Getting Placed in Local Searches via Google Maps and Search Engines
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Return to the articles' index. Get Your Free Google Business Listing was first published in the New Zealand Tourism Guide's October 2011 newsletter. It was aimed primarily at owners of small and medium-sized tourism businesses in New Zealand.
Get A Free Online Business Listing from Google Places
Google is the world's most popular search engine, so any way of getting a free listings in its search engine results pages has to be a good thing. Google used to offer business owners the opportunity to create free business listings for Google Maps and its search engines in the Google Business Center. This has become Google Places.
Get Placed for Local Searches
Google is the world's most popular search engine, so any way of getting a free listings in its search engine results pages has to be a good thing. Google used to offer business owners the opportunity to create free business listings for Google Maps and its search engines in the Google Business Center. This has become Google Places.
Google Places Free Listings
A free business listing created in Google Places can appear when people use Google Maps to search for local information. In your listing, you can include:
- Your address
- Hours of businesses
- Photographs of your business / products
Google offers this service free of charge, although you do need a Google Account to activate it. You can manage numerous listings from this account, update your listing at any time and Google Maps results get updated within a few weeks.
Why Bother?
If you are wondering if you should bother getting a Google account and getting a business listing, the answer must be, why wouldn't you? There are numerous reasons why getting this listing can be a real sweetener for your search marketing efforts:
- It's a free promotional opportunity online
- Your website can be seen by Google Maps and search engine users
- It can help your website to be seen higher up on the search engine results' pages
- It will highlight your website alongside those of your local competitors (rather than leaving you out)
- It only takes minutes to set up and you do not have to be IT-minded to do it!
What You Need to Do to Get Your Google Listing
- Go online and type into your search engine, “google places”
- Click on the appropriate URL displayed in the results
- Create a Google account when prompted, if you do not already have one
- Follow the prompts...easy peasy, pudding and pie!
Glossary
If any of these terms sound like a foreign language to you, please don't stew about it. You can refer to the (easy-to-understand) glossary of terms for more information.
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