Category: google places

7 Effective Ways to get a AWESOME Google Places Ranking

What is Google places?

It’s a listing on Google that shows local listings based on your particular geographic location. It’s a very powerful marketing tool especially for those suburban based local businesses looking to attract the local market. So for example, if I am looking for a locksmith in Paddington, Sydney, Google places will deliver a set of results of locksmiths that are located in the Paddington area or very close by. If there are no locksmiths in the Paddington area( highly unlikely) then the results will expand out to a larger geographic area, say Bondi.

Ideally you want to use a local service or product providor and Google places certainly delivers on this.

What are the benefits of Google places?

  • it’s absolutely free and you don’t have to outlay large sums of money to the likes of Yellow Pages anymore to get a listing. As most small businesses know Yellow pages online ads can be a heavy monthly expense which is something you don’t want to keep paying. It’s best to ( if you have a marketing budget) put this into a SEO campaign.
  • If your Google places listing has been set up properly it should get to the first page of Google which is where you want your business to be. Don’t make the mistake of stuffing this up and forgetting about it. This won’t correct itself.
  • Google places will show a lot of important information for local clients. Name, address, web URL as well as customer reviews. This is a fantastic marketing tool and will bring in heaps of local clients.
  • Mobile phone users on the go can get access to your listing and get to your shop, office, warehouse or factory really quickly with a prominent places listing.
  • Google have given you the opportunity to have another organic listing so make the most of it. You don’t want your competitors to be there without you. Remember the 1 in 4 searches are local based.

 

Tips for getting your website higher on Google places.

If you want a better Google places ranking, do this now:

Have you set your business profile on Google Places- all you need to do is create a Google account, which is super easy to do. Once you have this all you need to do is login to Google places and they will guide you through the rest. They will send you a verification code ( via mail or phone) and once received, put it in and voila….you have a Google places listing.

Make sure you start your citations- For those of us that have no clue about a citation, it’s a mention or referral from another website to your website. Call it a back link if you will. This should be done on other free directory websites like: Yahoo, Hot Frog and reach local. Make sure the information you provide these directory sites is exactly the same as the ones you provided for places. They will need to verify this so the whole process can take a few weeks. Again, be really selective with the number of directories you submit to. Do not for 1 minute think that registering 1000 times on different directories will help. It’s just a spam and can work against you. We come across many business that fall foul of Google due to this type of SEO technique. What ever you do never ever go with a SEO company that relies only on this method for your SEO or local Google places listing – it’s a recipe for real trouble.

Keep link building local – If you can have your website listed on other local websites this will help with your listing. Local blogs are a good start. Perhaps even local government websites that offer space for advertisers are a great way to improve your local listing profile.

Get reviews- This is a tough one as you need to get as many legitimate reviews as possible and they all should be positive. Google will start pushing your local listing if there are reviews posted, so whatever you do make certain that you can get at least 5 to 10 reviews from different people from different IP addresses ( this is more natural). Fake reviews ( as is so common a practice can be spotted a mile away) – keep it real, honest and updated and Google will reward you. Don’t think that 500 all 5 star reviews will not get picked up as somewhat fake. I have seen this, it does happen and it’s not going to help your business.

There are companies out there who seriously depend on their listing on Google. If you are one of these an cannot seem to make it work for you, please speak with us and we will not only get your places listing right but also look at your entire organic Google rankings. These are the things that are going to have a significant impact on your sales leads and organic web traffic, so if you have seen a drop in online inquiries do something about it today.

 

New To SEO? Start With Google Places for your New Business

How To Create Your Google Places Business Account.
If you are new to this and want to create a Google places listing read on. This can be done by clicking on the ‘business solutions’ button on the front page of Google. From there you can go to the Google maps for business and begin the registration process. They will need your: business name, phone number, business address as well as business category.

There are a few rules to be aware of as Google Places is very strict on how you register your business. For example:

  • Name: this has to be the exact name that your business was registered in. There can be no deviation or creative licence here. Don’t try to add keywords that relate to your business here, as Google will recognise this as spam and you can be barred for this. I have seen situation where businesses have tried to keyword stuff into their business name and have had their listing disappear.
  • Address: Only one address per business name. Forget about trying to have multiple addresses to cover all capital cities as this will be picked up. If you are a local servcie providor use your local suburb address as this will rank very quickly. Plumbers in Bondi Beach will get a higher ranking than plumbers in Sydney.
  • Phone Number: One landline per business, That’s the golden rule.

WHAT NEXT?

After you input all this data, Google will need to verify that you are a real person from a credible business and therefore will need you to enter a pin number. This will either be sent to your mobile phone or via the post to your business address. This is a fool proof way of ensuring that your business address matches your Google places entry. Once you are logged into your Google Places account and have put in your verification code you will be show up on Google places within a few days. It’s as simple as that.

What Do You Do If Your Business Has More Than 1 Location?

If you have more than one physical address and are say a mobile or travelling sales person, Google will still need one physical address from you. Note also, that PO boxes are not considered an address. You actually need to have a physical presence.

The SERP 7 Pack

Once your business is indexed it will show up on Google places. There are 7 places on each page and there are no guarantees that you are on the front page. There is a function to ‘see more places’ button and you might well end up down the list if you are in a competitive area. If you are more localised, chances are you will end up nearer the top, where competition for space is far less.

Other Directories

Let’s all agree that Google Places is really the only place to be for your business location,  but there are other directories that you may also consider. Think, reach local, yellow pages and other online directories. Make sure the information you give is exact and precisely the same across all the directories you register your business on.

If you get stuck with this process or any other information on how to get your website ranking on the search engines please call us here at Hopping Mad Designs on 02 9360 8514.