If you’re looking to dominate Google Maps and bring in more local customers, these 7 actionable tips, supported by insights from top SEO experts like Matt Diggity and others, will help you get there.
First you need to know that if you’re not centrally located in the city – even though it’s a lot to consider, we want to shoot you straight – moving to a more centrally located part of that city, could improve your rankings.
But besides moving, here’s a prioritized list based on impact and ease of implementation:
1. Fully Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the foundation. Fill out every field: services, categories, and even the small details like hours. “Google rewards you when you make its life easier”, and a complete, active profile helps ensure that. If you haven’t looked in awhile, go now to the backend of your Google profile, and fill everything out – because new options and fields are added often.
2. Consistency in Your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP)
Google cross-references your business information across the web. According to Nathan Gotch, NAP consistency is key for trust: “Local citations are like the building blocks of trust between Google and your business.” Focus on high-authority directories and aim for accuracy across the board rather than sheer quantity.
Here are 3 places to get local directory listings or NAP listings now: Whitespark, BrightLocal and AdviceLocal.
3. Collect and Respond to Reviews Aggressively
Reviews are a huge factor in ranking higher. Automate the process by requesting reviews immediately after completing a service. One tool like this is PulseM (it also texts the homeowner when the technician or project manager is on the way with a picture of them and a little about them.)
Ryan Stewart recommends being proactive with negative reviews: “Respond to all reviews with thoughtful solutions—it shows engagement and can improve ranking.”
4. Use Google Posts Weekly
Google rewards active profiles. Post weekly updates about offers, events, or customer reviews. Matt Diggity emphasizes that “Google loves fresh content” and using features like Posts keeps your business relevant in its eyes .
5. Optimize for Local Keywords
Local SEO thrives on keyword optimization. Target local keywords in your profile description, posts, and even reviews. According to Brian Dean, “Local keywords can help you grab long-tail search traffic that’s more relevant to your area.”
One easy way to do this is in responses to your reviews – for example “Thank you so much for your review Susan, we love helping fix problems quickly when folks in [her city] need HVAC repair!”
6. Engage with the Q&A Section
Take control of your Q&A by pre-loading questions and answering them yourself. This not only provides useful information but helps you appear more credible and active, another important ranking signal in Google’s algorithm .
If you want to see an example of this – check out Hook Agency’s Q&A section.
Rather than purely SEO benefit, it also has a ‘sales enablement’ effect of giving people the answers to what they ask most in the sales process, but sooner so they can make a better decision about who they work with.
7. Make a List of the Top 7 Companies Like You
We’ve seen that lists of companies – for instance ‘7 Top HVAC Companies in Shreveport Louisiana’ for instance, can have a serious and meaningful impact on rankings on Google maps. It may be a little off the beaten path, but this is definitely part of how we rank in the top 3 for our service in Minneapolis.
Bonus strategy: Having more people map to your office signals to Google that your business is relevant and popular in the local area, which can positively influence your Google Maps ranking. Could you tell your team to use maps everytime they come into the office, or hold more events in your office space?
We’re top 2 agency in Minneapolis out of 500+ marketing companies because we apply these principles to our map listing, and recently went over 150+ five-star Google reviews. What are you waiting for – get moving on a couple of these strategies now!