Once you are in Google Maps, you need to rank your business. If you you wondering how to rank your Google Maps/Places/My Business page, then this post will take you through it. Starting from optimizing your page there are many things that you need to do to get it high on rankings. While Once Google Maps ranking used to be based on such things as proximity and industry categories, But now Google is including other factors into its calculation of rankings. Once you are ranked, you will likely need to improve your rankings. So let’s get started.

How to Rank high on Google Maps

It’s actually going to take some time to rank high on Google Maps. You need to optimize your page, verify everything, Choose category associations correctly, Use keywords in listing’s description and many more things. So Let’s get started.

Verify Everything

First of all you need to verify everything that Google asks you. Ensure all information in your listing is correct. Google discredits listings with two phone numbers or locations for one business. So, It’s better to make individual listings for each. Without all the verification, it actually decreases your ranking. So you need to verify all the thing and be sure that, all the information you have is accurate and up to date.

Increase inbound links and Citations To Optimize Google Maps Ranking

In order to rank high, One of the most important factors in one’s ranking on Google is your number of citations. Google Checks for information listed from well-known and trusted data providers. They do not depend on information supplied by you anymore or business. So you need to increase your inbound links and citations. Google’s “trust” will increase when more links from higher ranking sites link to yours.

Get more and more reviews

It’s no longer an option, but a requirement that can be both good and bad for businesses because no one has the control over what others say. You should contact your favorite customers and request positive reviews. You should Never ever write fake reviews. This will harm you business. High volumes of positive reviews help businesses achieve more top rankings on Google Maps. It very crucial for high ranking.

Choose category associations correctly / Create own listing

Many business owners don’t know is that you can add up to five additional categories. The primary category should be the main classification for your business.

You need to utilize all five of the category listings offered by Google. If your industry is not listed then you can create your own. Make sure that, you are choosing a primary category that best suits your business. Each group that follows should contain the right keywords that are associated with your business.

Contact & Address should be listed in full

Your contact page should be correct and always up to date. Google checks for consistency between your website contact page and Google Maps. The business address should be given full and it gets easier for anyone to navigate. Those who have an alternate website should keep the location address updated with the settings always. If you address is wrong then it will decrease your ranking.

• Business hour: You should add your business hours. Your opening hours & closing hours should be correct.
• License Information: If this is relevant to your business, and if the directory site has the option for license, bonding, or insurance information, add it on this listing.
• Links to Social Profiles: Add in your business Facebook or Twitter page on the listing.

Embed a Google Map on Your Website

Another way to rank higher on Google Maps is to add a Google Map on your website. You should embed the google map on your site’s about section contact us section. Most businesses place a map on the contact page. Adding a Google Map is just another way to telling Google that your business is located where your listings says, it increase the authenticity of your business also. Use the same address on your site that you have on your Google My Business listing.

To embed a Google Map on your website, search for your business name in Google Maps. Click on the three lines next to your business name and click “Share or Embed Map” as shown in the photo below. Copy and paste the link on your business’s contact page.

Optimize the Listing Description

There are character limits on Google Maps listing, but instead of putting a long  description, you should include local SEO keywords that describe your business. For example, instead of “great realtor offering exemplary customer service” write “New York realtor with best rates” or something similar. You need to take care about the SEO here. So optimize your description accordingly which gives the customers easy information without any difficultly.

Use a Local Telephone Number

Google looks takes upon toll-free (800 and 877) numbers because these types of numbers are frequently used for spam. Local telephone numbers show that your business is a real and actually located in the area. For this reason you should always use a local telephone number with an area code that matches your business location. It’s okey to have a toll free number on your website, but if you want to have a higher Google Maps ranking, be sure to use a local number for your Google listing. It will definitely help you to rank higher.

Add Photos to the business Listing

One of the easiest ways to stand out on Google Maps is to add a photo to your Google My Business listing. Take a good photo of your business that’s on your website or highlights your business on the maps. You can add more than one photo so choose ones that will entice customers to come to your business. It always better to add the street phones also on the maps around your store. Listings that don’t include photos of the business will show a generic map of your business’s location. You should add photos so that it shows your business place instead of the local map image. It a big advantage for your. To add a photo’s to your Google Maps listing, you simply need to edit your original listing on Google+ page to add photos.

There are many things to fix for a business to rank in the search engines apart from this points. Like fixing your website with SEO, social media, etc. If you have a Google listing, check to make sure that you have all of these things in order to get Google putting your business on the first page of Google Maps. This will help you to improve your rankings on Google Maps.

Checkout the video tutorial on How to rank high in Google Maps (Seo facts):