Website Design Westchester NY - How to get your business found on Google Local Maps?

Getting found on Google Local Maps is a coveted spot for many small business owners. It's free qualified traffic to your website for people who are searching for businesses like yours in your area and it could mean tons of new business and sales for your company. But what is it exactly and how do you get on it?

What is Google Local Maps?

Google Local Maps is the listings that appear on the top left side of the search results, usually before the organic seo listings and is said to be one of the most viewed areas in search results. Only 10 companies are displayed at a time, based on your proximity to the local area included in the keyword search.

How do you get on Google Local Maps?
Follow these five simple steps and you will be well on your way.

Step 1: Ensure your website is optimized for geographic specific keywords.

When optimizing your website for local search you want to make sure that your city, county or geographic location is added to your page titles followed by your keywords. For example if you are a website design company in Westchester New York you will optimize your website as for Website Design Westchester NY.

Step 2. Ensure your business address is in html format on your website.

Add your business address on every page of your website in html format so that it can be picked up by the search engine spiders. Spiders cannot read images unless it has an alt tag with the description text.

Step 3. Submit your website to Google Local Listings

Your business may or may not be listed on Google Local. To find out simple go to Google Business Center and click add your business. If your business is already listed, then you will need to claim it and fill in the necessary information such as, type of payment, operation hours etc. If your business is not listed, you can proceed and then there will be verification process which you will receive a code by phone or a card by mail. Select the phone option it is faster. Once you get the code, verify your account.

Step 4. Add a Coupon

Adding a coupon to your Google Local listings will give you an added boost, because you would be providing added value to searchers.

Step 5. Encourage your customers to add reviews.

The more reviews you have the higher your chances are of getting into the coveted top ten spots that appear on Google Maps Search Results. You can also add reviews on other ratings and reviews sites, such as yelp and inside pages.

Step 6. Get Links from Local Websites

Obtaining links from community websites in your area that gets a lot of traffic will also help boost your positioning. Sample sites are local blogs, review websites, coupon sites and other websites that promote local businesses, activities and events.