEO is all about providing site users with a great experience. That means that you should aim to improve your site’s user experience in order to improve your local SEO.
It’s pretty easy to add Google Maps to the site’s contact page. Initially, you have to find your local business on Google Maps. Use the name of your local business to perform the search.
Once your local business has been found on Google Maps, take advantage of the Share button. Then, you will be able to copy the link that will make it possible for you to add Google Maps to your site’s contact page.
All that you have to do is to copy and paste this link. By doing so, you will be able to integrate your Google Maps location into the site’s contact page. It’s also important to note that the process of adding Google Maps to a local business site’s contact page is simple and doesn’t take too much time.
TIP # 5: GET POSITIVE REVIEWS FOR YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS ON GOOGLE MAPS
The success of a local SEO depends a lot on customer reviews that people choose to leave about your local business on Google Maps. If you would like to rank high on Google Maps for local keywords, then you have to build a good reputation for your business on the local market.
It’s also important to know that people tend to check customer reviews of local businesses on Google Maps before making a final choice. And of course, they give a preference to those local businesses that have built a solid reputation on the market.
If your local business has good feedbacks, then people would be happy to contact you in order to buy your products or services. If people find that your local business has bad reviews, then they will most likely go to your competitors.
That means that you aim to get as many positive reviews for your business on Google Maps as it’s possible. On the other hand, you should avoid getting negative reviews.
So, the question is – what needs to be done to get lots of positive reviews and establish a good reputation on Google Maps? Let’s try to dig deeper into this topic and try to come up with the answer.
Good product/service quality. People would be happy to leave a positive review of your business on Google Maps if you provide them with high-quality product/service quality. So, you should always do every single thing possible to improve the quality of your product/services. This always results in good customer reviews.
Good customer service. Your clients would be happy to leave positive feedback about your local business on Google Maps if they like your customer service.
As a local business owner, you should aim to provide your customers with fast-operating and effective customer support. Your prospects may have questions about your products or services. And of course, you should clarify all these questions.
Oftentimes, people find it difficult to make a smart choice. So, the job of your customer support is to analyze the client’s needs and budget carefully and advise him/her appropriate solutions. It would be better to recommend a potential client a product or service that meets his/her needs and budget in the best possible way.
Educate your clients about your products or services. You should teach your clients how to get the most out of your products or services. Explain to your customers how they can use your products or services to resolve their problems.
Bear in mind that your customers may experience some difficulties from time to time. Support them in the best possible way if such a need arises. If your customers have some problems with your products or services, then, of course, you should try your best to resolve these problems quickly and efficiently. You’ll get a lot of positive reviews on Google Maps if you show your customers that you are serious about your local business.
Another important thing that you need to be aware of is that the success of a local business depends a lot on the way you communicate with clients. There is a direct link between communication and business success.
It’s crucial for you to be patient and communicate with your clients in a good manner. There is no doubt that good communication will result in positive reviews on Google Maps. These reviews will have a profound positive impact on your online reputation, improve your local SEO, and contribute greatly to the success of your local business.
Ask your happy clients to leave a review of your local business on Google Maps. Traditionally, people leave bad reviews about local businesses if they are not happy with something. And of course, bad reviews negatively affect the online reputation of businesses.
However, people rarely choose to leave positive reviews. So, you are unlikely to get positive reviews for your local business if you don’t ask your happy customers to do so.
You should always ask a client to leave a review of your company on Google Maps if you find that he/she is happy about your business. This is the way you can get a lot of positive reviews for your local business on Google Maps and improve your online reputation.
Reply to customer reviews quickly. Local business owners can reply to reviews that their customers leave on Google Maps.
After someone leaves a review of your local business on Google Maps, you should react to it as soon as possible. By doing so, you will be able to show that your customers are important to you.
If you reply to reviews on Google Maps, then people will see that you are serious about your business. As a result, you will be able to gain the trust of your customers.
TIP #6: PUBLISH POSTS ON GOOGLE MAPS
Publishing posts on Google Maps business listing positively affects local SEO. I would also recommend local business owners to publish posts on Google Maps on a regular basis. By doing so, you will make it clear for the search engine that your Google Maps business listing is actively managed. And of course, this will have a profound positive impact on your Google Maps search engine rankings.
