Google claims that 97% of consumers search for local businesses online, and it makes sense. Long gone are the days of yellow pages. And where do people go when they’re searching for local businesses? Usually Google. And what about people that search on mobile for the nearest coffee shop? Usually Google for Mobile.
What is Google Places?
Have you ever noticed that if you search for, let’ say “restaurants in Halifax”, that the first results that show up are business listings on Google Maps? Google Places are official listings of your business on Google, sorted by address and phone numbers. Think of it as a yellow page directory, but online.
Why do you need Google Places?
Investing a few minutes of your time to set-up a Google Places page can give you a major advantage in search traffic, especially if you’re one of the only people that claimed the space in your location. There are several reasons why you need to claim your Google Places profile.
- Improved exposure for search engine traffic by putting you on top of the page.
- Makes sure Google has the right information about your business.
- Increased activity for local searches, both online and on mobile.
- Links your website to your Google Maps listing, increasing traffic to your site.
- Allows customers to easily create step by step driving directions.
- Allows customers to leave reviews and interact with your business.
- Allows you, or others, to add pictures and videos to your listing.
- Gives you a competitive advantage over other, non-claimed, listings.
- One of the best ways to get your business found on Google.
How to set-up your Google Places listing?
- Go to the Google Places for Business page, and login with your Google Account. If you don’t have a Google Account, you can create one.
- Enter your country and phone number, to make sure there isn’t a listing already claimed for you.
- Enter the basic information, including country, company name, address, phone number, email, website, description and categories. Make sure you spend some time on the copyrighting of your company description, to make sure you have the right keywords and compelling definition. You also want to choose your categories wisely, as that will affect what searches you show up in.
- Enter extra information about your company. Do you only serve customers at your location, or do you go to theirs as well? What are your operating hours? What kind of payments do you accept?
- Make your profile stand out by adding pictures of your store and products. Make sure you read the guidelines first though, to see what you can and can’t upload.
- Add some of your YouTube videos to your listing. Talk about your company. Show a tour of your office. Be creative.
- Once you’re done entering all of the required information, submit your application. Google will mail you a postcard with a code you need to type in to verify your location (to make sure it’s an actual location, and not an SEO scam). This will take a couple weeks to receive. Once you verify your code, your Google Places profile is complete!
You can do this for any amount of physical locations you actually have. If you have three restaurants, do it for all three. It increases your visibility with local search. Also, Google is working on integrating Google+ with Google places, to make your profile more interactive and shareable by everyone. And remember, this isn’t just for restaurants or retail. If you’re a b2b company, register for it as well. People will look for “Marketing Agencies in Halifax.”
Did you set-up Google Places for your business yet? Please leave your comment below!
Daniel Hebert
@danielghebert
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Great intro to Google Places, Daniel. Thanks for sharing.
I would add that once they have set Places up, it's important that they merge with their Google+ Page through Google+ Local (which is what Places is now called).
There's a good description of the process here: Understanding the Google+ Local & Google Places Merger ( http://www.fullmedia.com/google-local-google-plac…
Thanks Ray!
I would say for those that do have a Google+ business page, that yes, that would be the next logical step. However, most small businesses aren't on G+ yet, but it's still important to claim your Google Places listing even though you're not on G+. Definitely helps with local search.
Thanks for sharing this merger article Ray! :)
Totally agree. Claiming your Google Places should be a priority.
Couldn't resist plugging G+ and as Google in increasingly integrating Places into Local it's something to be aware of.
I think we'll see more movement on Google's part to accelerate this because of Facebook's Graph Search.
With Google+ Local including Zagat reviews, those reviews will be more personalized through a Google+ link.
Have a great Saturday!
Great article. Agree on both fronts-importance of claiming the location on Places and integrating with Google+.
Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ray that the personalization of results will be more the focus for Google.
Thanks Krithika!
Wow Thanks Daniel for sharing this Awesome Info regarding Google Places.
Thanks.
Glad you liked it Amit!
At the moment you should not verify/merge a +Local Business page with a Places entry search result Google+ page as ranking tanks at the moment.
Also you must not do it for a service area business with the address hidden in Places as its not supported and you will be liable to having the Places entry Suspended and not show in search.
I have set up my google pages for business accounts for some of my websites. i know that they are
working on integrating Google+ with Google places still. I also think that having a strong profile on Google plus is a smart move for any business. Business owners should upload videos and articles that link back to their main site. At http://elocalseoservices.net we try to concentrate mostly on
<a title="local seo" href="http://www.elocalseoservices.net">local seo
Hi Daniel, thank you so much for sharing. I have ignored Google Places till now. Now I am feeling that it can help me rank at #1 in my area. Currently, I am around 4th–10th for one of my sites which is local. Never thought like this before. But for my main blog, it will not help much as it is a global one and targeted traffic is international.
I really like the idea of Google+Local and how Google strive to make almost everything available in our own in just few types of keyboard away.