If you’re business competes at a local or regional level, failing to manage your Google Places listing is equivalent to throwing money in the trashcan. Getting listed on Google Maps is not only extremely effective, it’s free and easy! But for this to be at all worthwhile, you should have a very good handle on keywords. I highly encourage you to read our post on keywords if you have not already done so.
Optimizing your Google Maps listing has become one of the most most critical elements to any local SEO strategy. Why?
For starters, organic links (map listings & natural search results) are considered the most trusted, receiving 65-70% of all clicks versus the paid listings which show up to the side or colorfully highlighted at the very top of the search page. This makes your appearance in the Google Maps listing of the utmost importance and here’s why.
The Google Map listing physically covers up to and eye-catching 30% of the first page of search engine results for many keyword search terms, making it most likely for potential clients to use the map listings to connect with local businesses. Don’t believe me? Go to Google dot com and type in “Dentists Nashville TN” and see what happens. You want your business to show up high in those map listings!
The fact is 66% of Americans choose the Internet as their main source for local businesses information and up to 80% make it a point to choose businesses close to home. So, the odds of pulling in local customers are stacked immensely in your favor simply by showing up high on Google Maps listing.
Before we go any further, I want to share a priceless resource with you about how to get your Google Places listing to the top of Google Maps. I’ve met and studied under this genius internet marketing guru and have nothing but positive things to say about his products.
What is Google Maps Optimization?
When buyers look for services like yours on Google, the three to seven most relevant local businesses are displayed on a the map listings at the top of the Google search window for relevant keyword searches.
You want your business high on this list anytime someone searches for key terms that describe your type of business and that bring up a Google maps listing.
Before creating a Google Business Listing, pull out your list of keywords you’ve developed using the keyword tactics I presented earlier. Otherwise go back and review that section or at least brainstorm and jot down a list of potential keywords that come to mind. Then use Google Adwords tool for additional ideas and fine tuning. As discussed in my keywords post you want to focus on terms that have high search volumes but also low-medium competition.
Ten strong keywords are sufficient for your Google Business listing ad. Expecting to get listed in the Google Maps for more than that would be unreasonable. By using the Google keyword tool you can discover alternative keywords and check search volumes for each.
Within a Google search window, I like to check each keyword option out by doing a search with and without local modifiers (ie/ “Dentist” vs. “Dentist Nashville TN” or “Nashville Dentist”) to thoroughly evaluate whether or not a Google map will pop up or not. The ones that do should then be considered primary for the purposes of creating your Google maps listing.
“Chiropractor Nashville TN” has a high search volume and brings up a Google Maps listing.
“Sciatica Nashville TN” has a high search volume but does not bring up a Google Maps listing. Despite its high search volume, I would not count on the term “Sciatica” to help because it does not bring up a Google maps listing. It’s okay to include such terms in your description for viewers to read once they arrive at your listing but not with the expectation that a Google Maps listing will suddenly appear for that particular term.
Furthermore “Sciatica” without the local modifier brings up random sites irrelevant to local competition whereas “chiropractor” without the modifier does show some local sites in my area. To take away the guesswork, always always always test your search term with the local modifier in a Google search.
Once your list is in place, it’s time to create a business listing with Google also known as “claiming your listing.” Having a Google account or Gmail account is required to do this…setting up a new account is easy enough to do if necessary.
Note that there are very rare cases in which a competitor or or someone with devious intent may have already “claimed your address” which means you won’t be able to register your business with Google using that address unless you “reclaim” it. One way to check is to go to Google Maps, type in the name of your business and city (“Wal-Mart Nolensville TN), look for your listing on the side bar, and hit the “more info.” You can then click the edit link which will bring you to a new page. There is a “claim” link in the upper right corner where you can claim this as yours. Google will want to verify the change via telephone so be prepared to answer your phone when they call.
We can assist you with this process in addition to fine tuning your listing according to keywords (market trends) in your line of business. Including a group of quality keywords in your description is critical but you want to write your description in natural readable format. Here’s an example of a description that’s worked for one of my clients.
“Affordable pizza delivery in Nashville, TN. We offer gourmet pizza, gluten free pizza, and pizza catering to all local areas.”
Any time you complete any directory listing like this it’s important to complete the hours of operation, payment methods accepted, description of services you offer, categories, etc. The 5 categories you enter are also important.
Much like other aspects of SEO, Business Listing and Map Optimization takes 2-3 months and to take affect and requires patience. I’ve seen instant success with some businesses whereas other SEO efforts have taken several months. Stay true to the methodology and the results will come in due time.
To get a head start, we will highly recommend a cost-effective business directory discussed in more detail on our next post so you should definitely read on.
We also have a few other tricks up our sleeve so get in touch if you’d like us to optimize your map listing for you.
Never ever ever consider overstuffing your listings with keywords or trying to add multiple listings to cover two cities. Simply write the listing for a human reader and potential customer. Also do not change your business name or edit your listing to add seasonal or temporary keywords, multiple phone numbers, etc. Just leave it alone as is. Google considers these sorts of activities spammy behavior.
Always be sure to use your doing business as (DBA) name and be consistent across Google, Bing, and Yahoo, as well as any other directory resources you subscribe to online such as Manta, InfoUSA, Yelp, Merchant Circle, etc. If your business is located in a small town next to a big town where you prefer to be listed, then get a business PO Box in that town and use that address for every directory listing you post online. Otherwise count on the fact that searchers will ultimately search various areas for what they want. If your business has multiple locations, I suggest creating a Google account and business listing for each so as not to water down your listing. Google generally frowns upon creating multiple listings from the same account.
Always upload as many pictures and videos as you can in these listings. Using a keyword-rich naming convention (such as “ABC chiropractor nashville tn.jpg”) is important for pics and videos.
Yahoo and Bing offer similar business listing solutions which you should definitely check out. Come right back to this page when you’re finished because we have more to cover 
.
Next you’ll learn about one of the best kept secrets for improving SEO and gaining quality traffic. Let’s move on to the topic of sitemaps and indexing. This is one of the easiest steps to boost your positioning that many overlook.
Tags: Claim your business on Google, Google Business Listing, Google Maps, Maps Optimization
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found your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
SEO Design Dynamics Blog Archive Easy SEO with Business Listings Map OptimizationI just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.6/8/2010
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Google is always making a way in which they can expand their services for the comfort of it’s users. They are now leading in providing relevant information to users with programs like Google maps (Google Places) to widen it’s services. This Google maps will help users to locate a certain business establishment in a map and are allowing businesses to be listed for free!