8 tips to rank higher in Google Maps
With Google’s increasing ability to show locally relevant results, it is becoming more important for you as a business to be visible locally as well. Immediately visible is your position in Google Maps. The first 3 positions benefit the most. Your website is not only at the top of Google Maps, but is also shown first on the first page of Google. As a local business, you also benefit directly when your business ranks higher in Google Maps. But how do you get your website to rank higher in Google Maps? Below, we give you 8 tips on how to be better found in Google Maps.
Step 1: Understand how Google determines position in Google Maps
Google indicates in Google My Business Help that the position of your business listing depends on the:
relevance;
distance;
prominence.
Relevance and distance depend on the information you enter yourself in Google My Business. If you don’t have a business listing in Google yet, start with that first!Tip 2: Create a listing in Google My Business
Be the first to create a listing for your business using Google My Business. You may well have already created a business listing. It used to be called Google Places and you could also create business pages with Google Plus. Therefore, first search Google for the name of your business. 4 situations can arise now:
Claim your Google My Business listing
Do you see the question “Are you the owner of this business?”. If you see this listed, you can claim the listing. You do this by going through a verification process. Sometimes you may receive a text message or you have to wait until you receive the verification code from Google by mail.
Create your Google My Business listing
If your business is new, Google may not yet have a listing for your business. Creating a listing is easy by adding your business name with address, website and phone number. You can now specify whether your location should be included in Google Maps or not. The verification process is always by mail. Through the mail you will receive a code from Google with which you activate your listing.
The Google My Business listing is managed by someone but you don’t know by who
It still sometimes happens, that a company does not remember who has access to Google My Business. To find out, you can go through the normal process for creating a new listing. At the end Google notifies that the listing is already under management and shows part of the administrator’s email address. If no bells are ringing by then, then unfortunately you are forced to go through the escalation process. This can take several weeks.
Editing your business listing on Google
By logging into Google My Business, you can edit all the information about your business:
- Company name
- Address
- Phone
- Category
- Opening hours
- Website
- Features
- Photos
NOTE: Make sure your information matches your other listings such as in the telephone directory or other business directories. Choose the appropriate category that your customers are looking for and if possible add additional relevant categories.
Tip 3: Increase awareness of your business on the internet
Google indicates that the more information about your business can be found on the Internet, the higher your position in Google Maps will be. You can think of:
- links to your website;
- online articles about your business;
- listings in telephone and business directories;
- reviews and ratings.
Tip 4: Copy your competitors’ links
If your competitors rank higher in Google Maps, it is largely because of the links they have obtained. You can find out these links by 1 using 1 of the many link building tools. *Link:
Then you can try to get the same links to your website, for example by approaching these websites for a link exchange. While doing so, pay close attention to the quality. Not all links are good for your website.
Tip 5: Search online for opportunities for articles and links
You can easily track down opportunities for links or articles that are relevant in your area or for your industry by using Google. For example, by searching Google for combinations of:
- News + your region / your industry
- Magazine + your region / your industry
- Guest writer + your region / your industry
- Contributions + your region / your industry
- Award + your region / your industry
Entering these different combinations into Google will give you a list of possibilities. Then you can make a plan on how to use the opportunities. For example, by approaching the webmasters directly or through your network or groups on LinkedIn.
Tip 6: Higher in Google Maps through more listings in directories
Mentions in business directories also increase the “prominence” of your business, according to Google. If your business is listed in more business directories, then your business must be more well-known is Google’s assumption. This is usually true. But you can also actively search for interesting business directories yourself.
For example, search on the name and address of your most important competitors and you will soon find a source of possibilities. Or you can search on the combination “your industry “+ “business directories”.
Some directories where you can register are:
- The Phone Guide
- Yelp
- Drimble
- Phonebook
- Yalwa
- Hotfrog
Note: Make sure you enter the same notation of your address everywhere. If your business is listed with different addresses in various directories, it will lead to ambiguity and not to a higher position in Google Maps.
Tip 7: More reviews lead to a higher position in Google
Gradually it is becoming clearer that the presence of more and real reliable reviews in Google lead to a higher position in Google Maps. Therefore, make sure you obtain real customer reviews through your Google My Business listing. In the article “Why you soon won’t be able to do without reviews” the importance of reviews was already underlined. But recently Google also openly declared that more reviews actually contribute to a higher position in Google.
Tip 8: Work patiently and in a structured manner to receive higher positions in Google Maps
Patience, time and good structure eventually lead to results. So don’t expect immediate results after you post a few articles. Spread out your activities over a longer period of time. And perhaps more importantly, keep good records of your work. Certainly don’t underestimate the work involved. And are you short on time or patience? Outsource the work. We will gladly take care of it for you!