Sherrie is an SEO analyst based in New Hampshire in the United States. When she’s not busy researching, implementing, and writing about new SEO developments, she can be found hiking and playing guitar.
Reviewed By: Manvi Agarwal Manvi AgarwalManvi, the Content Marketing Manager at AIOSEO, is a true visionary in content marketing. Her product-led approach, infused with interactive user-oriented strategy and SEO tactics, delivers maximum ROI. Besides winning the content game, Manvi loves playing Squash and trying out new cuisines.
Google Maps SEO is the key to unlocking the full potential of your site.
In the competitive world of local business, Google Maps has emerged as a crucial platform for driving growth.
By optimizing your website and your Google Business Profile, leveraging local keywords, and harnessing the power of customer reviews, you can get serious traction.
This article will guide you through the essential strategies and best practices of Google Maps SEO, empowering you to stand out in local search results and grow sales.
Let’s start with a definition.
In This Article
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Google Maps SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of optimizing your business's online presence to improve its visibility and ranking on Google Maps.
When users search for local businesses or services on Google, the search results often include a map with listings of relevant nearby businesses.
The goal of Google Maps SEO is to ensure that your business appears near the top of these search results, and has a high rating, making it more likely for searchers to patronize your establishment.
Before we get into practical steps, let’s review what local search results are and how they’re laid out.
Search results for local businesses look different from, say, results for informational queries.
This display is triggered by a local search term.
Local search intent: When you search for things like pizza delivery, dry cleaners, or a plumber, Google knows you’re looking for a local business.
And that triggers a local search results display
Local search results: At the top are ads (if any are running on that search term). These may include Local Services Ads.
After that you’ll see the Local Pack: a display of 3 businesses next to a map.
Clicking on the Local Pack opens a new display. This one features a scrollable list of businesses on the left and a map on the right.
At the top are filters to refine your search.
Blue links: Below the Local Pack are website listings. Often business directories, like Yelp, will rank high, which provides an incentive to get listed there.
People Also Ask: Some queries may display the People Also Ask section, a collection of commonly asked questions about the topic.
My approach in this article will be to rely on Google’s own recommendations for improving your local search ranking.
So all of the recommendations will be relevant to local SEO. You can’t really separate Google Maps SEO from local SEO. What you do for one will influence the other.
I'll also bring my experience doing SEO for local businesses to play in my recommendations.
Let’s start with a tool recommendation.
According to Google, how your business website ranks can impact your overall local rankings in Google Maps. So it’s crucial to optimize your site for better SEO.
WordPress site owners can use an SEO plugin to automate and simplify much of on-page SEO.
I recommend the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) plugin. This is an established plugin with thousands of 5-star reviews on WordPress.org.
It’s easy to learn to use the plugin. In fact, you’ll learn by doing.
For each page analyzed, AIOSEO will provide clear action steps to improve your SEO.
All in One SEO includes many tools of benefit to local businesses. These include:
This step is crucial. Google’s own advice on ranking higher locally, emphasizes setting up an optimized Google Business Profile.
Getting a Google Business Profile is simple. First, do a search for your business name. Google may have already set up a basic Profile for you. If that’s the case, click “Own this business?” to claim your profile.
If there’s no Profile for you to claim, you’ll create one from scratch.
Pay careful attention to:
Content can be as simple as announcements, sales, or a new photo.
Google Reviews is the most trusted review platform, according to research by BrightLocal.
Your Review ratings will show up in many places, including in the Local Pack.
And in Google Maps searches, when users mouseover a pin.
So managing Google Reviews should be part of your regular routine.
Next, get your business listed in online directories. These sites, like Yelp and Thumbtack often rank high in local searches.
My preferred way to do this is to use BrightLocal’s Citation Builder. You’ll pay a flat fee.
Note: You’ll see a purple button at top for “Buy Credits.” I recommend avoiding this. You’ll only see options to buy packages worth $1,000 on up, and that’s confusing.
Instead, click on the green Start Campaign button next to a business you’ve added.
