Optimising Google Places Locally
Every day in the UK thousands of people use Google Places and Google Maps for local business instead of relying on Yellow Pages and Thomson Directories. While a few ‘diehards’ are still using this form of marketing the smart business owner has found their way to Google, Google Maps, and Google Places, which can be accessed from the desktop, laptop, iPhone, or Blackberry.
Google Places is as relevant for a large multi-national organisation with offices in a town as is it for a small business. If you offer a service or product which relies on local customers then local SEO is important to the success and growth of your business. Instead of relying on newspaper advertisements or flyers Google Places will put your business and your website in front of interested customers searching your services and products. But how do you go about optimizing Google Places locally?
Local SEO services are important to drive new customers to your business. For example, there might be 30 hairdressers in one town but if only three of those businesses had used SEO optimisation to register their business with Google Places then only three hairdressers would rank on Google Places and be visible to potential customers looking for hair services. The other 27 businesses would need to rely on traditional marketing and ‘word of mouth’ to grow their business, missing out on new customers.
Similar to website optimisation, search engine marketing is an important aspect of local SEO. You need to know which keywords to include on Google Places. Keywords are the words and phrases people type into the search engines like Google and Yahoo when search for your services and products. A professional SEO services company will advise you on which keywords to target depending on the number of searches, relevance, competitiveness and the commercial intention of the keywords. By tapping into local internet marketing you’ll increase your visibility with potential customers. A search engine ranking position on Google Places should not be confused with a Google page rank. They are not connected, although Google Places should complement your website optimisation.
During the process your business will be placed on Google Maps with a unique listing. Your competition might have been around longer than you but if they don’t understand local SEO it could be your business that potential customers will be finding.
To get your business listed in Google Places
1. Visit http://www.google.com/local/add/
2. You will need to register your business email address with Google Accounts.
3. Now you will have access to Google Places
4. Next enter the street address of your business (no box offices)
5. Choose the area your business services
6. Now you need to optimise your business by choosing relevant keywords
7. Enrich your content on Google Places with videos or pictures
8. Verify your business address on Google Places
9. Enter the PIN provided to you
10 Keep your deals and offers up to date
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