Your Google Maps listing offers a crucial yet underutilized marketing tool. It helps you get discovered by new customers looking for businesses similar to yours in their location. As such, your ranking on Google Maps determines your competitive edge over other local businesses.
Every time you search for something, Google sifts through trillions of indexed web pages to show the best possible results. For this reason, the Google algorithm is designed to rank websites in order to provide users with the best results. Considering few people go beyond the first page of Google when looking for answers, it’s important to improve your Google Maps ranking. The same goes for improving your Google Maps rankings.
How Google Maps Rankings Work
Google Maps offers your business one major advantage: potential brand visibility. There are three main factors that determine how you rank on Google Maps:
- Relevance – Does your business match the user’s query?
- Distance – How close is your business to the search user?
- Prominence – How well-known is your business?
Considering the three Google Maps rankings factors above, it cannot be overstated just how important keywords are in content creation. Your business name is a top-ranking factor, and including keywords such as “Restaurant” or “Gym” can help you rank for the relevant query. As for the distance factor, there’s not much you can do. Most people are looking for businesses near them, and it’s a great way to be found.
Now, the prominence factor is often the most difficult to pin down. Yet, it’s the one that can help you get to the top of the search results. Let’s see how.
How to Rank Higher on Google Maps
Prominence is how well-known your business is online and even offline. This ranking factor is determined by how much Google users interact with your company and how easy it is to find your business online.
Here’s a new tool that will help build your prominence and boost your ranking on Google Maps.
Pickup Today
Google brought some feature updates to Maps this holiday season to help people get around while they go gift- or grocery shopping. The Pickup Today feature allows you to engage customers and boost your online shopping. Your customers can now track their orders in Maps and choose to share their ETA with your business so you can have their orders ready when they arrive.
By enabling this AI-powered update, you can make it easier for customers in your area to order from your business or get their shopping done. Other complimentary features include a predictive shopping cart and personalized services. All you have to do is implement local inventory ads and offer same-day or next-day pickups for items in your inventory.
The more people use your Pickup Today feature, the higher you’ll rank on Google Maps. The key is to make the process of ordering online and curbside pickup as seamless as possible. Plus, Google is making it easier for customers to add information like whether stores provide curbside pickup and delivery options in their reviews.
Online reviews don’t just help your Google My Business listing; they also boost your Google Maps ranking. Reviews help to build social proof and thereby heavily factor into Google’s local search algorithm.
It’s not just about how many reviews you have; it’s also about the quality of the review, including the star rating and the consistency of reviews that are coming in.
Enabling Pickup Today will encourage your customers to leave a review by setting up systems that make it easier to leave a review.
Google Maps Innovation Through Automation
As a business owner, automating your Google Maps functions like building niche citations can help you optimize local SEO while still focusing on the core functions of your business. dbaPlatform makes it easier to optimize your Google Business Profile and ensure customers can effortlessly find your business when they come looking.
Are you ready to increase your Google Maps 3-pack ranking and get more information about Google Pick-up? Talk to a sales person today >>>