Frank Olivo

Frank Olivo is the founder of Sagapixel. He writes on a number of topics related to digital marketing, but focuses mostly on SEO.

6 Tips to Rank Higher on Google Maps (formally “Google My Business”)

Category:
Table of Contents

Check out the rest of our YouTube Channel.

My name is Frank. I’m the founder of Sagapixel, an SEO firm that specializes in SEO for local businesses as well as providing YouTube marketing services. In this video, I give 6 tips to help your business to rank higher on Google Maps by optimizing your Google Business Profile (formerly called “Google My Business”).

Tip #6: Do Keyword Research and Add Those Keywords to the Page to Which Your Google Business Profile is Linked.

Number 6: do keyword research to find out how people are searching for the services that you provide in your market. Add those keywords to the page that you’re linking to from your Google Business Profile.

Google looks at the presence of the keywords on the page that you’re linking to in your profile as a relevancy indicator. This also includes the name of the city where you’re located. So, if you’re a Home Care Agency in Tampa, Florida, the H1 of the page that you link to from your Google Business Profile should say “Home Care Agency Tampa Florida” somewhere. You should try to work it in as many times as you can naturally into the copy on that page.

Tip #5: Do Local Citations with a Service Like BrightLocal

Tip number five, this is an easy one: do local citations. You don’t need to sign up for some expensive service like Yext or anything like that. I personally prefer BrightLocal. Moz Local is also a reasonably priced one. If you’re thinking about Yext, make sure you check out our channel. We have a video on all the reasons why you should probably not use Yext for your local citations.

Tip #4: Check The Google Business Profile Categories Your Competitors Are Listed Under

Tip number 4: use a tool like BrightLocal to see what categories your competitors are using:

google business profiles categories

For example, with the keyword “divorce attorney” in Philadelphia, you’ll notice some firms using up to eight or nine categories, while others use only two or three. It’s essential to check what categories your competitors are using.

At the same time, ensure your primary category reflects your main service. For instance, many firms might have “attorney” as their primary category. However, if your business is Cooper Family Law LLC, your main keyword is likely “family law attorney” or “divorce lawyer,” not just “attorney.”

Tip #3: Get Reviews and Prompt The Reviewers to Include Target Keywords

Tip number 3 involves getting customer reviews and encouraging the inclusion of relevant keywords. Expert local SEO practitioners know that having target keywords in real customer reviews from active Google accounts boosts ranking for those keywords. Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking customers to mention a particular aspect.

Mostly, though, you’ll need to prompt them to talk about the service you provided. If you’re excelling at your job, share with your customers how mentioning the specific service or business type in their review can help you on Google. Happy customers are usually willing to support your business in this way.

Tip #2: Build Backlinks to Your Website

Number 2: build backlinks. I know this might be the hardest task to do on your own, but it’s crucial. If you sponsor a local Little League or engage with other local businesses managing their websites, see if you can get backlinks from them. For instance, if you sponsor a local soccer league, they probably have a website. Ask if they’d be willing to add a sponsor section on their site. Locally relevant backlinks will help you rank better, not only in the map results but also in the blue link results below.

Tip #1: Drive Engagement with Every Part of Your Google Business Profile

Tip number 1, and in my opinion, the most important: get profile engagement.

This involves adding pictures, products, filling out all the services, and adding FAQs. Basically, put as much as you can on the profile to encourage people to engage with it.

It’s almost certain that Google’s systems track whether people click around on your pictures or products. Google aims to showcase profiles that people enjoy engaging with. These signals are critically important, just like TikTok pushes videos that gain more views or YouTube videos that get more likes, comments, and views to the end.

Here’s a plug to help us out: maybe throw us a like if you find this helpful.

Your Google Business Profile works similarly. If people are scrolling through your pictures, reading your FAQs, and engaging with your profile, it will boost your visibility in the long term.

One of our biggest wins this year involved an attorney whose Google Business Profile featured a picture of the main street in the city where he practices. We swapped that out for pictures of him and his associates, added some infographics about family law in his state, and even with a small budget, he is now well-positioned in the map results for all his target keywords in the city where he practices.

I hope this video was helpful. If it was, please consider giving it a like. I encourage you to check out the rest of our channel for more on local SEO. If you want to schedule a time with me, there will be a link in the description.

Schedule a call with us