Rankings that are at least 6 months old seem to be more stable. New listings may rank quickly but don’t stay longer unless you keep doing Google Maps Optimization. the age of the Google Maps listing is a general factor, as is the age of reviews, how many reviews, citations, etc. Basic principle. Google tends to trust businesses that stay longer. Typically, businesses that have been around longer will have more citations and reviews etc. It boils down to the fact that you should list your business information in your Google Maps as soon as possible, and you will get better results after 6 months or one year.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

The Google PageRank (PR) of the landing page URL doesn’t seem to be e a factor. It makes sense to give weight to the top level domain; in another word, if your home page has a high PageRank, you get better rankings in Google Maps, but the PageRank of the landing page URL doesn’t have any effect on ranking in Google Maps.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

Website rankings in Google Maps (Google Places) seem to increase from verifying a KML file. Providing a KML file on your domain is definitely recommended for a business with numerous locations in order to provide search engines with trusted and accurate information. Fortunately, the Google whitelist bulk upload has also proven to be very effective in getting locations verified and rank well in local results.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

Including Local Area Code Phone Number on your contact page will help boosting up your ranking in Google Maps (Google Places). Local phone numbers seem to work better than toll free numbers. In addition, Google Places guidelines promote the usage of a local phone number for each service location. Customers also prefer dealing with a local service which results in more conversions than with an 800 number. Google checks your “contact us” page to find your local phone number, which is associated with your service location.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

Having a geographic keyword (location keyword) in your URL can slightly help improve local rankings as it further emphasizes the local nature of the business. If the target city is competitive such as “Los Angels” or “Detroit”, I would include a location keyword in the URL.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

Including city names in your contact page title tag seems to have impact on Google Maps ranking. The title tag is as almost as critical for local rankings as it is for web search rankings. Therefore, including city names in contact title tags helps in Google Maps SEO. Including city names in all website pages will help more, though.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

Including city names in all website title tags seems to have impact on Google Maps ranking. The title tag is as almost as critical for local rankings as it is for web search rankings. Therefore, including city names in all or most website title tags helps in Google Maps SEO. Of course, including multiple city names in all title tags works only in non-competitive market. If it’s a competitive market, I recommend you to include one only city name that your physical location belongs to. This is a good way to target geo-based keyword such as “DUI attorney [city name] [state name]“.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.

Including a full address in your website contact page helps boosting up your ranking in Google Maps. It’d be a trusted signal for Google to merge with other citation sources.

For other local search, visit our Google Maps Algorithm page, Google Maps Optimization (Google Maps SEO) page, Live Search Map and Yahoo Local page.