A client emailed us several weeks ago with a question about Google Maps, and the answer is something that’s important enough to share with everyone.
Our client is in Edinburg, Texas. He told us that he was conducting searches for “personal injury attorney Edinburg” and for “personal injury lawyer Edinburg.”
He told us, “When I search from my office, the firm shows up, but when I’m in other parts of Edinburg, the firm is not coming up in the maps, and it’s ranking fifth or below.”
WHY AREN’T YOU SHOWING UP ON GOOGLE MAPS?
Why is this happening? It’s everywhere – not just Edinburg, Texas. It happens because your precise location is perhaps the most important element Google considers when it returns search results for products and services.
If you are located closer to the consumer who’s doing a search, you have a better chance of showing up on the map or receiving a top ranking.
That is a formula which works great for ordering a pizza. The problem is, when you are seeking an attorney, you don’t want the closest lawyer – you want the best one. Google could be doing this for several reasons.
It could just be lazy coding, or it might be something that Google can fix soon for specific services like doctors, accountants, lawyers, real estate agents, and similar professional services – where consumers are seeking the best rather than the nearest.
IS THERE A WAY TO INCREASE YOUR VISIBILITY ON GOOGLE MAPS?
Google Maps was not always this way. In the past, if you ranked for Edinburg, it didn’t really matter exactly where you were in Edinburg – you were still going to show up on the maps.
Edinburg’s not a particularly big city, but now, even in different parts of the same small city, we are discovering these kinds of search proximity issues. Depending on where you are located when you are searching, your search results will be completely different.
Increasing the number of quality backlinks that link back to your site is the surest way to increase your visibility on Google Maps. You must have high-quality backlinks.
Google considers the quality and number of your backlinks when it ranks you, so whenever you publish something, speak publicly, or participate in a charity event, ask for a link on that organization’s website.
Too often, a less-than-professional internet marketing company will simply automate the backlinking process to create lots of poor backlinks for a client, but Google can recognize and penalize automated backlinking.
However, an experienced, professional internet marketing company can help you build the quality backlinks you need to improve your visibility on Google Maps.
