How exactly does Google Maps help you with Los Angeles SEO? Did you know that map listing marketing actually is organic SEO if it’s done properly? That’s right. Google Maps is the most popular navigation app on the market, with it being primarily used by nearly 70% of smartphone users. By understanding how Google Maps listing works and how to effectively get your business featured on there, you will be able to drive more traffic to your company. The benefits of this will only roll out from there, for example, your business can rank extraordinarily in your local area first and then the outskirts of the area next, just to name one. At Drive Traffic Media, we are the Los Angeles digital marketing agency that can help you get started with this process easily and efficiently.
Let’s say you run a restaurant and you want to get a range in the local area of Santa Monica, then optimizing your map listing is by far one of the most important ways to get ranking. Choosing a term like “Santa Monica restaurants” which gets over 90,000 searches a month might not be the best keyword to choose. You definitely will not want to ignore that keyword, but if you are a Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica, you will definitely wanna go for “Mexican restaurant” first as there are over 2,500 people a month searching that term. So now, we have chosen “Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica ” as our keyword, our next step is finding out how to get rankings properly with your map listings. The first thing you’ll need is to know exactly where to start. A grid system is commonly used that tells you exactly from your location how many grids for that keyword you are ranking. This means if you do a radius for the keyword “Mexican restaurant Santa Monica” then this will tell users the radius around you where you are ranking. Now, let’s talk about filling out your citation sites with the keywords that you want to be optimized for and as well as the address. A backlink is not even necessary, which is a link to your actual website. You’ll want to specifically just mention the keywords and also the address that will be picked up by Google over time and rank you higher for those listings.
Next, the report will show what number you are on the map listing. Do you have to be in the top three spots to get business? No, you actually don’t, because what people will do is click the “more” button or the map. This is the key. If they are hungry and they want to get a restaurant that looks good with good reviews they’re going to clip that map listing and look for the closest place near them, and if they put in “Mexican restaurant Santa Monica” over “restaurants Santa Monica” then your listing will pop up if it’s close to them first. A map listing could be used on an iPhone or an Android device as well a desktop computer and or an iPad – so you want to make sure that you check your rankings on different devices.
You also want to make sure your map listing is filled out 100%. This is imperative because Google wants to ensure you are indeed an operating business so make sure to include your phone number, address, hours you work, and some facts about your restaurant. Answering these fields is what will help searchers. Also, if you’re also going to fill out information and descriptions, like “Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica.” Now, why would you have to put the word “Santa Monica” in the business listing when there is already a map that has the address? Well, this is important for Organic SEO in order to get that ranking.
Next up, you’ll need to get your images optimized and make sure you have high-quality photos. Check to ensure that each image has a Geotag so that Google will know which area to rank you at, and get your business up in the local search.
The next thing you can do to help yourself is issue press releases. These are extremely powerful to get your ranking in the local area, enlist your NAPs too.
If you are ready for visibility on Google Maps to drive more traffic to your business today, please give Drive Traffic Media a call at (310) 341-3939 and we will help you grow your business in virtually every aspect of digital marketing: from map listing marketing, organic and Los Angeles SEO, web design, social media management and many, many more ways to get your traffic skyrocketing.
