The big push online is for small business owners to embrace the program and start marketing their local businesses instead of using many of the old traditional marketing techniques.
1. Claim and optimize your Google listing
Google was kind enough to “give” local business owners around the world free web pages to display their business information.
Google and local businesses, in numbers:
Over 4 million business listings on Google claimed by business owners (using Local Business Center, now Google Places)
Nearly 2 million listings have been claimed in the United States
20% of Google searches are related to location
There are 50 million pages of places
These cover all kinds of places, from businesses like tailors, restaurants, and optometrists to places like dog parks, transit stations, and baseball fields.
Places pages are viewed millions of times a day.
This is taken from Google’s press release and what does it mean to you as a local small business owner?
MORE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS!
Claiming your local business page is not difficult. Optimization takes more time.
2. How to optimize the Google Places page
Add all the information they are looking for.
NAP = Name, Address, Phone Number is a very important step when optimizing your page. Make sure this information is correct.
Categories: Google will allow you to have up to 5 different categories. Use them to your advantage and as close as possible to your company’s services/products.
DO NOT use local words in the category area. If you are a plumber in Toledo, Ohio, please do not include Toledo or any other city you serve in the categories.
This is against the Google Places guidelines. Sooner or later you will get “Google Slapped” and could get your page banned from Google Places.
If you’re looking for an SEO company to handle your online marketing, take a look at their places page and see if they’ve added location-based information. If they have this on their Google Places page, you may want to think twice about using them as it is not an ethical technique. If they are willing to do this for their own company, how are they going to market their business online?
3. CATEGORIES
When choosing your categories, use Google’s keyword tool to see what people are really looking for when searching for your products/services.
Take your time with this.
Look at what your competitors have for their categories (if any).
4. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY
Take your time with this too. Look at your competitors. Don’t use keywords, but give people enough information about your business to make it stand out from your competition.
5. COUPONS
Make some coupons for potential customers. In this economy, people are looking for deals. Give them something of value to get them into YOUR BUSINESS. Because once inside, you can (hopefully) keep them as regulars.
6. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Add additional information, do you service or handle certain brands? Do you have off street parking? Any additional phone numbers for your business? Think about when potential customers call your business, are they asking the same questions?
Use this space to your advantage.
7. PHOTOS
Google allows you to upload 10 photos. Find photos of your brands/products/services, a photo of your store front, interior and employees, etc.
8. VIDEOS
You are allowed to have five videos. Make some Microsoft PowerPoint presentations or make a video of the services you perform, or even the inside and outside of your store, upload to YouTube and link to your places page. Videos don’t have to be long. You can make them 1-2 minutes long just to get your point across.
If you are a small business?
Have you taken advantage of this online advertising for your local business? If you haven’t, you have to.
Don’t forget to optimize your business information on local Yahoo and Bing as well.
I realize there aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done, so if you can’t, find a local search engine optimization company to help you with your online business marketing.
Not sure where to find one?
Take a look at Google places.
Just type in Google Internet Marketing, your city, state and take a look at the maps tab and see which one you would like to work with.
Stop losing customers and let the Internet become your salesperson 24/7.