All Things Related

Google Places

How to use this Google tool to increase businesses online visibility?

December 2011

What is Google Places?

Millions of people use Google

every day to find places in the

real world, and Google Places

allows businesses to better

connect with the public and

therefore gain online visibility.

Google Places allows business

to update and manage their

physical business location

information which can be used

to update their business listing

so that it appears correctly

within Google Maps.

Launched by Google in 2010

and offered for free, it is an

extremely effective way for

businesses to cement an online

presence beyond a web site..

How does it look like?

1. More customers 2. Enhanced brand image 3. It helps people find you 4. It tells the world what you do (with real time

update) 5. It lets people know what others think (reviews) 6. It gives you the ability to see how many people

are viewing your page/from where 7. It is a way to interact with your customers,

right on the page 8. It increases your visibility (see next page)

What does Google Places bring to your business?

Google Places Increases Your Visibility

• SEO: taking advantage of Google Places can put your pages right on the first two pages of search results.

• Being on Google Places increases your visibility online through mobile devices. (eg: with Google Places iPhone App)

For more information check out this article on Increasing Your Online Local Presence Using Google Places – Yahoo! Local – Bing Business Portal.

Do’s to maintain your Google Places visibility

• Check your Places page: make sure everything info on there is accurate (be careful, anyone can make edits to your Places page, even if it is owner-verified!)

• Check up on your Google Places rankings for the search terms you want to be found for

• Keep track/read your reviews: If there is a negative review you should write a polite response and “ask” more of your happy customers for Google reviews, so as to put the negative one in perspective for anyone who’s looking at your Places page for the first time.

• Look at all your competitors’ Google Places pages and keep an eye out for good ideas

This if of course a non exhaustive list and there are many things to be done on a daily basis to maintain a good visibility (whether it is on Google Places or on the

web in general)

So now, if you are a business and you did not claim yet your Google Places, hurry up and register here.

And if you feel it’s not enough, optimize your visibility and promote your business by using

Google AdWords!