Why you should have a Google Places page for your local business

Google Places is a place to showcase your local business. It is especially important if you do not have your own website. You can add photos, videos, descriptions of your business, contact information, special offers, a map for your customers to locate you, and business hours. A well-written and well-optimized Google Places page will also rank you higher in local Google listings on the internet.

Google Places is a free service provided by Google for your business to have a presence on the Internet. As a local business owner, you can claim your listing and start adding your content. You’re better off claiming it sooner rather than later to provide more accurate information about your business than can be obtained from third-party sources.

70% of all online activity is associated with local search, according to Google, and more than 80% of these searches are followed up with a phone call or perhaps a visit to your business. If your business is not visible online, you will miss out on all these calls and visitors.

Benefits of Google Places includes: a free listing for your business with all the relevant information your potential customers need to know, a place to post your special offers, enhanced SEO by providing a site for your business online, and a place for consumers to write a review about your business. Reviews are increasingly important to Google, and many potential customers read them before even deciding to contact your business these days.

Are there any downsides to a Google Places page?

Potential downsides to a Google Places page include possible negative reviews about your business and the slow nature of updating your Google Places listing in a large organization.

Guidelines for Creating an Effective Google Places Page

1) Add a page for each location of your business

For businesses with multiple offices, the key is to create a different Places page for each location. This will help your local SEO

2) Use a local phone number

Google wants to provide local businesses for its local customers, so a national or mobile number may be detrimental to your listing.

3) Choose the right keywords

If you’re not sure which words to use, check with the Google Keyword Tool.

4) Use keywords within the business description

To improve your SEO, use your keywords within your business description, but not within your business name unless it’s part of the actual business name.

5) Choose the right category

choose the most appropriate category so that your business is in the right search for what you have to offer

6) Complete all sections of the Google Places page

The more content you provide, the better.

7) Encourage your customers to write great reviews online, especially using a Gmail account

Being a Google product, Google favors the use of its other products, so the most relevant reviews are those created within a Google profile with a Gmail account.