Never heard of Google Places for Business? You could be missing out on a stream of new clientele. Google Places for Business is one of the most important tools businesses can use to get noticed in their local area.
In order to talk about Google Places for Business, we first need to understand a little about local SEO.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is all about getting your business noticed in your local area by improving and optimizing your website. For many businesses, local SEO is the key to attracting trade from customers who research online but purchase offline.
Practically every small business needs to focus its SEO efforts on local listings, and Google’s own tools are a great place to start.
What is Google Places for Business?
Google Places for Business (Google Places for short) is essentially a huge directory of businesses around the world. Think of it as a virtual Yellow Pages. Google Places listings show up very prominently in mobile searches, and they’re also used in Maps, and many consumers rely on them to obtain accurate information about companies close by.
If you have a ‘bricks and mortar’ store, Google already has information about your store in its database. You may already have a basic Google Places listing. But that’s not enough. In order to make full use of Google Places – and reap the local SEO benefits – you must actively claim your listing, optimise it and nurture it so that it works for you.
What’s to Optimise on Google Places?
By default, your Google Places listing will be very plain, and it’s unlikely to attract many visitors to your store or website. But by claiming and editing your listing, you can make it work for you 24/7.
Optimisation techniques include:
- Completing the entire profile so that you’re easier to find and more familiar.
- Listing the correct opening hours for your business premises.
- Adding rich content, such as photos and videos, that your customers won’t find elsewhere.
- Using keywords in the right places – and the right quantities.
- Encouraging reviews; ideally positive ones!
- Crafting a listing that appears in search results and doesn’t drop out over time.
Naturally, this is quite a task, but it’s worth doing. According to Chitika, 24 per cent of all Google search queries relate to physical locations.
That’s a lot of trade – and a lot of revenue.
Can you afford to miss out on all that traffic?
How to Get Help With Google Places
It looks like a big job, right? Don’t be dissuaded. If you log in to Google Places, you might initially feel quite overwhelmed with the requirements Google has set, but you don’t have to tackle the project on your own.
With the help of an SEO specialist, you can efficiently create a stunning Google Places listing that helps your business capture more online traffic and generate more enquiries on the phone. Over time, your Google Places page could effectively be the centrepiece of your online presence, complementing your website and driving traffic to it.
Contact us now about Google Places optimisation services.
Our advice is free, and there’s no obligation.
Optimising your Google Places for Business page should be part of a holistic marketing campaign. It pays to get help so you can see real, tangible results.
