Improving GMB Ranking

You need to get your business listed in the GMB because it creates awareness for others about your business. For this, you can use several tactics, which eventually make Google top you of the local listings. 

Google Places is where all the nearby businesses are shown on a map for a relevant search and it shows on the right side from the local listing/local search results. This will happen if you browse using a desktop and if you are coming from a phone, it will be shown from the top of the local listing. 

If you want to increase your footfalls as a new business, then you better optimize the Google My Business, and you also need to optimize the Google Maps ranking. 

A website ranking can also be done with search engine optimization to make the content appear top from the Google SERP. If your page is outside of the first page of Google, then it is not worthy at all. 

These same rules are applied for a local business owner to get a high rank from the GMB and the Google Maps Pack. When you have a top-ranked business, it makes you have more traffic toward your shop, website, or store. 

Optimizing Google's local business listing is great for a business owner to have more customers, even if they need a tiny idea about SEO. You can build up great trust by having a better rank from the business listing, which means you are getting more impact towards your target audience through your business.

Google My Business account and adding a business to Google Maps is not only about having a simple website. Although it helps you to continue in the long run, there is more to this. If you want to know how you can appear in Google maps, then you better know about Google places and Google My business SEO ranking factors. This post will allow you to know how you can get higher from Google maps and how you can improve your rank with the optimization of Google local business listing. 

Why Do You Need to Rank Top in Google Maps Pack?

Taking the top 3 sports from the Google Maps listing or the Google Maps Pack is very important for a business that sells services as well as products to the local audience. Taking these 3 top positions gives you a big online exposure and raises your site visits, calls, sign-ups, and other conversions.

As an example, you are a restaurant owner in New York. If you have earned these three top sports, you are eventually gaining more footfalls for that relevant area. When the people in this area search for the term restaurants near me, your business has the highest rank to be shown on top before the first organic listing. This is a part of the Google local pack. 

In the past, Google used to feature the top 7 listings on their Google Maps pack, but it only shows three of them to the specific search query now. For more results, you should click the More Results option. So your business needs to own the top 3 spots within local searches of Google to gain more relevance, credibility, the highest traffic, and great exposure. Some other factors directly affect your Google Maps ranking. 

Local SEO Google Ranking Factors

• Google My Business or GMB profile
• Reviews
• Quality Backlinks
• NAPs and Citations
• On-Page relevance 
• Organic clicks from SERP of Google maps to your listing (Read bonus #11)

Most people are using the phrase "near me," so having the top 3 spots will allow you to beat the best at the local SEO challenge. Following are some of the best advantages you can gain from these top 3 positions on the Google Pack Page.  

Primary Benefits of Being Ranked in Google Maps Pack

• More than 80% of customers who search for local businesses within Google maps will visit their found business within 24 to 48 hours. 
• Based on Google's report, it is found that more than 28% of the searches on Google Maps will end up by having a purchase.
• Customer reviews play an important role in people's purchase decisions now, and their decisions will also be affected by the online reputation as well as the credibility of the business. These important details can be easily reached with Google Maps Listings.
• Interactive results are coming with Google Maps, which helps to take direct actions from the consumers from the listings with only a few clicks. They now can have an instant reservation or a direct phone call. So Google local listing ranking can make some better conversions. 

Understanding the Google Map Ranking

Google Maps results will be based on the location of your searcher. So two major factors can influence your business ranking within Google Maps listings as follows.

1. Credibility and the Visibility 

A business with the highest credibility has more chances to appear on the top of the Google Maps Pack search results. These can be coming from other websites, social media mentions, as well as from social media tags received from the influencers.

Moreover, local directories citations also have a main role in giving a better business ranking from Google Maps Pack listings. 

2. Positive Reviews

Positive online reviews will help your business earn higher profits and attract more customers. Google weighs how many positive reviews it receives against how many negative reviews it gets to determine where your business appears in its local pack.

Ranking Better in Google Maps

Search engine results page (SERP) page rankings are well recognized as a key driver of web traffic. Therefore, if your website appears on the first page, you can expect an increase in web traffic.

By having your business land in the top 3 spots of a Google Maps listing, you will see an uptick in the number of customers that come to your store, which will boost sales. Being visible on Google Maps will help you expand your online presence.

Thanks to the Google Maps listings providing directions to your store, you will be able to attract more customers to your business premises, in addition to increasing your visibility and sales.

