Google dominates the search engine field with a market share of over 92% of searches.
If a business wants to succeed, they need to rank well on Google. For a company, that is brick and mortar. One of the most important things is their Google maps ranking. When someone searches for something near them, like “lawyer near me,” their business shows up.
The same holds true for any company that relies on local customers for business.
Local SEO
In order to rank higher on Google maps, a business has to focus on local SEO. This is different than on-page or technical SEO. Local SEO focuses on helping businesses show up higher in the map pack results, as well as on general searches for services and products in a given area.
One element that makes local searches so valuable is that Google bundles a great deal of information about a business. Reviews, pictures, and website links all go through Google maps. For a lot of businesses, their Google business profile is as essential as having a website.
Local Appeal
Ranking on Google maps has a lot to do with authority and brand exposure. The more often a business is searched for in that area, the more important it appears to be to the algorithm. Citations and other aspects of SEO that have lost prominence are still very important for local SEO.
No matter what product or service you provide, customers will search for it before deciding where to go. This gives a key chance to get over on competitors, who may not show up at the top of a search list. The one limiting characteristic of local searches is proximity.
Finding a Business
Google maps rank determines how often you show up and how high on the list, but it also helps people find your business. As long as you have claimed your business location, a marker will appear. When a potential customer highlights that marker, it will highlight your Google business profile.
Google maps are also used by most people to get directions. As long as Google knows where your business is, it will serve to help guide people to you. The higher you rank, the more interest in your business you can gain. This leads to more people finding your business.
Does It Matter?
For a business that relies on in-person sales, Google maps ranking is vital. Of all the people who search the internet on their smartphones, 30% of them are location-driven searches. That means a vast number of people will see your business.
Most people who search for local businesses online will visit that business within a day. This is a massive opportunity for lead generation and sales to be made. Google map rankings can establish a business as a local leader in the field. With local rankings, you only compete against the local area.
How to Rank on Google Maps
Now that you know the benefits of ranking, you might be left wondering how. There are a variety of strategies that you can employ in order to improve your rankings.
We’ll cover a couple of the easiest, but for maximum impact, you’ll need to work out a cohesive, inclusive local SEO strategy:
- Community involvement
- Citations
- Reviews
- Pictures
- Content
Some of these you may not have thought had anything to do with SEO, but local SEO is entirely different.
Community Involvement
Be active in the community to spread awareness about your company or brand. Sponsor teams and involve yourself in any way that could get mentioned. Local backlinks are worth their weight in gold when it comes to local SEO.
Citations
For Google to recommend your business, it has to know where your business is. The most crucial thing in this regard is that every mention of your business’ name, address, and phone number is consistent. If one citation says one thing and another something different, it can confuse the algorithm.
Reviews
It is imperative to promote and remind customers and clients to leave a review. Contrary to popular belief, having all 5-star reviews isn’t the best thing either. You want a variety of reviews, with the average falling somewhere between 4 and 4.5.
If every review is a 5-star rating, then it seems unnatural and fake.
Pictures
Having current pictures draws attention to the Google business profile. The nice thing about the way Google works is that it allows anyone to post a pic. If you’re going to post your own, make sure that they are as professional as possible.
Customers will post pictures, particularly if you have anything of interest. This could be a fixture that draws a lot of attention or an architectural oddity about the building. Even if none of that applies, some clients will take pictures of where they are because that is what they do.
Content
It is essential to generate content for your business. Instead of focusing solely on having the best answer to every possible question, consider your local area. The blog content you put out should tie you to the local area and what is going on there.
This means posts about celebrations, special holidays, events, and other community-driven things. At worst, you’ll draw in people interested in the local community, and that’s not bad at all. At best, you’ll show Google that you have a great connection to the local community, which adds authority.
Google Maps Ranking
What was presented here is only the beginning. These are steps you can take so that your business will rate higher on the local search list. You always want to be on the top, but the same strategy to get you on top of the map pack may not be the same as the one that will drive more organic traffic.
It can be complicated once you start breaking down how Google maps ranking works. If you find yourself in need of consultations and strategies, don’t hesitate to contact us. We can put a strategy together that works for any business.
