Google Places: Get Your Business A Google Page 1 Listing
People searching on the internet for a service are probably looking for a brick and mortar business just like yours in your local area. Many are hoping to find something they recognize perhaps from a drive by. So if your business is actively using Google Places yours may be one of the fortunate 7 or less businesses that show up in a local search. Active Google Places users can provide lots of useful information about their business to help their new customers choose their business.
Claim your Google Places page for free. You’ll need a Google account. Sign up for gmail, Google’s email, to get one.
There are two ways to get your local business added to Google Places. You can claim an existing listing for your business that Google may have placed there for you or you can go to the Google local business center and create a new listing for your business. Either way make sure to add as much information as possible about your business.
To find the business center simply type out Google Places in the Google search box (or use this URL places.google.com/business) and the search engine will take you there. One thing to keep in mind is that every field in your Google Places listing should be filled out. Businesses with more information filled out are given higher priority in Google local searches so this part is very important.
The business category will also be asked for and filling up all five fields with categories relevant to your business is crucial. Filling in the field with unrelated information may be labeled as spamming by Google and the penalty will be felt in the rankings. Also, usually using locations in the categories is a no-no and your Google Places page could be de-indexed by Google.
You’ll need to validate your listing usually using the phone. A code will be sent to your primary phone number and you can enter it on the Place page. The other option is to get a mailed postcard which can take a couple weeks. A real person reviews your listing and approves it about a day later.
Business owners will also want to start to make improvements on their own website, adding directions and additional information to lure customers who search online. Explaining complicated processes or providing color choices would be a good use of your website in some situations. This can save you time and money not having to explain this stuff over the phone.
In your Google business account you’ll find a report detailing the number of times the page came up during a search as well as how many times someone clicked on the link. These can be very important for business owners to see just how many customers are being driven by the local Google listing. Keep in mind that the local business website linked to your Google Places page has to be as informative as possible.
If you’re not using Google Places you need to make that a next step in your business plan right now. It’s easy enough to get started and it free advertising for your business. These are often the first results being shown on mobile phones and the internet. Who do you want to show up in that kind of search?
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