How to Rank on Google Maps [11 Tips to Boost Your Rankings]

Are you trying to increase your Google My Business rankings?

Well, you’ve come to the right place, because in this post, I’ll be going over exactly how to rank on Google maps, step by step.

I’ll be revealing everything you need to know in an easy to understand manner,

So, let’s get straight into this! 

When is a map pack listing triggered?

A Google map pack listing is typically triggered when a product or service and a location is searched. For example, “Restaurants in Manchester” has a service and location keyword in the search query.

1. Have your keyword in the “Business Name” section

The “business name” section holds a lot of ranking power, so if your business brand name doesn’t have your service and location in it, then add it. For example, let’s say your Coffee shop business is called Cafe Zen. You would fill out the business name as “Cafe Zen – Coffee Shop Derby”.

Aware Digital was on the 3rd position of the Google map pack for “Magento Agency” but once the keyword “Magento Agency” was placed in the “Business Name” section, it shot up to the 1st position within 48 hours.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

2. Have your NAP all over your website

The NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone Number.

This is critical if you want to rank on the map pack. Make sure your NAP appears on every page of your website. This is easy to do, you don’t have to manually add it to every page.

Simply put the NAP in your footer and it will appear on every page.

CRITICAL STEP: Make sure the NAP is consistent, if your business is on 54 Zoo Lane, you don’t want to have it accidentally as 89 Zoo lane. Make sure the Name, address and phone number are all correct.

If you don’t have a website and list your business somewhere else like ShopAppy, having your NAP on your shop page will suffice.

3. Build directories

Directories are websites like Yelp, Yellow Pages, Houzz, etc. They are websites that you can cite your websites on.

You will be able to place your NAP on them and place a link to your website.

This is another critical step when trying to rank on the map pack. Without building local directories, you probably won’t rank.

Remember, when building directories, the NAP needs to be the same throughout all of them. You can check the NAP with the Moz local directory checker.

Put your details into the tool and you will find all of the directories you’ve built and if the name, address and phone number are the same throughout all of them.

4. Have lots of reviews

Who is going to buy from a company that doesn’t have any reviews over a company that does have reviews?

No one!

So make sure you ask your customers to leave reviews. You can also ask your family ;).

5. Add plenty of photos

People buy from people, add some personality to your listing. Have pictures of your office, the area, staff, clients, heck even your cat.

If you have a photo heavy business, then it’s even more important. Let’s say you sell clothes or food. You want people to know what that food or clothes look like.

6. Embed your listing to your website and others

If the above video doesn’t work, try this…

Make sure to embed your Google maps listing on your website. You can do this by going to Google maps and searching your business. On the top left there are 3 lines, click that and then click “Share or embed map”. Click on “embed a map” and copy the HTML code onto your website.

7. Fill out the descriptions

Make sure to add what services and products you offer. If you’re a piano instructor in Birmingham, then in the “Services” section, insert “piano instructor in Birmingham”. You’re adding a target keyword in there.

If you sell coffee, put that down in your “Products” section. 

Add what hours your business is open. And on certain holidays, you’ll get a notification if your business is open like bank holidays, new years, christmas etc.

You can let customers book appointments and other nifty things.

8. Post on your Google My Business page

Kinda like social media, you can update your status. Let’s say you’ve just released a new product, you can add that to your Google My Business profile and it will show when people view your Google My Business.

Let’s say you’re a driving instructor and someone views one of your recent posts which was a student passing. This is a powerful way to sell your product/services.

9 Add local keywords to your website

Adding local keywords to your website is another ranking signal.

Add these keywords into strategic places like headings. For example, the H1 tag of your page. Have your keyword in there like “Bakery in Stoke on Trent”, “Bakery Near Me” Add keywords into your Meta title and body.

10. Publish local posts

Add content that goes for local keywords. These keywords don’t need to have any search volume, that’s not what they’re there for. The content is there to add relevancy. For example, if you’re a bakery in Manchester, you could create a blog post on “What kind of baking equipment are made in Manchester?”, “10 baking tips for the people of Manchester”, “Are there any good baking classes in Manchester?”

Going after these local style keywords will add relevancy. 

11. Distance is a ranking factor

Keep in mind that you can’t always rank number 1 in the Google map pack.

WHY?

Because location is a ranking factor. For example, if someone searches for an “Indian restaurant near me”, the results will prioritize the location of the search and show the closest local Indian restaurants.