You’ll see a screen like this, where you can choose the number of citations you want to purchase and whether you want the BrightLocal team to remove existing listings with inaccurate information.
Select how many citations you want. My favorite is the 25 citations for $80. It’s not the number of citations that matter as much as the quality of the sites chosen.
I recommend also selecting Data Aggregator & Network Submissions.
Simply scroll down the window to see your options.
Here I’ve selected Neustar and the GPS Network. It’s fine to select all 5 if you like.
You should, at minimum, select Neustar. But I recommend adding the GPS Network, because you want your business location data to be vetted and distributed to vehicle navigation systems.
For one Manhattan client I consulted with, the addition of Neustar alone, before any directory listings went live, was sufficient to propel him up many notches in search results.
The examples above come to a grand total of $143.50.
After you’re listed in business directories, you’ll notice that other sites learn about your business and list yours for free.
Other local citations you can pursue include:
Once you have your directory listings, it’s important to keep your NAP consistent across the web.
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. But it’s understood to include other business details like operating hours (crucial for Google Maps SEO), website URL, and email address.
Remember: Google Maps offers filters for local searches. For example, if someone’s searching for “late night diner” they’ll be offered filters, including for restaurants that are open 24-hours a day.
If a restaurant changes its operating hours from 24-hours a day to, say, 9am-10pm, but doesn’t update their information on their Google Business Profile, Google may suppress your rankings.
After all, they don’t want to send customers to an establishment that’s closed.
Indeed, they may do that if your NAP isn’t consistent across the web. But it’s not worth obsessing over. For instance, if your business is listed in one place with “LLC” after the name, and on another website without the “LLC,” that small difference isn’t going to affect your rankings.
In fact, SEO scammers love to target small businesses with calls about such minute variations in NAP.
These scammers often claim to work for Google. Only later in the call will they also say the name of their business.
My mechanic, before he retired, was targeted by such a scammer. This mechanic owned his own garage, which had a minute NAP variation like the one I described above.
The caller became insistent, saying “The way to make these calls go away is to sign up for our service.” Sounds like an SEO mafia!
Of course, these scammers want to sign you up for a monthly fee, just to watch for NAP variations. The scam is: you don’t need their services.
Sadly, the scammer convinced my mechanic that they really did work for Google. And I couldn’t talk him out of that perception.
So, avoid scammers. Keep your NAP accurate in your Google Business Profile and social media pages. Maintain accurate hours of operation.
And if any part of your contact or location information changes, log into BrightLocal’s Citation Builder and ask them to update your listings with the info.
Learn more about the importance of consistent NAP.
Now, let’s look at local content opportunities.
Local businesses can create content around local keywords by:
By consistently creating high-quality, locally-relevant content that incorporates targeted keywords, businesses can improve their visibility in local search results and attract more customers.
No article on Google Maps SEO would be complete without listing things to avoid.
Here is a concise list of things that can harm your Google Maps SEO.
Go to Google Maps and click on the pin marking your chosen destination. In the overlay, select Share.
Then click Embed a Map
Click Copy HTML and paste the code into the web page where you want to display the map.
In WordPress, you’ll select the HTML block, then simply paste the code in.
To discover your rankings in local search results use local search grid tools. These take into account ranking factors like proximity of the searcher to related businesses.
In addition, you can see, on the grid map, local areas where a competitor is outranking you. And you can track keyword performance across local areas.
Now that you understand how to excel at Google Maps SEO, what’s next?
Check out our master guide to Local SEO. And learn how to avoid SEO scams. Unfortunately, these often target small businesses.
Then make sure you’re set to capture leads. Explore these lead magnet ideas and be sure to use mobile-friendly forms.
Come join us on our YouTube Channel. And follow us on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, or Facebook to stay in the loop.
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Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that we believe will add value to our readers.
Sherrie Gossett Content WriterSherrie is an SEO analyst based in New Hampshire in the United States. When she’s not busy researching, implementing, and writing about new SEO developments, she can be found hiking and playing guitar.
