Here’s How To Get Your Business To Show Up First on Google Maps

Google Maps is where the gold is. You want leads to come from the internet? Impossible without Google My Business. How to get your business to show up on Google first can be a confusing thing for businesses, but once you know how, it’s smooth sailing.

What To Do After You List Your Business on Google Maps?

Read our how to optimize your GMB profile post to see if you’ve completed the essentials. Only then can you move onto more complex strategies regarding on-page optimization of your website.

A lot of what is involved in your maps ranking depends on your website strategy. It’s all cohesive to their algorithm, so don’t think you can get a top maps ranking in a competitive market with only a verified listing.

More Tips To Get Listed On Google Maps

Post Frequently Using Google Posts

After you’ve made your GMB Listing, you want to post to your profile often. Use Google Posts to post specials, updates, tips, information, and images. These get engagement, and are overall a new strategy, but Google will be rewarding those who use the feature in an effort to increase use and eventually engagement.

See our full course on GMB optimization for a better understanding of the GMB Listing.

Keep your listing updated with new and improved images. Photos help prospects learn more about you, and Google monitors image views. They are rewarding businesses that keep their profiles active with media, which users are engaging with.

Add New Videos Frequently

Keep your listing updated with videos. Sales videos, informational, anything you have will help prospects learn about you. It’s recommended that you have high-quality professional videos, a brief introduction or summary into your business is a great idea.

How to Get more Photos and Media Content?

Post your own resources.

It’s logical to post your photos and videos. But the original GMB Insights Study shows that a small percentage of businesses don’t have a lot of photos in their GMB profile. Some 6% of businesses just have one photo while a shocking 24% only have 2 to 5 photos posted in the profiles!

Posting more of your own seems to be a logical action but do remember that the photos need to reflect the customer experience for it to qualify as a legitimate GMB business photo. So the photos cannot be just about your staff in the store front.

To remedy this, think of events that will attract more customers to visit your store. This is the best opportunity to take legitimate business photos, but of course have your customers’ consent first. Another workaround is to take a few shots of the shop interior or your office so you’ll have a good amount of variation.

Encourage customers to post them.

There is a great chance that any Google-using customer will receive a review request from Google after leaving your business. Or as part of your existing marketing effort, you have probably asked a few customers to leave a review.

Another way of taking advantage of the opportunity is to try to encourage your customers to take real-time photos of their experience like a selfie or a groufie or at anywhere within your store.

Car dealers are exceptionally doing well in GMB. Go check out what photo-generation strategies are working for them. For example, if a customer buys a priced item, have your sales person ask the customer if they want a photo of them taken with it. You’re doing the customer a favor by going the extra mile while you’re putting a “brand-building bullet in the chamber of their smartphone”.

If your business is focused on providing service but without a physical location like plumbing, building contractor, or interior design, ask the customer to take photos of the completed work with them in it!

Or consider a selfie wall if you want to level up your game.

After You Optimize a Google Business Page, Work on Your Website Next

Website optimization and SEO strategies primarily were for targeting organic search results… but not anymore. They are now tied to Google Maps strategy. How to make your business show up on Google search is the same as showing up in Maps listings. Read more on website optimization.

Do everything you can to fully optimize your website and make it Google-friendly. Here’s how to optimize your site.

1. Title Tags

Are Title Tags important? Yes, they are! Title tags provide users what information to expect when they click on the page. They are also valuable for the search engines for the very same reason and they help determine the relevancy of a page in SERPs when a search is made.

2. Meta Descriptions

The meta description is a snippet of a maximum of 155 characters which provides a summary of the page content to the users. In simpler terms, it’s a tag in HTML. Optimizing the meta description is a crucial on-page SEO strategy. This short description is shown in the search results when the searched-for term or phrase is within the description.

3. URLs

Although URLs aren’t as important as they used to be, consider adding the target keywords for a new post or page whenever possible. Keep them neat, descriptive of the content topic, and keyword-focused, just like this post’s URL.

4. H1 Tags

Pay extra attention to the H1 tag. It’s the most important tag in any page or post. Make it the first heating tag and be sure to add the target keyword with a modifier wherever appropriate.

5. Optimize Photos

There are a few things to consider when it comes to adding images in your posts and pages. Use target and focus keywords when naming the images, as well as the title within the post, and the Alt-Tags.

6. At the Beginning of the Post

Don’t forget to use the target keyword in the first paragraph of every post. Google and other search engines look at this as a ranking factor for any page.

Tip: For WordPress users, install WordPress SEO by Yoast. This application provides clear instruction on page optimization in a very easy to follow steps.

7. H2 and H3 Tags

H2 and H3 headings give your content structure. They help readers find a pattern in your content that is easy to read and understand and follow. They also help search engines determine which headings should have more weight by providing a structured hierarchy. Don’t forget to use variations of the focus keywords in the headings to boost your on-page SEO.

8. Keyword Variations

Keywords must be found throughout the post or page. They further support the relevance of your target keyword. Add the target keyword and its variations in the content body, headings, and images. Any similar word or alternative phrases to the target keywords are also important additions to the content.

Boost On-Page SEO for Better Ranking

Google seriously views your GMB listing. It serves as a badge for your business to be considered legit in the online community. In the same manner, pamper your website with the best On-Page SEO strategies and practices. You can never go wrong with a mindful and carefully outlined post!

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