By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-02-10 21:10:55 | Word Count: 664
Google Places is one of the latest features to help improve the search engine experience for users. It narrows results based on the searcher’s location, and can be particularly helpful for all parties involved.
Google’s blog states the, “Place Pages connect people to information from the best sources across the web, displaying photos, reviews and essential facts, as well as real-time updates and offers from business owners.”
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What does that mean exactly? Google Places provides connectivity to Google Maps, giving users specific information about your business, rather than just an address and phone number. It will also help track how many times you’re getting clicked on on a monthly basis to help you understand your traffic.
Google Places and SEO
The thing about Google Places is it pushes organic listings down in the search index. So, if your business isn’t listed in Google Places, you may not get seen, especially when it comes to a local search. Therefore it’s vital to make sure you have a listing with Google Places, particularly if you’re a local business, and you have more than one location.
Based on statistical information provided by Google, it can be estimated that over 400 million local searches are conducted every day. That’s one out of every five searches that is for a local business.
That’s a 400 million user market your business should be tapping into – 400 million opportunities for your business to be ranked on the first page of a search index, 400 million chances for your site to be clicked on, and 400 million potential clients.
Google Places helps increase visibility. It’s also been proven to drive more quality traffic to your site. That means higher conversion rates and more productivity for you.
The only time this becomes difficult is in areas of high populations – like a beach side hotel in Miami, or a pizzeria in New York City. Most small businesses should be able to take advantage of Google Places pretty easily.
Using Google Places for Your SEO Strategy
Google has long been trusted as a provider of information. Essentially, that’s all they do – gather data and present it in an organized way for users. One of their top priorities is eliminating spam, and should they suspect your business of spamming, you can be penalized pretty heavily. So don’t do it. If you follow Google’s suggestions closely, you’ll get ranked. For a specific list of suggestions, check out www.google.com/support/places.
Also, make sure you provide Google with the appropriate data they require about your business. These things include your business name, your address and phone number, your website, your email address, your category (like restaurant, retailer, service provider, etc.), images and videos of your business, and additional locations for your business. It’s important to give Google everything you possibly can so that you will saturate them with information and be more likely to get picked up in a search index.
With fewer and fewer people clicking through to the second page of a search index, Google Places is going to have a big impact on SEO, particularly when it comes to local searches. It’s pushing organic links down the page and making Places listings more prominent.
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