Custom Search: make the most out of Google Maps with optimized geolocation results

Following your permanent update quest for visibility and content optimisation purposes you may have noticed that, after being so global, web search results pages are becoming more and more local. We do tend toward custom search, and this is just the beginning.

Your goal: do better at SEO rankings.

Creating your own Google Maps file nowadays is still a bonus for your website’s SEO. But let’s bet it will soon become unavoidable. Why is that so?

Google Maps files benefit from a great ranking place in Google’s results pages, and appear almost every time, especially since Google’s upgraded its search interface in March 2010. It firstly concerned keywords with location within the keywords (town, country, zip code …), but has now been extended to many other keywords.

You probably know what this is all about as you may have keywords where your website was at top ranking position, which are now… still in top position, but… After Google Maps results!

I.E. Below with the famous French travel guide www.petitpaume.com : it long has been top of any keywords such as “restaurant + (town)” (“restaurant lyon”). Now, with Google Maps results, it certainly is less visible, and suffers great lost of targeted audience. (click on image for larger view)

Best practices.

Let’s have a look at the specifications required within Google Local to optimise your own dedicated Google Maps business file. In practice, little changes were noticed concerning Google Maps standards, so few optimisations and adjustments in time may be necessary to reach sustainable rankings on specific keywords and keep them.

Criteria:

Content (we will have a deeper look at this section below).

• Use keywords in the title and within the description.
• Choose carefully the categories you will put your Google Maps file in.
• Use pictures (and videos if possible).

Be credible.

• The more your file is closed to be fully complete the better.
• Use a local phone number and local postal address.
• Add your website URL and email contact.
• Seniority counts (as for domain names): so do not wait to create your own Google Maps file!

You must have a landing page (do not rely on your website homepage), and dedicated to your Google Maps file.

• Same address, same telephone number (local, of course).
• Presentation: make it like a VCard.
• Use keywords in the Title and H1.
• Description, contents and URL rewriting optimised on this landing page (on specific keywords).

Popularity ranking exists: use it!

• Notifications to your Google Maps file (links and direct Web users’ posts and positive feedbacks on Google Maps), backlinks quality (keywords within the links).
• Submit to phones / addresses directories (Leshoraires.fr, PagesJaunes.fr, Kompass, 118218.fr…), local directories (Lyon-Web.fr), and directly connected to your field / area of expertise directories (Lyonresto.com …).

What you should absolutely not do:

• Submit several files at the same address, and with the same title.
• Use your landing page to display other addresses (if you have several branches, create one Google Maps file and one dedicated landing page for each).
• Over optimise (excessive keywords density).
• Do not use too many capital letters (spam).
• HTML encoding in description area, titre more than 60 characters.
• Use of reserved and surcharged telephone numbers (0 800 …).

Make your Google Maps file SEO friendly.

Google Maps can be great for keywords optimisation. But be careful: use maximum 2 or three keywords, and these have to correctly describe your business activity. Anyway, you will soon find out by yourself that you will not be able to optimise more unless being blacklisted!

Your Google Map Title (60 characters maximum)

Your Title has to contain keywords (1 or 2). As much as possible, you should write down something that looks like a natural web search.
Your Title must be short as your Google Maps file will be displayed considering your entire Title.

Your description (200 characters maximum)

Description must contain keywords, maximum 3 of them, if possible already used in your Title (for more efficiency, prefer up to 130 characters). This description has to be appalling because the clicks and hard bounce rates matter for your popularity score.

Categories

You can set up to 5 categories on your Google Maps file. You must choose at least one which is referenced in the Google Business local center. Then, you can create specific categories with keywords: these have to match your activity had be as short as possible (please do not make a list of keywords …).

Additional information

Additional field can be added at the end of your Google Maps file. They can participate to your SEO ranking if well used (with keywords). These fields normally can help your business to be more specific, i.e. for a restaurant, specify the nearest parking, or detail the menu. You could add something like “Your restaurant in Lyon suggests …” for your “The Chef suggestion” section …

Pictures (logos and other photos)

Always put a picture in your Google Maps file, as it is a lot more attractive with one, and also can be optimised (name your photos with keywords : “restaurant-in-lyon.jpg”).

More From webdesign

• Google replaces the SearchWiki by the Star feature in results. | The Web Design Bureau of Mauritius
• Working out of the agency.
• What will change in 2010 with search engines ranking? (Google speaking only? Not sure …)

webdesign Recommends

• Google’s New Panda Algorithm Changes The Face of Search Rankings  (Brandon Hann)
• How to minimize the risk of being banned by Google or other service? | SEO – Search Engine Optimization – SEO  (Does SEO Work)

Ask webdesign To Recommend Your Posts

Category: Search Engine Optimisation