Google Maps SEO is currently a hot topic in the online marketing community. Google Maps SEO is expected to be a new approach to bringing businesses closer to their potential customers by providing addresses and locations on the Google Maps platform, thereby increasing visibility on search engines. Join Markdao as we explore and pick up the best tips for implementing this SEO service!
What is Google Maps SEO? How does it differ from standard SEO?
Google Maps SEO (also known as local SEO) is a marketing component that uses Google Maps to help users easily find your business. More specifically, it is a specialized form of search engine optimization (SEO) where search results include a Google Maps location, address, phone number, and business/store hours. Local SEO is used to increase the likelihood that potential customers will find your company's information when they use search engines—primarily Google—to look for your specific company or even when they search for other businesses offering similar goods or services.
What do Google Maps SEO results look like? How many types of results are there?
There are several ways Google returns results for corresponding search queries. Most commonly, when a search query does not contain a business name (as in the "bakery" search example below), Google will only display 3 results Google Maps SEO based on the actual geographical distance between the user and the business. This means the first search result will be the one closest to the user, followed by the second and third positions at greater distances. These results are displayed above the organic search results and include the business name, star rating, and address.
The second method displays results based on the number of reviews and the rating score a business has achieved. The more positive reviews received, the higher the position on the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Take a look at the example below. When searching for the keyword "digital marketing agency," the results in positions 1, 2, and 3 received 8, 6, and 1 reviews, respectively.
Why should businesses care about Google Maps SEO?
When users need a product or service, they may want to find the phone number or address of major brands they know, or they may perform a general search for the product. When people search for this type of information, Google Maps SEO helps search engines provide it to them through search engine results pages (SERPs).
A study on the impact of location-based information in marketing conducted by Juris Digital shows that up to 31.5% of searchers click on the returned Google Maps results, while the rest choose paid ads and organic results. Of course, besides implementing Google Maps SEO you will certainly still need to implement standard SEO plans. Local SEO simply helps potential customers have more opportunities to find your company online when they search for the business, products, or services you offer.
Is Google Maps SEO difficult? How can you do it effectively?
In short, Google Maps SEO is not difficult, but getting into the top 3 positions in the Google Maps section on search results pages is not easy at all. You might want to check out the cool tips below. Read until the end to pocket some Local SEO secrets!
Google Maps SEO with major global location aggregators
In the world of SEO in general, the key to ranking high on search engines is getting many links and citations, as they increase the trust and authority of the domain you own. This is especially true for both organic search results and Google Maps SEO.
There are hundreds of websites where you can submit your business information for free citations, but doing so manually is, of course, very time-consuming. The good news is that you can get a large volume of links and citations by submitting your business information to the four major local business data aggregators: Express Update, Factual, Neustar Localeze, and Acxiom. These companies provide business data to Google, Facebook, Yelp, Apple, and many others. Adding your business information to these sites can easily earn you hundreds of citations and links because many websites purchase their data from these sources. Just follow the instructions on each site to submit your business information.
Remember to commit to your Google My Business listing for Google Maps SEO
Another very important step when performing Google Maps SEO is to add your business information to Google My Business (also known as Google Places) – a free and easy-to-use tool developed by Google for businesses to manage their presence on Google Search and Google Maps. Follow these steps to claim your spot on Google Maps!
Step 1: To start Local SEO, specifically by using an official business email, is highly recommended, especially since emails with a domain name related to the business name are prioritized over standard domain emails. They help you access the additional utilities and services developed by Google more easily.
Step 2: After logging into your email and accessing Google Maps, enter your business address and select the "Add a missing place" function.
Step 3: In this section, you will need to provide accurate information and save it so that Google's system can update the new location on the map. The types of information you need to provide include the business name, category, address, phone number, and business hours. Once this step is complete, you should proceed to verify your business with Google (click on "Claim this business" or visit Google My Business) and then click submit.
Step 4: Verifying your business is the most important step for Google Maps SEO success. When you access the Google My Business tab, you will be asked to provide more specific business information, including:
- Business name
- Country/Region
- Street address, city, state,
- ZIP code
- Phone number
- Website link
- Business hours
- Business category
- Service area
- Description (you can summarize your company, products, or services, as well as the strengths that set you apart from competitors, etc.)
Once you have completed the registration, they will send you a code to verify ownership of your local business. Therefore, please ensure you provide accurate business information on Google My Business, as it will be displayed on Google Maps.
How can you make Google Maps SEO more effective using Google My Business?
To make Google Maps SEO more comprehensive and effective, you should also upload high-quality images and write a compelling business description to make yourself more attractive to users. This can increase the number of clicks on your links, thereby helping to improve your visibility and ranking on Google Maps.
Customer reviews are also an important part of Google Maps SEO
Reviews are always a key factor for improving rankings when doing Google Maps SEO. Recently, they have become even more important because review-focused websites are being moderated more strictly than before. This makes it harder for both users and businesses to post or receive fake reviews.
Keeping your business ready and proactive in receiving customer reviews is the foundation for Google to recognize that your business is popular, reputable, and well-regarded, which in turn helps your Google Maps SEO ranking improve. This is also an added benefit for your organic traffic SEO plan, as reviews help potential customers trust your business more, especially when they are first encountering or learning about you. A survey conducted by BrightLocal shows that 73% of consumers trust businesses with positive reviews more, and 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
