With the internet and online world being a big and almost essential part of modern life, the traditional ways of reaching other people are being replaced. Phone directories, newspapers, direct mail, print ads are not as effective as they were anymore in marketing your business.
Nowadays, when people search for your local business or finding a solution to their problems via buying products and services, they go to the internet. Their destination is usually the search engines, specifically Google. Google holds around 70% of share of total search, while Yahoo and Bing combined have less than 30%, and so we shall focus primarily on getting prominent Google listings. The basic principles also apply to Yahoo and Bing.
Google gives search for local businesses a boost by incorporating “Google Places” results in their search results. Whenever a user looks for services or merchandise that is served by local businesses, or when Google predicts that a user is looking for local information, Google shows results listing businesses 5 miles away from where users do their searches. In many cases, Google shows these results even higher than their normal or “organic” rankings.
An example of Google results for "pizza" search in Edison, NJ
The Google search results consist of the listing, the phone, the location, the maps and even reviews. Indeed this gives richer information than any phone book can ever offer. Google Places results also give a link to your website, or your “Places” page.
Your “Places” page is a web page that Google gives you to give more information about your business. It includes hours of operation, photos, videos, coupons and products offered, to communicate with customers, and to get insights through the Local Business Dashboard that help them make smart business decisions. What’s more important, this page is free!
An example of a Google Place page for pizza
Although your Google Places page contain enough information about your business, it does not replace having your own website because you get more flexibility presenting information from your website. Also, users get the impression that you are a reliable business if you have a professional looking site, and Google might also have a ranking boost if your business has its own website.
Your concern is how does your business gets to be listed in these results? Or better yet, how can you get high rankings from the listing to ensure that your business gets the best visibility. Studies have shown that people click through the first rank results are substantially more than those than the second result, and so on.
Google Places ranks business listings based mainly on relevance to the search term used, as well as the geographic distance indicated by your search (example, “barbers in newark, nj”), or where you are doing your search. Google knows that 80 percent of customers of your small local business come from people who live or work five miles from your location.
There are also other factors that go into the ranking, which Google keeps confidential. There are, however, best practices that seem to help in getting a high rank in Google Places results.
Here is a step-by-step guide that could make your business show up, and even rank highly, in the Google Places results:
1. If your business is already listed in Google Places, claim it. Go to maps.google.com and search for the name and location of your business. If you find your business already listed, click on the “more information” link on the results. In your “Google Places” page, click the “Business owner?” link and supply all information being asked by Google. Google will ask you to verify your listing by phone or by mail.
Click "Business Owner?" as first step to claim Google Local Listing
2. If your business is not listed, claim your Google places page at www.google.com/places. Fill out all the information that Google is asking for. Google will ask you to verify your listing by phone or by mail.
3. Within your website, make sure that your address and phone number is prominently seen in text (not graphics). Use your local number if at all possible.
4. Make sure your business information is consistent in the internet. Search for all mentions of your business on the web, and see if your address, phone and business name is the same on all listings like in Yelp.com, CitySearch.com and other directories and yellow pages sites. Update any inconsistencies. This will make Google become more confident about the information they put out there about you, and thus may result in a higher ranking.
5. In Google places, find out if the categories you choose produce a Google Places search result. Test and see which ones work best for you.
6. Get local positive reviews of your business. Some places where you can get reviews from customers are in Google Places itself, as well as third party websites Yahoo.com, CitySearch.com, InsiderPages.com, Yelp.com, and a lot more. Also, keep in mind, that bad reviews may affect your ranking. Be sure to respond or address the issues brought up on your bad reviews.
7. Along with positive reviews, citations are also important to rank well in local search. Citations are mentions of your business name and address on other web pages, even if there is no link to your website. These web pages include other web yellow pages, SuperPages.com, local chamber of commerce or your local business association. Multiple citations may help you rank high in Google Places.
8. Claim your businesses in Yahoo and Bing as well.
There are techniques and strategies in claiming your Search Engine Places pages, making sure that your contact information are consistent, as well as acquiring positive reviews and citations that will help you rank well in the Search Engines’ Places page. Also, in addition to optimizing your local listings, you should optimize your organic search engine presence as well. If you have no time and inclination and would rather concentrate on your business, you can get services for Local Search Engine Optimization experts.