How do Local Businesses Easily Rank on Google Maps?

86 % of Google users turn to Google Maps to locate local stores and businesses. 

We know it's pretty impressive!

 I you know it as a local business owner, you get it. Google Maps can help you connect with your potential customers. Actually, you can use Google Maps to drive local leads and conversions. 

But everything works with the right strategy. The same applies to making your business rank and visible on Google Maps. You have to optimize your online presence according to Google Maps ranking factors. 

Do you know those factors? Google ranks local searches based on relevance, distance, and prominence. 

Let's delve into further details about relevance, distance, and prominence. 

Relevance: Google matches business relevance to search intent by extracting your business information. Google gathers details across the web, including the website and Google My Business page.

 Distance: Distance is an uncontrollable factor. Google calculates the distance between the location terms mentioned in the search and your business location. Proximity plays a bigger role here. 

Prominence: Google accesses both a business's online and offline data and reflects on various prominence factors, including landmarks, local popularity, website performance on organic results, and domain authority. The aim is to deliver prominent customer results that align with their search intent.

Set Up and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Set up a Google business profile for your business. It’s a relevant factor for local searches on Google. It does not impact the Google map rank directly. But, a GBP profile helps you establish the prominence of your business to Google. Hence, a GBP profile is technically mandatory for Google Maps rank.  

How to set up a Google business profile?

Either claim it easily on Google Maps or directly sign from its official page. It will be more like filling out a form. But you have to fill out all details, including the non-mandatory field, to optimize the profile. Or you can get more insights from our blog on a guide to optimizing Google business.  

Verify Your Business GBP Profile

Verify your GBP profile with Google. Google allows four verification methods: postal card, phone or email verification, and instant verification on the Google search console. If the verification fails, your GBP account can be suspended. So, it’s important to verify your profile once you have completed the account setups.

Add Your Business To Google Map

Now, you are all set to add your business on Google Maps. Sign in to Google Maps. Type your address or business name in the search bar. Click on the left or anywhere on the right to add your business. Fill up all the details and send. Wait until you get an email confirmation of the review and verification.

Get Reviews To Improve Reputation

Make sure to get more ratings and reviews on Google. You can ask customers for reviews directly. Encourage them to share detailed feedback with pictures.  

Why Review Help Ranking On Google Maps?

Actually, reviews share an aligned goal with the Google Map ranking factor. Rating score and number of reviews establish business prominence through improving reputation. Talking about negative reviews, It establishes high relevance. People are talking about your brand-it does matter to establish trust signs.  

Use Local Keywords

Local keywords are another factor in Google's local ranking. They will make your business appear in local searches whenever people search with local intent.

How to use Local Keywords?

Optimize your location page on the website with local keywords. But do not push any keywords, as keyword stuffing can impact the rank. You can use local keywords in reviews. But they must look natural. You can encourage customers to leave reviews mentioning specific local service names. Tell them to say the product names in the feedback while sharing reviews. Another prudent way to use local keywords is to optimize listings with local terms. Opt for optimized descriptions, service lists, and complete details that boast precise location and niche-specific terms.

Build Backlinks From Relevant Sites

Backlinks impact Google map rank. Remember what we told you about the prominence factor? We know that a backlink reflects your site's prominence and establishes your site. A single high-value backlink can increase your website traffic and leave a positive impact on your organic rank.

Establish NAPW Consistency

NAPW stands for Name, Address, Phone number, and Website link. It summarizes the core details regarding your business's point of contact. In all local citations of your business, these details should be on the same page and consistent. Otherwise, people can doubt your credibility. Even Google bots give preference to consistent NAPW to improve local rank. In addition to the major sites like Facebook Business, Trip Advisors, Bing Business Place, or Yelp, take care of other non-popular listings. Make sure your business is listed with consistent details.

Add Google Maps On Your Website

Embed the Google map location on all location pages. To enhance prominence, you can also give direction or mention the distance of your business from the popular spots.

Add Local Schema

Use local schema to create structured data on your website. The local schema will help Google extract all the necessary details for your local services. Including:

• Location searches
• Phone number
• Business hours
• Distance
• Contact number, etc.

What’s Next?

Do you need some extra help ranking your local business on Google Maps? Our team can offer the same. When you are too busy handling your customers, we will manage all aspects of regional marketing with our personalized local SEO services. Contact us and book a free one-to-one consultation today!