10 Crucial Steps for Increasing Google Maps Ranking

You’re looking for a place to eat in a strange neighborhood, or you need a technician to fix a sudden flat tire. How do you search? You are not alone if you said Google Maps.

Nowadays, a lot of us use Google Maps to find nearby companies and make wiser purchasing decisions. So how can local companies get more visibility in the marketplace where customers are increasingly looking to buy goods and services locally?

The following ten actions can help you rank highly, increase traffic, and attract more clients using Google Maps. So, keep reading this priceless guide provided by us.

Key steps to Ranking Higher in Google Maps

1. Create a Google Business Profile and Fill it Out

Claiming and improving your Google Business Profile (GBP, formerly known as Google My Business or GMB) is the first and most important step for increasing Google Maps ranking.

You may accomplish this by simply conducting a Google or Google Maps search for your company name and, if you haven’t previously, validating your listing.

You may now change a listing after you have one and are in your Google account, even from within the search results themselves.

Due to GMB’s status as a Google property, it acts as your company’s primary point of contact with Google, and the data presented here is taken as current and correct.

More on the significance of this information will be discussed shortly. Google will compare these specifics with those it discovers on your website and in other local directories and resources.

2. Share Links to Content (Including Photos)

You’ve only completed a portion of your task after you’ve claimed your GMB listing.

It’s crucial to submit frequent updates to your GMB page because Google rewards active companies by increasing Google Maps ranking. Special offers, hosted events, links to pertinent blog entries, and general business updates are all examples of updates that can and should be made.

Whatever you can, use images in your posts because they are more likely to increase reader engagement in terms of shares or clicks.

Links to your website’s key product or service pages are ideally included in your postings as well.

3. Make your Website More Visible in Local Organic Search

Make sure your web presence, including your website and external material, is optimized for your local audience if you want for increasing Google Maps ranking.

As these are the three main building blocks around which a presence is created, you may start by carrying out a local SEO (Local Search Engine Optimization) Audit to see where you need to focus your efforts on a keyword, content, and linking viewpoint.

Your website must be properly designed so that Google can easily crawl and index your content, and the content on your site must be full of relevant keywords, regionally relevant, intent-driven keywords, and logical internal and external links to the solutions your audience is looking for.

Websites that direct users to answers in the fewest number of clicks are rewarded by Google. Regardless of the device, websites must load swiftly and offer seamless navigation.

Due to the fact that more and more people begin their local searches on their phones, this is crucial.

4. Employ a Local Business Strategy

Google and other search engines prefer standardization when it comes t information architecture, especially when it comes to business facts. This preference has resulted in the creation of a schema.

To make their material easier for Google to crawl and index, businesses can use local schema. Many of the same company information included in a Google Business Profile is covered by the local business schema, which Google will naturally cross-reference.

Your business is more likely for appearing prominently and increasing Google Maps ranking; the simpler it is for Google to verify your location.

5. Integrate a Google Map into your Contact Page

Although it’s not stated explicitly, it’s reasonable to assume that Google prefers this format and that having a Google Map embedded in your website will affect how increasing Google Maps ranking.

In this instance as well, Google is able to guarantee a consistent user experience for its searches, which should also be the goal of any company looking to please its clients.

6. Mind your Reviews and Mine

Any company can create a GBP listing, make sure its fundamental company information is current, and post a ton of pertinent, local content.

Customer reviews, on the other hand, play a crucial role in determining whether and where a local business appears on Google Maps.

Google pays close attention to how many reviews your company receives as well as how responsive it is to those reviews, whether they are favorable or unfavorable.

Any company naturally wants to reduce the number of bad reviews it gets, and all bad reviews should be quickly addressed. This could end up being a useful way to demonstrate your company’s dedication to customer service.

Although there are other online review platforms, such as Facebook, Yelp, and other niche review portals, reviews on GMB profiles will be given more weight when it comes to Google Map rankings.

Soon after you’ve successfully delivered a product or service when a hopefully favorable experience is still fresh in their consumer’s minds, think about proactively asking them for evaluations.

Once specific online or offline client activities have been accomplished (such as an appointment completed or an invoice paid), services are available to help automate review requests (through email or text) and review management across numerous sources through a central dashboard.

Automating the process can free up a lot of time for busy local businesses while ensuring a steady stream of favorable evaluations.

7. Update Your NAP with Local Listings and Citations

Your name, Address, and Phone Number, or NAP, are the three most crucial pieces of navigational information on your GMB, website, and throughout the internet.

Your NAP needs to be precise and consistent across all of these sources in order to be effective for Google and your audience.

Citations are another name for these mentions of your company that appear on outside websites. You may start by simply Googling your company name and noting all the locations where your company details can be accessible to identify and confirm that your NAP is up to date.

Check each occurrence for updates, and then get in touch with each directory or website owner as necessary.

There are automatic local services that you can use to find and update your NAP as well as other crucial business details like your website URL, services, or even pertinent photographs from a single spot. These SEO services are both free and paid.

8. Create Regional Backlinks

Inbound links, also known as backlinks, are essentially an extension of our NAP strategy, which calls for you to seek out relevant links from nearby third-party websites to your main website pages.

Backlinks can support your company both locally and in terms of goods and services. If local directions offer category options, you should make sure that any listings you maintain with links are in the appropriate categories.

These links should ideally be “follow” links so that Google can follow them and understand where the information on your website is coming from.

The majority of directories charge for inclusion since they recognize the significance of “follow” links, but you should also look for chances to obtain links from other non-paid sources, such as sites of relevant partners, businesses, or service organizations.

9. Participate in Your Community

In the same way that Google rewards GMB activities, it also takes into account a company’s community involvement as a way to create its local presence and authority.

Businesses are automatically considered to be a thriving part of the community if they are involved with neighborhood service organizations (such as Chambers of Commerce. charities, or sports leagues). sponsor neighborhood events, or collaborate with other well-known local businesses.

Aside from physically participating, engagement can also involve posting and promoting associated information, such as event notifications, partner pages linked to these partner organizations, and, of course, getting mentioned in local news articles or other media.

10. Pay Attention to the Long Tail and the SERPs

If you plan o optimize any area of your local web presence, you should keep track of your progress by checking your position in Google Maps, know if you’re really increasing your Google Maps ranking, and highlight the standard search engine results pages (SERPs) for the keywords you wish to appear for.

You can use a variety of rank tracking apps, many of which let you specifically filter out Map ranks, or you can conduct your own manual Google searches (ideally in Incognito Mode and while not logged into a Google account).