Are you asking yourself the question, ‘How do I rank higher on Google?’ If so, you have joined pretty much every website owner in hoping for an answer. Everyone is trying to rank higher on Google. Whether it’s a newcomer to the market or a long-established global brand, there’s a constant fight to hit that top spot in Google queries.
For local businesses, there’s one aspect that can play a major role in their local SEO efforts: Google Maps. With our Google guide, you will become an expert in no time.
How To Get Your Business Higher On Google with Google Maps
It’s true. If you’re wondering how to rank your business higher on Google, the Maps element of the platform can make all the difference. There are two main reasons why this is the case. One, people use Google Maps directly to search for local businesses. Secondly, a high Google Maps ranking means your business has a better chance of being in the “3 pack” search results.
Google My Business Ranking Factors 2022
When looking at how to rank up in Google My Business, you will need to meet a number of the ranking factors at play.
There are several important local SEO factors that play a vital role in your Google Maps ranking. The good news is we are here to help you understand more about how to rank on Google Maps. This 2022 Google Maps guide will take you through all the Google Maps 2022 techniques and uncover the best Google Maps strategy.
These include backlinks, on-page website relevance, citations, and reviews.
We will go through all of these SEO Google Maps ranking factors in more detail.
Backlinks
Any local guide Google experts write will always recommend that if you want to improve your ranking of local results on Google, then backlinks are a must. These are easy to get started when you go to SEO professionals. They will have the knowledge of how to rank in Google local search using backlinks, including it naturally with content, publishing it on websites that will bring you the most traffic, and building up your reputation with Google.
On-page website relevance
As far as SEO Google Map strategies go, if you aren’t meeting the on-page website relevance factors, you aren’t going to get far. Google Maps and SEO on-page tactics go hand in hand. You should look at a Google Maps rank checker to see where you are before carrying out these changes to see how much difference it can make.
Citations
When it comes to improving your ranking of local results on Google, citations play a big part. This shows information about your business location, name, street address, city, state, zip code, and URL. Then by having this alongside your updated Google maps street view 2022, you have more chance of converting visitors to your website into customers.
Review
To have a better chance at a higher rank on Google Maps, you will want to ensure that you have plenty of reviews about your business. This shows customers that you can be trusted. You need to watch out that negative reviews aren’t causing too much harm, but do not be afraid to keep the odd one or two. You can respond to these in a professional manner, and it shows customers that you are keen on getting feedback and improving your products or services.
Google My Business
The most integral component is Google My Business. It is the key ingredient if you are looking at how to rank higher on Google in 2022 for local search as well as Google Maps. As this is considered the most important component, it is only right that we go into this in more detail to give you the best chance at improving your Google local listing ranking. This is the highest-ranked Google guide you need.
What is Google My Business?
If you want to know how to rank higher on Google Maps, the main solution is with your Google My Business (GMB) listing.
For the uninitiated, GMB is a free platform that provides businesses the chance to become visible in Google Maps via relevant local searches. Even if you’re not aware of it by its name alone, you will have seen and interacted with a GMB listing in the past. The reason for this is simple: a GMB profile is a local search’s bread and butter. If you don’t have a listing set up, your business will seriously struggle to rank higher on Google Maps.
For a quick breakdown, a Google My Business profile features details such as:
- Business name
- Business category
- Website URL
- Phone number and address
- Opening hours
- Images
- Reviews
How does someone view a GMB profile?
There are two ways. The first is the most common. This is when someone clicks on a specific business within the ‘pack’ – either in Google Maps or the “3 pack” – and the GMB listing expands fully. The other method is if someone directly searches for a specific business/brand name. In this case, the GMB listing will appear in search results on the right-hand side of the page.
How to Rank my Business on Google Maps
If you want to rank your business on Google Maps, you need to update your business information – this enhances your visibility, so you have a better chance of ranking. This needs to be accurate and engaging – you are better off making sure it is complete too. Google will use their factors to determine where you rank based on how many of them you are hitting and how well.
How to rank higher on Google My Business
Once you have started ranking, then you can start looking at ranking higher and getting into that top position where people are more likely to click through to your website. This means looking at what factors you are already meeting but need improvements and which ones you need to focus on more. For example, you may not have enough images or reviews on your listing.
