By far, the most often asked question I get by local business owners is; “How do I get my Google local listing beside the map?”

I have read many theories but the most common belief is that getting reviews of your business on sites like Yelp, City Search or the Yahoo local directory will influence your positioning beside the map in Google. I believe this is probably one of the factors Google uses when other factors are not available. However, I know from experience that links play a much more important role in getting your local business website beside the map in Google.

Believing that links are the biggest factor in getting your site beside the local map, I have read that the links with the greatest ranking abilities are those from local businesses websites within the geographically located city you wish your listing to be displayed for. I also believe this is a factor in getting your Google local listing beside the map.

I am sure there are many factors that are used by Google to determine which local business is listed by the map. I am sure reviews and local links are very important to these listings. In my experience, I have been able to get businesses positioned beside the map by the use of geo-targeted anchor text from inbound links.

Example:

To be positioned beside the map on a search for Las Vegas Chiropractor, you will need a good number of inbound links to your business website with “Las Vegas Chiropractor” in the anchor text of those links. Using a variety of anchor text helps to make the link profile look more natural and aides in the effectiveness of the linking. “Chiropractor in Las Vegas”, “Chiropractor Las Vegas” or “Vegas Chiropractor” would all be great anchor text for inbound links to help your local business website to rank in natural search for those search phrases but will also help to get your business website listed beside the map.

If you have a local business that needs the benefits of being listed beside the map, contact me to get started today. My linking will get your business listed in natural search rankings as well as a listing beside the map.