Google Local (Google Places) And What You Need To Know

Google Local, which is sometimes referred to as Google Places, is becoming more and more important for businesses who are looking to gain a strong presence on the internet. This year alone Google have made several changes to their Google Places service designed to increase the accuracy of their listings and once again serve their users with relevant accurate information. The result being that if you have a business with a physical address, then you’d better have a verified Google Places listing since quite often the Google Places results appear above the natural search results.

Once you have your verified Google Places listing, it really needs to be optimised for best placement. Just to qualify what I mean by this – you may well be listed among other similar, local businesses to your, but their listing is optimised, so they appear higher in that Google Placeslisting.

 

Get Noticed In Google Places!

 

The difference between business A and business C in a Google Places search result, could make the difference between, either you or your competitor attracting the client or customer enquiry.

To help you understand what really counts in optimising a Google Local listing, David Mihm’s latest survey, the 2011 Local Search Ranking Factor study has been published.

So now you have a few factors to take into account in achieving results from searches in Google

• A technically “Search Engine Friendly” website
• A highly keyword optimised website with relevant keywords that attract search volume, but have a low number of competing websites
• A steady build up of backlinks with keyword anchor text
• A verified Google Local listing
• An optimised Google Local listing
• On going maintenance to guard your position against competition.

If all of this seem like a lot of hard work (it is!) and you simply don’t have the time or skill within your business to apply what needs to be done, then it’s time to consider outsourcing this work.

Of course, we’d like to help you with your Google Places optimisation and Search Engine Optimisation challenges, so give us a call today to book you initial free consultation.