Claim your Google My Business listing
Now that you understand how to rank better on Google Maps, it’s time to claim or create your Google My Business listing – if you haven’t already done so. It is important to note that just because you haven’t made one yourself, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t already a Google My Business listing. This is why you need to check this.
To see if your business already exists in some form on Google, simply do a quick search of your business name. If it appears in a listing on the right-hand side of the page, it should feature this prompt: “Own this business?” If this prompt doesn’t appear, you may have already set up a GMB listing already. Alternatively, someone else may have claimed it. In the latter case, you have the option to contact Google and request ownership.
If there is no listing and you’re ready to create a new profile, simply visit the Google My Business page.
When you log into your Google account, you will be transported to a form to complete for your GMB profile. From here, you need to enter information like your business name, phone number, address, and business category (both primary and secondary).
As you enter these, try to mirror the same details featured on your website. If your business address is displayed on your site as “Coronation Street,” you don’t want to type “Coronation St.” on your GMB profile. Consistency is rewarded by Google, so avoid any discrepancies – even if they seem inconsequential.
Using a Google My Business Rank Checker
One of the recommendations if you are looking at how to rank on Google My Business is to use a Google My Business rank checker. You can discover where you are currently ranking and how much further you have to climb. If you have been thinking about how to rank higher on Google My Business, you have to see where you currently are; otherwise, you can’t set goals and tailor your campaigns.
Tips on how to rank higher on Google Maps
Setting up a Google My Business profile is one thing, but you need to know how to optimise for Google Maps. Fortunately, there are various steps you can take that will take you to the next level of Google Maps. This is how to optimise Google Maps.
Pick the right category
Selecting the right category for your business on GMB is essential. By picking the category that best represents your company, you’re telling Google and your customers exactly what you do. This means your business will turn up among the right search results.
For the large majority of businesses, the category decision is an easy one. For those who fall under a range of categories, the choice becomes more difficult. In this case, pick the primary category to represent what your business is best known for, and use multiple secondary categories to list all other services. In terms of how to get business higher on Google Maps, this is the easiest thing you can do.
Add eye-catching imagery
Visual content is king. This means you should use it as much as possible, and thankfully, GMB lets you post images on your profile. Of course, you don’t want to be posting any random photos as part of an SEO Google Map campaign. Consider the following:
- Business logo
- External and internal images of your premises
- Staff members
- Main products/services
You will find that anybody using Google Maps 2022 and beyond will have the view that you are more trustworthy with the more high-quality pictures you have. Google has specific factors when it looks at how to rank Google My Business listings, and images are one of them, so don’t miss out on this.
Make posts
If you are wondering, “how do I rank higher on Google maps using content techniques?” fortunately, GMB has made it really easy for you. GMB also provides the opportunity to make posts. This is a simple method for letting customers know about recent news, deals, new products, and so on.
If you can produce written content that is compelling and has an effective call to action, this can lead to an increase in sales. In addition, it is said you can help your local rankings with regular GMB posts that contain relevant keywords. For the most success with this, if you are not a content expert, head to professionals who know exactly how to do SEO for Google Maps, including writing SEO-optimised content.
Acquire and respond to reviews
Reviews are a vital aspect for any small business in this day and age. Along with convincing consumers that your business is one that’s trustworthy to use, it also sends positive signals to Google. For instance, a business that possesses 100 positive reviews is going to appear better than one with 20 positive reviews.
Along with trying to acquire reviews for your GMB profile, also take the time to respond, whether the comments are good or bad. If you reply in a personal, professional manner, this will reflect well on your business with consumers. All local SEO Google Maps campaigns will ensure this is a priority, but if you are worried about managing this and all the work that it will involve, you don’t have to. There are experts out there that will be able to handle this for you and all the other must-do steps outlined in this Google local guide to Google Maps.
Now that we have answered your question of ‘How to get my business higher on Google Maps,’ you have the right preparation to create your GMB profile and refine your Google Maps SEO. Yet if you still feel uncomfortable about this element of local SEO, we are always here to assist with your Google Map listing SEO campaigns and management. Our expertise means we know how to rank in Google Maps effectively. With our bespoke managed SEO campaigns, you can ensure your business is among the first results on both Google Maps and in local search results!
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