149 Map Ranking Factors Explained
Fortunately, there aren’t any secret tactics that’ll magically improve your map rankings. It’s only these 149 factors. So, there’s a level playfield between you and your competitors. But, your map rankings very much depend on your ability to implement them accurately and consistently.
Explore Every Map Ranking Factor in Detail
Every map ranking factor is listed in order of importance. It’s based on a comprehensive research study conducted by WhiteSpark, which involved 44 experts in world of Local SEO. In a nutshell, every expert had to rate the factor between 0 and 5 in terms of its significance on rankings. Factors with the highest score are believed to have the greatest impact on rankings, while factors with the lowest scores are believed to be pointless.
Primary Category
Select the most relevant category to improve the relevancy of your listing to potential customers’ search term. For example, select “Italian restaurant” rather than “restaurant”.
Score: 193 of out 220
Keywords in Business Name
Legal business names with keywords like “Belle’s Italian Restaurant” or “The London Italian Restaurant” have a distinct advantage because it’ll closely match a customers’ search term.
Score: 181 of out 220
Searcher-Business Distance
The shorter the physical distance between a user’s point of search (current location) and your business’s address, it’s considered more relevant, and your listing is likely to show higher.
Score: 176 of out 220
Physical Address in Place of Search
Businesses with a physical address in the town or city where a searcher is searching typically have higher map rankings than businesses in the surrounding towns and cities.
Score: 170 of out 220
Spam Fighting
You can report profiles that fall foul of Google’s Guidelines. If there’s evidence of keyword stuffing in their business name, fake reviews, or the entire listing is fabricated, you can report it.
Score: 143 of out 220
High Review Ratings
Businesses with a high average review rating, say 4.3 out of 5 or above, are more likely to experience better map rankings. New businesses will struggle until they begin to generate reviews.
Score: 138 of out 220
Additional Categories
Additional categories such as “Pizza restaurant” and “Pasta restaurant” complement the Primary Category: “Italian Restaurant”, and it’s likely something they offer.
Score: 134 of out 220
Quantity of Reviews
Businesses with a high quantity of reviews with text on their listing tend to be preferred than those with less. With a larger volume of reviews, the consensus is likely to be more accurate.
Score: 128 of out 220
Verified Listing
Verified listings signify trust, especially now as it’s no longer a simple postcode, but rather a comprehensive video verification process. Undertake this, your listing will rank higher.
Score: 117 of out 220
Centre of the Town or City
Businesses with a physical address in the centre of a town or city hold an advantage rather than those on one side. It typically suggests the premises is more accessible for searchers.
Score: 114 of out 220
Landing Page Title Tag
Most small businesses send traffic from their listing to their homepage. If your homepage meta title tag is your keyword, say “Italian restaurant”, then you’re more likely to achieve better rankings.
Score: 114 of out 220
Complete Listing
The more complete your listing, the greater chance of higher rankings. From basic contact information through to a well-written description, photos and videos, and verification.
Score: 112 of out 220
Sustained Influx of Reviews
We already know average review ratings and the volume of reviews are important, but how it’s achieved is too. Frequently collecting reviews as opposed to sudden bursts is best.
Score: 105 of out 220
Dedicated Page for Each Service
A dedicated service page improves the contextual relevance of a keyword, which acts as a signal of relevance to your listing, which in turn, gains a higher map ranking when the keyword is searched.
Score: 105 of out 220
Landing Heading Tags
Using the service and location keywords, appropriately, in your heading tags, such as H1, H2, H3, it signals relevance between the searchers’ search terms and the service you offer in that location.
Score: 102 of out 220
Map Pin Placement
Accurate placement of the map pin has a positive effect on the users’ experience. Travelling to a business only to struggle finding it is not what Google wants its users to experience.
Score: 101 of out 220
Town/City Keyword Relevant Content
Your website should contain locally relevant content to improve the signal that it operates locally. The easiest way to do it is describe in detail how to travel to your business e.g., road names.
Score: 101 of out 220
Internal Linking throughout the Website
Links to and from different web pages on your website within the content shares link authority between pages, provides a better user experience and improves contextual relevance.
Score: 100 of out 220
Quantity of Backlinks from Local Websites to Domain
High-quality links such as local news outlets, commerces of business, and community organisations signal that your business is recognised and trusted within your town or city.
