Google Maps website ranking is a powerful way to drive traffic for your local business. Achieving a high Google Maps website ranking requires comprehensive optimization of multiple factors that include local SEO, online reputation management, and website design and development. While it is possible to rank in the local pack without optimizing your website, it will be difficult to rank well enough to drive significant traffic.
There are four primary areas that determine your business’s Google Maps website ranking: business data, local landing pages, off-page visibility, and online reputation management. In order to maximize your Google Maps website ranking, it is important to focus on all of these areas and continually improve them.
The most basic step to getting a high Google Maps website ranking is to complete your Google Business Profile. This includes adding photos to your listing and verifying the information that is already on it. It is also important to keep your profile up-to-date by posting content and responding to reviews regularly.
A high Google Maps website ranking is also dependent on the number and quality of your reviews. Having many positive reviews will help your business stand out amongst competitors and increase the likelihood of getting clicks on your listing in the local pack. The best way to get more reviews is to proactively encourage them from your customers. This can be done by placing a review link on invoices, business cards, and email signatures. However, it is important to only ask for a review after a customer has had the chance to experience and benefit from your product or service.
It is also important to use local keywords throughout your website to ensure that search engines can understand the relevance of your business to a certain location. This can be done by implementing schema markup on your site, which will enable search engines to easily read and understand your content. Lastly, you should use a tool like Podium to automate the process of asking for reviews from your customers. This will help you to get more reviews and grow your business.
Having a consistent and up-to-date website is another essential factor for a high Google Maps website ranking. Search engines take into account the consistency of the business name, address, and phone number across all platforms to determine its credibility. Additionally, a website that is mobile-friendly will receive higher rankings than a site that is not.
One final step to improving your Google Maps website ranking is ensuring that your local listings are correct and accurate. Duplicate listings can be caused by interns who set up profiles for your business in the past, old business names that have not been changed, or even by unscrupulous actors who try to steal valuable reviews or negatively affect your rankings. Semrush’s Listing Management tool is a great way to monitor your Google Maps listings and flag any duplicates that need to be removed.
A high Google Maps website ranking is one of the most effective ways to promote your business. By following these tips, you can make your listing stand out among competitors and drive more traffic to your business.