Easy SEO with Business Listings & Map Optimization
Failing to manage your Google Maps listing is equivalent to throwing money in the trashcan. Getting listed on Google Maps is free and easy! But for this to be at all effective, you should have a very good handle on keywords. I highly encourage you to read our post on keywords if you have not already.
Optimizing your Google Maps listing is not only easy but has become one of the most most critical elements to any local SEO strategy. Why?
For starters, organic links (map listings & natural search results) are considered the most trusted, receiving 65-70% of all clicks versus the paid listings which show up to the side or colorfully highlighted at the very top of the search page.
The Google Map listing physically covers up to and eye-catching 30% of the first page of search engine results, making it most likely for potential clients to use the map listings to connect with local businesses. Don’t believe me? Go to Google dot com and type in “Dentists Nashville TN” and see what happens. You want your business to show up high in those map listings!
Most importanly, 66% of Americans choose the Internet as their main source for local businesses information and up to 80% make it a point to choose businesses close to home. So, the odds of pulling in local customers are stacked immensely in your favor simply by showing up high on Google Maps listing.
What is Maps Optimization?
When buyers look for services on Google, the three to seven most relevant local businesses are displayed on a the map listings at the top of the Google search window for relevant keyword searches.
You want your business high on this list anytime someone searches for terms terms that describe your type of business.
Before creating a Google Business Listing, brainstorm and jot down a list of potential keywords that describe aspects of your business. Then use Google Adwords tool to for additional ideas and fine tuning. If you’ve not done so already, I highly recommend reading our keyword post for the best ways to acquire keywords for your business. Ten strong keywords are sufficient for your ad. Going above that would be considered too many. By using the Google tool you can discover alternative keywords and check search volumes for each. I like to check keyword options out with and without local modifiers (ie/ “Dentist” vs. “Dentist Nashville TN” or “Nashville Dentist”) to get a full feel of what the search volumes are like. Even without the local modifiers Google shows a column indicating the local search volume for each word.
While developing your list of potential keywords, always test each along with a local modifier in the Google search window to see if they pull up Google map listings. The ones that do should be considered, obviously considering the search volumes they generate.
“Chiropractor Nashville TN” has a high search volume and brings up a Google Maps listing.
“Sciatica Nashville TN” has a high search volume but does not bring up a Google Maps listing. Despite the high search volume, I would not include the term “Sciatica” in my ‘Google Business Listing’ description because it does not bring up a Google maps listing.
“Sciatica” without the local modifier brings up random sites irrelavent to local competition whereas “chiropractor” does show some local sites. To take away the guesswork, always test your search term with the local modifier.
Now that your list is in place, it’s time to create a business listing with Google. Note that there are isolated cases in which a competitor or or someone with devious intent may have already “claimed your address” which means you won’t be able to register your business with Google using that address unless you “reclaim” it. One way to check is to go to Google Maps, type in the name of your business and city (“Wal-Mart Nolensville TN), look for your listing on the side bar, and hit the “more info.” You can then click the edit link which will bring you to a new page. There is a “claim” link in the upper right corner where you can claim this as yours. Google will want to verify the change via telephone so be prepared to answer your phone when they call.
Note: You must have a Google or Gmail account to do this.
SDD can assist you with this process in addition to fine tuning your listing according to keywords (market trends) in your line of business. Including a group keywords in your description is definitely critical but you want to write your description in natural readable format.
“Affordable pizza delivery in Nashville, TN. We offer gourmet pizza, gluten free pizza, and pizza catering to all local areas.”
Any time you complete such a directory listing it’s important to complete the hours of operation, payment methods accepted, description of services you offer, categories, etc. The 5 categories you enter are crucial. Luckily Google will autocomplete these for you as you begin to type. However please do not leave this post before looking this free tool (definitely watch the short video) on how to maximize your category listings.
SEO Design Dynamics takes things a step further by creating “citations” where we mention your business name, address, and phone number on other websites. When Google crawls content across the web you gain credit for these citations which help boost your map ranking.
Much like other aspects of SEO, Business Listing and Map Optimization takes 2-3 months and to take affect and requires patience.
To get a head start, SDD will highly recommend a cost-effective business directory discussed in more detail on our next post.
We also have a few other tricks up our sleeve so get in touch if you’d like us to optimize your map listing. Remember, just as with any discipline of SEO, it pays to apply what we call the “slow drip” method by adding a few citations each month. We can help you with this!
Never ever ever consider overstuffing your listings with keywords or trying to add multiple listings to cover two cities. Simply write the listing for a human reader and potential customer. Also do not change your business name or edit your listing to add seasonal or temporary keywords, multiple phone numbers, etc. Just leave it alone as is. Google considers these sorts of activities spammy behavior.
Always be sure to use your doing business as (DBA) name and be consistent across Google, Bing, and Yahoo, as well as any other directory resources you subscribe to online such as InfoUSA, Yelp, Merchant Circle, etc. If your business is located in a small town next to a big town where you prefer to be listed, then get a business PO Box in that town and use that address for every directory listing you post online.
Always upload as many pictures and videos as you can in these listings. Using a keyword-rich naming convention (such as “ABC chiropractor nashville tn.jpg”) is important for pics and videos.
Yahoo and Bing offer similar business listing solutions which you should definitely check out. Come right back to this page when you’re finished because we have more to cover 
.
Next you’ll learn about one of the best kept secrets for improving SEO and gaining quality traffic. Let’s move on to the topic of sitemaps and indexing. This is one of the easiest steps to boost your positioning that many overlook.
TomPier on May 6th, 2010
great post as usual!