Score: 100 of out 220
Recency of Reviews
Recent reviews share the latest experience, which may have improved, sustained or declined. By focusing on a sustained influx of reviews, you’ll ensure your listing always has recent reviews, and in turn, a higher map ranking.
Score: 99 of out 220
Quantity of Backlinks from Local Websites to Landing Page
Small businesses that target one area, usually where their business’s premises is physically located or where they live, can ignore this factors because your landing page is your homepage, and that’s your domain. Business with multiple physical addresses should have multiple local pages, and relevant local links.
Score: 98 of out 220
Consistency of Citations on Search Engines
There are really on four search engines. Google with 92% market share, followed by Bing with 5.65%, and DuckDuckGo at 0.55%. Your business name, address and phone should match your listing on Bing Places for Business and Apple Maps (DuckDuckGo uses Apple Maps). Inconsistency will result in lower positions.
Score: 98 of out 220
HTML NAP Consistency
It sounds complicated, but it just means that your business’s name, address, and phone number is consistent on the landing page is consistent with your listing. Any discrepancies either suggest your business isn’t legitimate or accurate, and Google would prefer not to show your listing to a searcher on the basis of a potentially unpleasant experience.
Score: 97 of out 220
Internal Links to Local Landing Page
Links from other web pages to your local landing pages (or your homepage for one-area small businesses), shares link authority from other web pages on your website to the most important page to improve your map rankings, which signals to Google that your business is trusted. It’s also not a hidden page from users.
Score: 97 of out 220
Quality of Backlinks to Domain
Generally, the most cost-effective method (that works today) is guest blogging. Blogs you write and give to a blogger of an authoritative website to post on your behalf, and send a link to relevant content on your own blog.
Score: 94 of out 220
Quality of Backlinks to Landing Page
Instead of backlinks from guest posts being sent to a relevant blog content on your website, it’s sent to your landing page (which is often the homepage for small businesses).
Score: 94 of out 220
Quality of Backlinks to Landing Page from Industry-Relevant Websites
Similar to blogs, industry-relevant websites are typically read by other businesses connected to the industry such as magazines and trade events.
Score: 92 of out 220
Age of Listing
While there’s nothing you can do about the age of your listing, you can try to understand the age of your competitors by identify their first review or age of their domain name. It may be more important to focus on additional factors.
Score: 90 of out 220
Keywords in Anchor Text of Backlinks Links to Landing Page
Typically, your keyword, which can be the product/service, and/or town or city, is used as a hyperlink to your landing page. In essence, it acts as a tiny description for your landing page.
Score: 89 of out 220
Volume of Searches for Business Name
If your brand name is frequently searched, it signals to Google that there’s a degree of brand awareness. Reviewing Google Search Console to assess yours, while Keyword Planner to assess your competition.
Score: 89 of out 220
Topical (Product/Service) Keyword Relevance Across Entire Website
It’s all about how aligned the content is on your website to the keywords for your products of service. Any content that’s irrelevant is potentially limiting your performance.
Score: 88 of out 220
Quantity of Backlinks Links to Domain from Industry-Relevant Domains
Does your website have backlinks from industry magazines, suppliers, industry trade shows, or the highest authority blogs?
Score: 87 of out 220
Volume of Quality Content on Service Pages
Quality content typically includes, detailed explanations, addressing common questions, and highlighting the unique benefits and features of each service, that makes it helpful and informative.
Score: 86 of out 220
Keywords in Native Google Reviews
We already know that customers leaving reviews has an impact on rankings, but when the reviews contain your keywords such as the town or city and/or service you offer, it’s more impactful.
Score: 85 of out 220
Reference to Location Specific Entities on Landing Page
It’s often ignored on most local landing pages, but simply describing your service area with reference to the distance from certain landmarks, helps.
Score: 82 of out 220
Website's Degree of Focus on a Specific Niche
Are you a jack-of-all-trades or a master in one? Website content that focuses on one area has the upper hand when ranking in the maps for such keyword due to improved relevancy.
Score: 82 of out 220
Keywords in Anchor Text of Backlinks to Domain
Add text.
Score: 81 of out 220
Click-Through Rate for Local Keywords
Add text.
Score: 79 of out 220
Positive Sentiment in Review Text
Add text.
Score: 78 of out 220
Quantity of Reviews with No Text
Add text.
Score: 78 of out 220
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