If you're curious about how to move up in Google Maps results or how to be included on the search engine, there are three steps you need to take to be featured in the top 3 spots.

Google My Business Working Method 

Creating a Google My Business profile and verifying that your enterprise is represented on Google Maps is the initial step to executing local search engine optimization for your company.

After providing your details and picking the appropriate category for your business, Google will confirm it by dispatching an official postcard to the address associated with your Google Maps listing.

The postcard you receive features a confidential authentication PIN that should be entered to finish the Google My Business confirmation procedure.

If the option is available, you can go for email, telephone, or immediate confirmation to finish your corporation's verification process.

Verifying your account is the key to being able to make changes to your business listing. Make sure to monitor your account regularly to find out the total number of clicks, subscribers, and impressions your business listing has received.

You can claim your business ownership by completing a verification process. Once the account has been verified, it is allowed to make changes as you want for your business listing. It is required to have a constant check on your subscribers, total clicks as well as the impressions that you managed to gain from the business listing. 

Regular activities and interactions on the GMB listing ensure that your business is worthy of having a place in the Google Maps Pack. But note that local SEO is about more than listing your business on Google My Business. You have to work on on-page and off-page SEO too.

How to Rank Higher from Google Maps?

If you manage to gain the top 3 positions on Google Maps, it gives a better advantage over your business and is proven to make you more profit as well as for the clients. Moreover, being top of the ranking in Google My Business on your business will act as a performance indicator for clients as well as for other online visitors. These visitors are the ones who are coming to you in a search for some local SEO services. 

Business Ranking Tips on Google Maps

In the olden days, it was considered that prominence, relevancy, and industry domains were the basic factors for ranking in Google Maps. But nowadays, there are more factors for it than these. These factors have helped so many industries, whether small or medium, to rank better from Google my business listing so that they could prevent being dominated by big-budget companies. 

Verify Your Google My Business Listing

You need to verify your business listing within Google, or else it will not be shown in Google Maps. It is a must to verify every category mentioned within Google. When you have more authority, it will work better for the ranking of Google My Business within SERPs. 

Always make sure that you have updated all the things from your Google My Business listing. And you also need to add the features shown below. 

Update Your Business Hours

Doing this can make you more valuable customers, and it also helps them to track the working hours of your business before they make a visit for you. 

Updating Contacts and Your Address

If you provide full details about your business, Google pays more attention to boost you and verify you. So you need to update your address, telephone number, as well as address with the website address. This will allow Google to support its users with correct information from Google maps. 

Avoid Duplicates and Being inept

You cannot put duplicate information or multiple business listings as Google restricts it. There should be no repetitive information and must have updated accurate data from Google Maps as it contributes well towards having a better ranking. 

Place Keywords

Google Maps works on several algorithms with its search results like SEO., so you need to include some keywords as well as search phrases on your business listing to be ranked better. Try to optimize it better by using primary and secondary keywords because you are already in the Google My Business listing and it gives you the best results. Try having some LSI keywords as well, as it makes you great with local search rankings. 

There are some situations where Google shows the name of a business with a high-ranked keyword and will also show information about that particular company to the customers. So, having some target keywords within your GMB name is great to have better competition against others. 

Have some Photos Included

If Google My Business has some photos, it works way better than marketers as well as business owners. Google already stated that when a Google My Business has photos in it, it is going to have a 35% of clicks from the websites as well as 42% increased driving direction requests than the way it happens with a business that doesn't have photos. So you need to add photos as a must from your GMB listing. 

Google Reviews

Customer reviews have an important role within any website because whenever there is a visit, they first notice the customer reviews. Similarly, it is important to have reviews on Google Maps listing too. And note that these Google reviews can make a higher conversion rate than other local SEO strategies. 

A website can rank better in Google Maps with positive reviews, so you better have some quality reviews for the business. Try putting Google Maps review links on your business cards and invoices, as well as with your email signatures too. It is not that suitable for a business to directly ask for reviews; instead, you can encourage customers to give you feedback. 

Google Maps for your Website

Ranking on Google Maps can be done better by including the Google map location for your website. You may have already seen these done on other websites. Doing so can confirm that your location is benign, already mentioned in Google My Business, and you need to add your business name to the location as well. So it can reach the audience. 

You can include Google Maps easily for a website. First, you have to get the physical location from Google Maps, then click the three lines button from the venture name. When you have right-clicked from the 'share map,' you will get a link, and you can copy and paste this for your business contact page. 

