With more and more people using voice search to find local businesses, Google Maps website ranking has become one of the most important skills for local SEOs. Appearing in the Google 3-pack results can dramatically increase customer traffic to your business and drive online conversions. Moreover, being listed on Google Maps will also help you in gaining visibility on organic search engine results pages (SERPs) as well.
The most significant factors in Google Maps website ranking are relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance refers to how closely your business matches a search query. This is why it’s important that your GMB profile is fully optimized and contains detailed information about your products and services. Your business address should also be accurate and fall within the boundaries of a local search area delineated by Google Maps.
Besides optimizing your GMB profile, you must focus on keyword and content optimization to boost your local organic rankings. Additionally, you must build links and create blog posts that contain the relevant keywords. All these efforts are crucial for improving your Google Maps website ranking.
Aside from these core ranking factors, a number of other factors also influence your Maps ranking, such as social signals and reviews. Social media engagement and the number of reviews you have on your Google Business Page are two of the most influential social signals that affect your Maps ranking. You must strive to gain positive reviews and avoid asking for them too early – only after your customers have had the chance to experience your product or service should you ask for their feedback.
Another thing to remember is that local business listings are influenced by the aggregation of all the data submitted to and verified by Google. Therefore, it is crucial to keep a close eye on all the data and update any inaccurate or duplicated information regularly. Duplicate business profiles are a big problem that can negatively impact your Google Maps ranking, so you should make sure that only your main listing is present in the search results.
It’s also helpful to use a local rank tracking tool to monitor your Google Maps ranking on a regular basis. This will allow you to see how your changes are affecting your ranking and which areas you need to work on. Be sure to use this tool in Incognito Mode and not while logged into your Google account.
Getting ranked high on Google Maps is no easy feat, but with the right marketing strategy in place, your company can achieve its goals and see its traffic increase. By following the 10 tips discussed in this article, you will be able to optimize your Google Maps profile and improve your chances of getting into the top 3 positions.