When possible, many modern consumers do prefer to buy the goods and services they require online, but there are times when only a local option will do.
Additionally, you can guarantee that your customers are still using Google to research their options, even though some of them may occasionally ask friends or family for suggestions.
When they get lost in unfamiliar neighborhoods, they quickly look for nearby lunch spots. When they need a place to take their vehicle for emergency repairs, they search Google for the best mechanics in the area.
Why is it important to optimize for Google Maps?
Google Maps optimisation should be a key component of a company’s local SEO strategy given that 93 percent of customers conduct online searches for local businesses, and 28 percent of those searches result in purchases. (On the Map).
Investing in Google Maps SEO is crucial to assisting target customers in finding your client’s company because it is one of the most popular ways for customers to find local businesses.
A company’s chances of ranking in the Google Map pack, a group of three business entries that shows up at the top of any location-based search, are also increased by SEO for Google Maps. Local searches generate 42 percent of all views on the Google Map pack. (On the Map). The chance to increase impressions and conversions for your client’s company is enormous in this ranking position.
How Do I Use Google Maps for SEO?
You need to take the correct approach to Google Maps SEO in order to succeed and achieve your objectives, just like you would with any other aspect of managing your SEO campaign and improving your search rankings.
To get where you want to go, follow these crucial measures.
1. Complete Your Google My Business Listing
The most crucial aspect of how to rank at the top of Google local listings and Google Maps is your Google My Business plan.
Claiming and verifying your Google My Business page should be one of your first steps in local SEO. When you confirm your business listing, you not only let Google know that your company has a real location where it serves customers but also that the information is accurate.
Important details that you would want customers to know should be included in your Google My Business profile, such as your name, address, phone number, operating hours, list of goods and services, company description, and more.
It’s crucial to fill out the company listing as completely as you can and to optimise it for local searches. Listings with accurate, full, and pertinent keywords in their profiles typically rank higher on Google.
2. Add relevant links and media
Google loves pages that are active, well-maintained, and packed with pertinent, helpful content, and Google Maps SEO is very similar to the SEO you’re probably already familiar with in this regard.
Because of this, it’s crucial to include updating your Google My Business page in your normal update schedule.
Your updates should ideally contain a variety of material. A excellent place to start is with general updates about your business or products.
However, you should also mention any upcoming events, limited-time offers, special content, images, and links to particularly pertinent blog entries.
3. Write a keyword-rich business description on the Google Business Profile
A thorough company description ought to be included in your client’s listing as well. A GBP’s business description includes both an internal and external goal. It informs potential consumers about the company and its goods or services. Additionally, the description’s terms and phrases aid Google in comprehending the company’s operations and relationship to other nearby businesses. Its ranking place will be impacted by these two factors.
To improve the business’s ranking on Google Maps, keep in mind the words and phrases that potential customers might use to look for it as you write the description.
4. Include quality images in your Google Maps page.
Professional pictures are a crucial but frequently disregarded component of Google Maps SEO. They make a company listing stand out from rival listings and seem more genuine to customers. Additionally, the context that photos provide aids potential customers in evaluating a company and determining where it is.
Photos can appear in Google searches in addition to these advantages. In reality, images are included in 19% of Google search results. (Social Media Today).
Choose editorial photos that are in line with the brand’s tone for the best outcomes. It makes sense to pick images of the inside and outside of the building, as well as the products and employees, to help paint a complete picture of the physical location, depending on the type of company.
A potential customer can decide if a GBP listing is a suitable fit for their requirements by looking at the visual component.
Reviews, click-throughs, and other interactions on the company listing are aided by photos. Google will give a listing a higher Google Maps ranking if it consistently gets interaction.
5. Keep local citations up to date
Regarding SEO in general and Google Maps SEO in specific, some pieces of information are more crucial than others.
Because of this, it’s crucial to monitor your NAP information—name, location, and phone number—across the web.
This entails finding and tracking down your company citations and regional directory entries. You can do this by performing a straightforward Google search or by using special tools.
Examine each description and contact the websites that contain mistakes.
6. Work on your site’s local SEO
Paying more attention than ever to local SEO best practises will help you rank well on Google Maps and maximise the SEO power of your page.
The longer your reach will be in the end, the better optimised your website and online content are for the local audiences you want to target.
Make sure your visitors can discover the solution they’re looking for with the fewest number of clicks by following this general rule of thumb.
Discover useful local keywords, incorporate them into your website, and use them as a source of inspiration for fresh, ongoing material.
Additionally, make sure that your website loads swiftly and is simple to use on a variety of screens, particularly mobile screens.
Numerous clients will discover you through Google Maps SEO will be searching for solutions on the fly.
7. Add Schema Markup
You should incorporate local business schema markup, a type of code that isn’t visible to users but is used by search engines to better understand information, into your website. Google may view your company as more pertinent to searchers if you use schema markup.
Search engines like Google developed the concept of schema makeup as a specific set of tags that could be used to help search engines understand the data displayed to website users. Local SEO can benefit greatly from schema markup because it can give a competitive edge in search engine results sites. (SERP).
8. Optimize Your Site For Local Keywords
The fact that search engines don’t recognise the local relevance of most small companies’ websites is one of the biggest issues with local SEO for small businesses.
Regular SEO, also referred to as national SEO, and local SEO are distinct from one another. Keywords are often region-specific and specific to what Google users are searching for.
For instance, to find results that are more pertinent to their search, many people use the name of the city in their search, such as “best coffee NYC,” or even the area, such as “best coffee Tribeca.”
Filling your website content with local keywords can help you appear more favourably to Google and help your company rank at the top of Google. In addition to including these localised keywords on your primary sites, you should write additional articles about your company, your neighborhood, and the issues your business helps to resolve. This will help Google recognise how relevant your company is to searches.
9. Watch your SERP rankings
It’s important to monitor your SERP rankings whether you’re currently concentrating solely on Google Maps SEO or looking for methods to streamline your entire approach to optimisation.
Using a rank tracking tool to keep track of it for you or conducting a manual search for your targeted keywords will allow you to check this.
Continually find new longtail keywords to include in your strategy. To help localise your options, always include qualifiers and local identifiers.
10. Engage with locals
Be involved in your community and interact with audience members in your area because Google also values localised engagement highly when it comes to Google Maps SEO.
You have a lot more chance of being regarded as an important community figure.
You can get value-rich interaction in many different ways, so use your imagination.
One method is to physically participate in neighbourhood events, which increases the possibility of mentions and shoutouts.
By constantly contacting other nearby businesses online, you can also promote linked content and promote additional engagement.
Wrap-Up
You won’t get where you need to be without a tonne of excellent, keyword-rich content, whether you’re trying to improve your SERP rankings, increase your Google Maps SEO, or do something else completely.
However, creating all that material by yourself is a difficult task.
The best way to get in touch with the top members of the online community for content creation is through WriterAccess by Rock Content.
Join a free trial today to get in touch with talented designers, seasoned copywriters, SEO-savvy content creators, and more!
