Google searches local business listings present a great opportunity for local businesses to rank ahead of the usual link ranking. However, can a business or SEO expert enhance their Google Snack pack rank? You bet you can I will describe some of the techniques we do to enhance the overall websites ranking and the snack pack rank.
1) Optimise Google My Business Reviews
We advise all clients to build up at least a 5 to 1 ratio of good to bad reviews with a preference to having 20 and/or 5-10 more than your nearest 5 competitors. This ensures you have are more likely to appear when users search for best or expert. Having a 5/1 ratio ensures you keep a 5 Star rating. With a 4 or less star rating, you will find it harder to come up in the three pack. Also worth noting that other review sources, such as Yelp, Yellowpages and Facebook will appear in the GMB listing area and will also affect your place in the same manner. Therefore, it is good to control where your clients are leaving reviews to keep a balance.
Note: Facebook is particularly vulnerable to negative review attacks and we recommend turning it off for most clients.
2) Create the GMB one page website
To web developers using this free Google website is a sin, we know! However, it is fairly easy to rank and can serve you well for other purposes. Do a nice job of it, put one anchor text link to your main site and start adding posts regularly.
3) Ranking reviews makes them matter
If you can rank your reviews some neat things happen. Firstly google will quote a review more often when associated with a keyword. Your map listing will also improve its placement. Note encourage clients to become Google regular reviewers and include images on their reviews.
How you can improve the power of the review is like this:
Click on the reviewer’s profile link and share the review on Facebook, G+ or Twitter with a preference for twitter. If you can then embed those posts into other assets, like PBNs/web2.0s we recommend it.
Create a GMB post copying and pasting the review and creating a bottom using the reviewer’s link. The nice thing about this one is it will automatically share to the Google GMB free website you made. Pro Tip: Add a cool picture to your post for a really professional look.
Use a nofollow Link to your reviewer’s profile from your websites testominals/reviews section
4) Add Photos Regularly
It is much better to add photos regularly than a whole bunch and then forget it for 2 years. GEO-tagging the photos is best and there seems to be a slight preference for photos taken and uploaded from mobiles. An easy hack for this is to take images already indexed in google for your business and screenshot them and upload them. To improve their rank, link them from your website, social media and use them in posts.
5) Ensure your information is accurate and the same as all your other citations.
Create GMB Embedding
Embedding your GMB map onto your website should be a must, but you can also embed and link it from other places, such as social media, web2.0, PBNs, MyMaps, Youtube Videos etc. The more embeds in related niches and areas you have the better your rank will improve.
6) Add links to your GMB map from Youtube videos (or similar) which are optimised.
Ranking youtube videos is a fast and fairly effective way of breaking into competitive ranks positions. So while you are preparing your description for your youtube ranking add a link to your GMB map.
7) Create MyMaps Optimsation
You can create and optimise your own maps and this 100% will boost your GMB listing in the map pack.
To create a map go to www.google.com.au/mymaps and create a new map. We have other post and videos on how to make map stacks or you can order one from here.
Things to include in your mymap stack are:
Like bait keyword based title
Keyword Optimised Youtube video
250-word description
Link to your GMB Listing
Link to your social listings
Link to your Target page or site
Optimised Image/s from GMB
At least 10 Pins
At least one map shape
At Least 2 Directions
Once you have created your mymap make sure you make it public from the sharing button. Then share it to google plus, facebook and twitter. For bonus power then take the embed and run it through a web2.0 embed syndication or Money Root Submitter PBN.
How you can improve the power of the review is like this:
