How to Get a Higher Ranking on Google Maps

Google Maps Ten Pack (Which is the top 10 businesses that pop up when searching in Google Maps) is equivalent to being on the first page of Google when searching key words, places, and phrases. Google Maps is changing their old ranking techniques to be less about what you are telling them about your business to more about what consumers are saying about your business. Have you ever come home from school and your mom asks you how your day went and then a few hours later your teacher calls and tells your mom a fairly different story then the one you told? Well Google Maps decided to listen to the teacher.

Google Maps is leaning more on Google+ and categorizing their searches between “Top Reviewers” and “Your Circles”. “Top reviewers” gives you places that have been reviewed by experts on Google+, while the option ‘”Your Circles” shows places that are recommended by people in your circles. The experts from Google+ are using a few different methods to determine which companies will fall into the “Top Reviewers” category. According to my research the following are all ways to put your business on the right track to achieving higher rankings on Google Maps.

Classic SEO

• Keyword Search
• Meta Tags
• Use of address and phone number in contact pages of your website
• Adding your website in local citation websites

Claim your business in Local Business directories.

This helps assure users that you are a credible business such as:

• Yelp
• Angie’s List
• Yellow Pages
• White Pages

In Google Places Description you are allowed to use 3-4 locally optimized keyword phrases. You should use your city name in the keywords to make sure you rank high on the local search keyword.

Provide Images and Videos to your listing on Google Maps, potential customers love a visual!

Encourage customers to review your business either through blogging or on review sites such as:

• Local Splash
• Angie’s List
• Yelp

Social Media gives opportunity for positive brand exposure.

• Number of page Likes
• Mentions
• Shares

Add proper category associations.

Make sure you use all 5 of the categories the Google offers on Google Maps.

Increase your quality of inbound links.

Having credible links will increase Google’s “trust” in your business

Include keywords in your listing description on Google Maps.

Just like Jay Bush won’t let his golden retriever Duke tell the secret to their family bean recipe, we will never exactly know Google’s recipe for ranking websites and Google Map listings. We can only make our companies as credible and trustworthy as possible so that Google will consider them worthy of ranking them high.