7 Tips To Rank Higher On Google Local Listings

The time when you were easily able to outrank the top businesses through using a site with just three pages of information and a number of back links is over now. With cut throat competition and new avenues opening up to be at the top rankings, you need to go with the changing trends.

Here we discuss the best ways/tips through which you can rank high on the Google local listings. But make sure you follow these tips carefully.

Google+ Local that was earlier called Google Places now favor the small firms and businesses even without having huge sites. This simply means that even your small business has the chance to rank higher in the Google + Local even when you do not have a very high quality site. So, how to go about it?

1) Add complete details

First and foremost, ensure that you fill in all the profile/business details. You may skip adding some parts thinking that they might not be crucial but research shows that having hundred percent profile completeness serves to be a very important factor. Do not forget that the clients and customers will see your profile on Google+ local listing and whatever you add needs to be appealing and relevant.

Then, you need to move a step further and verify the listing to ensure that the information is all correct. If there are 2 or more locations or contact numbers listed for a single business, Google will indeed discredit it. So, keep in mind to make one listing for one business or according to the physical location.

2) Use images to the best effect

Moving further, you need to know that Google+ Local offers you the chance to upload many images on your business page. You can easily upload important images to the authority photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket etc. Add the company name, site, physical address, contact number and more to the description. There are some sites that even offer the support for geo tagging, add the longitude and latitude of the business to every picture. Doing this will help Google to grab some of your off-website pictures as well, automatically adding the same to the Google+ Local page.

3) Add business coupon

A number of people are not aware of how adding a business coupon to the local listing can be of great help. You need to understand that nothing gets more traffic than an amazing coupon. Make your customers see the value in your business through the coupons you provide.

4) Reviews are of real help

You need to further understand the importance of real time reviews when it comes to getting higher rankings on the Google local listings. Get as many real reviews as you can. User reviews have indeed become a necessity now. Reviews can be both positive and a little negative.  As you do not have control over what other people have to say about your company, let them write what they feel and this will be a true test for you.

5) Reviews on third party websites

Get reviews on the third party websites. This is important because Google reads reviews that are posted on Trip Advisor, Yellow Pages and more and can thus add them to the business’s local page. For the best results, you need to focus on the industry or niche specific directories and local review websites.

6) Google maps

You can also create landing pages on your business site with direct link to the Google map listing. Make certain that you provide this link to the favorite or loyal customers who might write reviews and testimonials about your company. Never write any fake reviews. A large amount of positive reviews will surely be of great help in achieving higher rankings on the Google Maps as well.

7) Add keywords in listing descriptions

The Google Maps description needs to be crisp and short so make sure that you include the important keywords into it. Rather than writing that we offer great accommodation facility with spa, go ahead with something such as “Amazing Indiana Beach resort with spa”.

Using the above mentioned techniques and tips will help you a great deal to rank high on the Google local listings. If you have faced some sort of penalty, do not worry. Through correcting the listing or by working properly, you can get your campaign back on track, thereby letting you recover the Google local listings presence in no time.