The more frequently you update your business listing – the higher your local business will rank in Google Maps. So, take this important aspect seriously.
It’s a good idea to publish something relevant to your business listing on Google Maps. Provide the content that your prospects find it interesting to read. You can publish some kind of news related to your industry, information on deals, specials and discounts, new product lunch, etc. Publishing this type of content will make it possible for you to attract the target audience to your business and improve your local SEO.
TIP #7: BUILD LOCAL CITATIONS AS WELL AS LOCAL LINKS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Local citations as well as local links can help you improve Google Maps rankings for your local business.
Building local citations. Building local citations is something that needs to be done to improve local SEO. It’s also important to know that local citations have a huge positive impact on Google Maps rankings.
Local citations are mentions of your business on the internet. There are different types of local citations. These include:
- mention of the business name
- mention of the brand name
- mention of the website name
- mention of the business address
- mention of the business phone number
If you are not sure what kind of citations your company has, get a free citation report by clicking here.
In fact, there are many different ways to build local citations for a business. Every citation will make a contribution to your local SEO and improve your Google Maps rankings for your business.
– You will find it easy to build a lot of local citations on local web directories such as Yelp and others.
– Also, you’ll be able to get some local citations for your local business from social media sites like Facebook, etc.
– Plus, you should focus on building citations from local news sites.
When selecting sites for building local citations, you should take into consideration several important factors.
- You should aim to build citations on local sites.
- You should aim to build citations on popular sites.
- You should aim to build citations on sites that are relevant to your local business.
Local citations play a very important role in Google Maps rankings. The more citations your local business has – the better chances you have to achieve top rankings for your local business on Google Maps for target keywords.
Building local links. Links from local sites can become a traffic source to your local business website. But most importantly, local links are a key factor in improving local SEO. That’s the reason why you need to put special focus on this important aspect.
However, the quality of links matters a lot for local SEO. The reality is, only high-quality natural links will have a positive impact on Google Maps rankings.
You must be very selective when it comes to picking a platform for building local links. You have to do your best to get high-quality local backlinks that will allow you to improve your Google Maps rankings.
So, what type of backlinks does your local business need to improve Google Maps rankings? You should aim to build links from popular local sites that are relevant to your business.
And of course, your local backlinks should always look natural. You shouldn’t build all your local links for the homepage. It makes sense to diversify a link building strategy and develop links for different pages of your local business site. Pick the natural anchors for your local links. So, it would be better to get the local links with anchors like business name, site name, site URL, etc.
On top of that, I would recommend you to give a preference to natural link building methods such as guest posting, broken link building, forum posting, etc.
You can also take advantage of the so-called Skyscraper technique to get links for your site in a natural way. This technique is all about finding linkable content and creating better and longer content. If you manage to find a blog post with high amounts of backlinks, you can use it as a starting point.
Let’s your blog post is ready. Now, you have to contact the owners of local sites and local blogs, who have linked to the content which you’ve used as an example, and recommend them to provide a link to your blog post. I believe that a lot of site owners will agree to provide a link to your content. As a result, you’ll get a lot of local links for your site naturally.
This is the way that so many people choose to use to get a lot of links for their sites naturally. That’s why Skyscraper content marketing technique has become so popular among link builders these days.
Actually, the list of natural link building methods could go on and on. If you build local links naturally, you will be able to avoid search engine penalties. But most importantly, you’ll manage to improve your Google Maps rankings as well as local SEO.
Conclusions
We’ve just provided the local SEO tips that you need to follow to improve your Google Maps rankings and take your business to the next level.
However, improving Google Maps rankings can be hard if you don’t have experience in doing local SEO. It’s also important to note that improving Google Maps is a time-consuming process.
If you don’t have time to do local SEO on your own or simply don’t know how to do this, it would be better to leave this task to real professionals and focus on running your own local business.
If you would like to improve Google Maps rankings for your local business, contact us today. At Finepoint Design, we have experience in doing local SEO and online marketing for different types of businesses. Our local SEO experts will provide you with a free service quote!