Proper Categorization of the Business

Google offers five categories to use in Google My Business, which you must use. And you can use them while you are claiming for a Google Maps listing. 

Sometimes, these GMB categories may need to fit better with your business, so you must ensure that your primary business categories match your main keywords properly. You can do this properly by typing the main keywords from the category box, and then you can maximize your second business category with the necessary options. So it can enhance the keywords for other business categories and will make the highest rank from the Google My Business listings. 

Most business owners out there need a clear idea about this option. So you need to make sure that you use it efficiently. You have to add the business classification as the primary category here. Suppose you are holding a restaurant or fashion business. Then you have to use the descriptions of local SEO keywords like Neita fashion, dreamy restaurant, or something like that as it works as an additional classification. 

Check Your Ranking Regularly

Once the business info has been updated in the Google My Business listing, there should also be a regular track for the ranking. If the rank here is low, then it is better to cite more of your business by following methods like this. 

• Get the citation of the higher ranked business than you and search more directories where their business has been listed. And then try adding your listings in there as well.
• Get help from other link-building services offered by authorized websites in your GMB.
• Check if your business listing in Google maps is accurate or not.
• Make sure to build up a strong online presence and list the business from several third parties like Yelp, Foursquare, and YellowPages.
• If you are still new to this, try having services from GBP-savvy companies for citation building.

Add a Local Contact Number

The Google Maps top rank comes with a local number added to the Google My Business listing. When there is a local number with its particulate area code, it makes Google believe you as it matches your right location. Toll-Free numbers are also welcome here. 

Site Optimization

Optimizing the website can also give you a better chance to be present from Google My Business and try optimizing the web into SEO. 

Follow all the discussed strategies and take more reviews for the GMB. Try adding your business list to suitable directories, videos, and images, and use other optimization strategies. 

Consistent Citations

Worse citations can make you drop from the ranking, while a consistent proper citation can make you rank better from Google local search results. There will be volatility in your citations when there are multiple variations for your address, name, and phone number. 

Suppose you have listed your business in 5 different directories. If you use RD for road or St for street within some directories, it might be harmful as it makes volatility. This might not seem as harmful, but it is because it lowers your local ranking. 

To prevent this from happening, you must check NAP citations from the web and type the address of your business in Google. Find where your business has been listed and check every site to see if the NAP is consistent or not. If they are not, you need to fix them quickly.

NAP volatility is not a big deal in low and mid-competition markets, but it does in hyper-competitive markets. It makes a high difference in these markets to rank in Google local search results. 

Have Some Strong Citations as well as Backlinks

Citation link building means you include the website URL as a part of the citation; this is making a powerful authority over your website. 

As an example, you can do the citation link building from law firm directories when you have a law firm. Law firm directories and a high authority can bring you heavy authority as well as contextual backlinks. 

Google uses a citation analysis when it determines the business ranking for the local search results. You need to remember that Google is taking into consideration a few factors for their citation analysis, as follows.

• The citation source authority and the relevance
• The citation volume over your business
• Citation NAP consistency 

You need to add the business NAP data to the website if you are seeking a top local ranking from Google. Schema markup is also helping search engines to know what your website is currently trying to convey. 

If you add the NAP information to the schema, you are sending some powerful signals about your authority and the relevance of your business name, phone number, and address to the search engines. 

UI and UX

Make sure your business website is mobile-friendly and has the SSL certificate installed. So it makes your website rank higher with organic search results pages and within Google maps. 

Try to have a mobile-friendly design and an SSL certificate, as it can give you a better ranking for the business website, increased conversions, and great trust with lower-level bounce rates. 

Take Social Signals (Generate clicks to your Google maps listing)

Social signals are very important in Google Maps and in online organic searches. They will be based on your site shares and likes and form the social media appearance. Social signals can be taken by running some social media marketing strategies and social ads. These can give you more web traffic to reach the specified customers. 

To generate more social signals, you can use an organic traffic bot specialized for Google maps such as ClickSEO.

ClickSEO will use its own network to type a keyword in a particular location, find your business, click on the listing, and click on the buttons (direction, call etc..). More clicks generated to your Google maps listing will boost your ranking. Google my business clicks is one of the most important ranking factor that google uses to determinate if your listing is relevant, or not.

Almost all of the google maps listing are using ClickSEO to boost their rankings

If you are following all these tactics, having a top rank in local search is not a big deal.

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