HOW TO RANK IN GOOGLE MAPS

A presentation by Jill Sullivan at Infront Webworks

WHY RANKING IN MAPS MATTERS

THE LANDSCAPE OF GOOGLE SERPS

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

Claiming your listing

Verifying your listing

Optimizing your listing

STEP 1: SEARCH FOR YOUR BUSINESS

www.gybo.com/business

IS YOUR BUSINESS INFORMATION COMPLETE?

SIGN INTO YOUR GOOGLE ACCOUNT

Sign in to the Google Account you use for your business.

Don’t have a Google Account? Click “Create an account” to get started.

SELECT YOUR BUSINESS OR ADD IT

See your business in the list? Click to continue.

Don’t see your business? Click “Let me enter the full business details.”

ENTER YOUR BUSINESS DETAILS

Can’t find the perfect category? Pick something close.

CONFIRM YOUR BUSINESS

Agree to the Terms of Service. Then, click “Continue.”

REQUEST A PIN (OR LET US VERIFY FOR YOU)

Click “Send postcard.”

Let us help you get verified!

Infront Webworks

719-577-4404

marketing@infront.com

Ask for:

Jill, Mike, Rory or Stephanie

OPTIMIZING YOUR GMB PAGE Business Name – Make sure this is your correct business name.  Some businesses try to add

keywords to their business name to rank higher in maps.  This is a HUGE NO-NO!  Doing this could cause your listing to get removed completely.

Address – Be sure your address matches the address on the website, exactly.  Sometimes Google will change certain elements of the address (like changing Boulevard to Blvd), if this happens, change the address to match the address as it appears on your Google My Business Listing.

Category – You can add up to 5 services. Choose the ones that are the most relevant to your business

Business Hours – Fill this out completely & make sure the information matches what’s on your website

Photos – Try to add up to 10 photos. You can use pictures of the inside of your store, staff pictures and so on.

Introduction – Write unique content that is completely different than anything you have on your website. Be sure to list the services you offer and link those services to the proper services pages on your website.

DISTANCE & PROMINENCE MATTER

Distance: Just like it sounds -- how far is each potential search result from the location term used in a search? If you don't specify a location in your search, Google calculates distance based on what it knows about the searcher’s location.

Prominence: This describes how well-known or prominent a business is. This is based on information Google finds about a business from across the web (like links, articles, and directories).

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR WEBSITE AND GMB

ON SITE FACTORS

Title Tags H1s & H2s Content Alt image tags Branded Map Link to GMB page Local Schema

TITLE TAGS

Title Tags are one of THE most important factors when it comes to on-page optimization

Should be between 60-70 characters long

Should contain the target keyword for the page

Should contain the city and state

HEADERS (H1, H2)

Use only one H1 per page

Use city/state in H1

Use city in one H2

CONTENT

500+ words is optimal

Use city/state in content

Talk about the surrounding area

Move beyond the single keyword model and work with long-tail keyword strings, incorporate keyword synonyms

IMAGES

Image name should contain city/state

Alt Image tag should contain city/state

Use a unique tag on each image on the page<img src="smiley.gif" alt="Smiley face">

BRANDED MAPS / LINKING TO GMB

Establish a better relationship between your website and GMB by using a branded map and linking to your

GMB page.

BUILDING A BRANDED MAPStep 1: Search for your business on Google.com/maps

BUILDING A BRANDED MAPStep 2: Click the “Share” button

BUILDING A BRANDED MAP

Step 3: Click “Embed Map”

Step 4: Choose your size

Step 5: Copy the code and add to your website

SCHEMA

Schema Markup, as it allows search engines to display important information, such as hours,

testimonials, reviews, and even menus easily in search results.

LOCAL SCHEMA

<div itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/Attorney”><span itemprop=”name”>ABC Attorneys</span><div itemprop=”address” itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/PostalAddress”><span itemprop=”streetAddress”>123 Main Street</span><span itemprop=”addressLocality”>Malibu</span>,<span itemprop=”addressRegion”>CA</span><span itemprop=”postalCode”>90263</span></div>Phone: <span itemprop=”telephone”>555-423-2352</span><a href=”http://googlemapsurl.com” itemprop=”maps”>URL of Map</a></div>

AGGREGATE RATING SCHEMA

<div itemprop=”review” itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/Review”><span itemprop=”name”>Value purchase</span> –by <span itemprop=”author”>Lucas</span>,<meta itemprop=”datePublished” content=”2011-03-25″>March 25, 2011<div itemprop=”reviewRating” itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/Rating”><meta itemprop=”worstRating” content = “1”/><span itemprop=”ratingValue”>4</span>/<span itemprop=”bestRating”>5</span>stars</div>

OFF SITE FACTORS

Link Building/ Directory Submissions

Social Media

NAP Consistency

LINKBUILDING

Ask for links – Think about friends, relatives, colleagues, partners and clients that have a blog or a website that is relevant to your niche.

Guest posting – There are many blogs & sites that will publish your article. The article should not be a sales pitch. Posts that answer a question relative to your industry are best.

Directory submissions – Find non-spammy, relevant, informative directories in which to place your site. Local, niche directories are best

Add your site to citation sites – https://moz.com/learn/local/citations-by-category

SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL SIGNALSCreate accounts on the following social media channels. (Simply having a presence at each social channel creates inbound links and helps to establish credibility of your brand.)

FacebookGoogle PlusTwitterLinkedIn (Company Page)InstagramPinterest

REVIEWS

WHERE TO GET REVIEWS

Where should you focus on getting reviews?

Google My BusinessYelpYP.comBBBFacebook

NAP CONSISTENCY

MOZ.COM/LOCAL

TOOLS TO HELP YOU SUCCEED

Gybo.com – Claim and verify your Google My Business page

Google.com/business – Manage and edit your GMB page

Moz.com/local – Check your business for NAP consistency/duplicates – submit to directories

https://moz.com/learn/local/citations-by-category - Find relevant directories based on your niche

http://www.microdatagenerator.com/local-business-schema/ - generate local business schema for your website

Infront.com/blog – Get more information on all things SEO

Contact us! Infront.com | 719-577-4400 | marketing@infront.com