Your Google Maps listing can put your business, well, on the map. An optimized Google Map listing makes your business stand out and makes it easier for potential and nearby customers to find it.
In the US alone, Google Maps was the most downloaded app in its category in 2021, with over 25 million downloads. Moreover, it has more than a billion monthly users. These figures point out to the power and reach of the mapping app. It can impact your business by improving its accessibility and discoverability.
The Importance of Google Maps Listings
Your Google Maps listing enables your audience to easily find your business. There are many ways for them to find it: through direct searches, keyword searches, and local searches. When you optimize your Google Maps listing, you can obtain significant benefits, such as improving your business’s visibility on online search results, being featured in Google Maps’ local 3-pack, and offering more ways for customers to get in touch with your business.
How to Optimize Your Google Maps Listings and Boost Your Ranking
1. List your business on Google Maps
If you don’t have a Google Map listing yet, make sure that you create a listing for your business on Google Maps. Visit the Google Maps website and look for your business. If it appears, then you have a listing that needs to be claimed. If it doesn’t, click the menu and select “add a missing place”, then include all relevant business information, such as your name and location.
2. Claim your Google Maps listing
Note that to establish your Maps visibility, you need to also claim and optimize your profile on Google Business. Set up your Google Business account to claim your listing and follow the instructions.
3. Add accurate and relevant business information
Once you’re done with the first two steps, you can proceed to adding relevant business information. Log in to your Google Business account to add details, such as your business name, location or address, store hours, contact information, and list of products or services.
4. Include photos of your business
Add professional photos to your Google Business profile. Doing so can help catch the attention of your customers and it gives them an idea of what to expect when they see your business. Plus, it makes it easier for them to search for your business. Make sure that you add recent photos regularly.
5. Showcase positive reviews
Positive reviews can help build your credibility and gain the trust of your audience. You can (politely) ask for reviews from loyal customers. Alternatively, you can respond to reviews and address any issues that you can find in the reviews to let your audience know that you genuinely care about them.
6. Consolidate your listings
There may be several listings that share the same information. By consolidating your Maps listing, you’re making it more likely for your true listing to appear in SERPs.
7. Keep your listings fresh
You can keep your listings fresh and up to date by adding new content regularly to your Google Map listing. Aside from keeping your audience engaged, you can offer valuable resources to them more often.
8. Create a mobile-responsive website
Mobile devices are one of the key traffic sources, generating 41% of web traffic. With many users performing searches using their smartphones, make sure that the link on your Maps listing points to a website that’s also optimized for mobile.
9. Incorporate local keywords
One way to boost your Google Maps ranking is to incorporate local keywords. Use SEO best practices and include locally relevant keywords in your content, such as adding location-based keywords on different parts of your website.
10. Add a Google Map to your website
Make your website go the extra mile by adding a Google Map to key pages, such as your Contact Us page. Aside from making your location easily accessible to your audience, doing so can help improve your rankings on Google Maps searches.
Optimize Your Google Maps Listings With iMapping
iMapping adds your business information to major navigation maps and voice search platforms, like Google Maps, Waze, Alexa, and Siri. With this, your potential customers can easily check your business information, including your contact information, reviews, and store hours. Get found easily, dominate location-based searches, and attract more customers with the help of iMapping.
