How To Set Up and Take Advantage of Google Places
How would you like it if Google reserved a special page for your business, let you enter your business data so customers could find you easily, provided maps and directions to your location, made it simple to upload photos and videos, and optimized the entire thing for mobile users—all for free?
Your Google Places page is waiting for you to claim right now. Google Places is a division of Google set up to let local businesses establish their own page on the internet.
Get In Front of Customers
Studies show that 97% percent of consumers search online for information about local businesses. Google reports that a whopping 73% of ALL online activity relates to local content. Your Google Places page is critical to get in front of these consumers.
In many cases Google Places is even appearing before the Google organic results. Since only around 7% of businesses have claimed their free Google listing, you’ll be way ahead of your competition.
Getting started is easy. First you need a Google ID. If you have a Gmail account you are ready to go. If not, navigate to Google Accounts and fill out the simple form. With your Google ID in hand, move over to Google Maps and enter the name of your business in the search box. Click on your business name and it will take you to your Google Places listing. Look for the words “Business Owner?” Click there to edit your listing.
Confirm Your Listing
Fill out all the information. Once you save the data, Google will send you a PIN by telephone, or with a postcard in the mail (your choice). You use the PIN to confirm your listing. Once confirmed, your business will appear live in Google Places.
Google creates your initial Places page by crawling the web for information about your business like reviews on Yelp or Yellow Pages data. You complete the page by entering your data.
The more you pack your Google Places page with useful information, the higher it will rank naturally in the search engine result pages. The most important data is your phone number, address and store hours.
Maximize the Listing
Now you should takes steps to maximize your listing:
–Reviews- provide your customers with the link to your Google Places review section and encourage them to enter their opinions. Keep in mind that even negative reviews can help your business. This is because studies show that if all reviews are positive customers don’t believe any of them.
–Updates- Google Places lets you enter short updates very similar to Twitter. Use this function to keep customers updated with store news, personnel changes, special sales and promotional events.
–Videos and Photos- you can pull videos from your YouTube account and add photos. Take pictures at company events, sales, promotions and upload them. Show people you are an active, vibrant company.
Google Places is a critical part of a comprehensive online marketing strategy. Get ahead of your competition by maximizing this unique, and free, opportunity.
