One of the most important aspects of local SEO for a business is ensuring visibility through Google maps. This not only allows the company to be easily found within its community, it increases marketing opportunities that lead to more sales. The following outlines how to rank higher on Google Maps 2019.
Business Listings
A business that wants a good ranking from Google should start with being verifiable through its name, address and phone number (NAP). The search engine will look for all of the citations and listings of the NAP and index the website accordingly. The process is very similar to using backlinks. The more there are, the better the ranking. Listings and citations are easy to generate by submitting the company to both national and local business directories.
NAP Consistency
The key to NAP generating valuable listings and citations is consistency. The data submitted to directories must match the information found on the website and Google My Business in order to prevent web crawlers from becoming confused. The easiest approach is conducting a search for the business and checking each listing to ensure the information is correct and consistent. If the wrong data is found, the site’s webmaster can be contacted to make corrections. This is especially important if the business changes its location or phone numbers.
NAP on the Website
The foundation of NAP is always on the business website. Placing the company’s name, address and phone number in each header and footer ensures that the data shows on every page and is always accessible by visitors. Having a dedicated contact page linked from the main navigation is also beneficial because it can provide a form for visitors to fill out with their questions and feedback.
Embedded Google Map
A contact page should also have an embedded Google map. This tells both visitors and search engines that a business is located at the address it lists on the website. All a business owner needs to do is search for their company name on Google Maps, then select the three bars in the top left of the page. One of the available options is “share or embed map.” The owner can then copy the iframe code and paste it into their contact page or anywhere else on their website that requires a map. For businesses that are wondering how to rank higher on Google Maps 2019, this is a good starting point.
Customer Reviews
A business should always encourage customers to leave reviews. When Google crawls a page and sees that there are 20 or more reviews on it, it is motivated to show that page in map listings over pages that have no reviews at all. This creates a perfect alignment with the way Google does search. It provides users with the most relevant business results.
Ranking Evaluations
If a business does everything listed above but still has a poor ranking, it may help to obtain more citations. This can be done by searching for successful competitors and seeing which directories they are listed in, then requesting to be added. Google My Business makes this task easy with its citation-building service. Much like SEO, Google uses citations to build relevancy for the companies listed in Google Places.
Many businesses need guidance on how to rank higher on Google Maps 2019. The professional staff at Internet Marketing Team is always available to guide companies through this process and help them to grow a local customer base. Call 888-518-3718 for a consultation or visit the website for more information.