Google Places is Google’s way of giving local business owners an upper hand. There are so many benefits to getting listed in Google Places that any local business owner who is not taking advantage of it is missing out on revenue opportunities. Here are some of the main benefits of getting listed in Google Places:
Surpass Other More Established Rankings
Search engines are notoriously difficult to rank for. If you wanted to get ranked for “San Francisco Pizza” with a new website, it will probably take at least a year to get on the Google front page, let alone to the top of the page. However, with Google Places, you can quickly leap to the top of the listings even with a brand-new website.
Your business will be displayed at the top of local searches for your business type. So if someone in San Francisco types in “San Francisco Pizza,” your pizzeria would display higher than all the organic listings even if they have been there for years.
Show on Google Maps and iPhone Searches
Let’s say someone is on their iPhone and needs to find a locksmith. They type in “Locksmith” in Google Maps and find the three nearest locksmiths. If you have a locksmithing shop and you are listed in Google Places, your shop will show up as a pin in their search. If they are nearby, they will likely start walking to your shop. The same works on online Google Maps searches. As the number of people using Google Maps every day is staggering don’t neglect this opportunity.
Free Photo Shoots
If you are running a business in a major city, Google Places may be willing to come to your business to take some professional quality photos at no charge.
Google accomplishes two things with this. First, they improve their listings as having photos actually improves the quality of their search results. They also verify that you are a real business by physically setting foot in your establishment. They will often do this anyway even if they are not taking photos, so they might as well take some photos while they are there.
These are just some of the benefits of being listed in Google Places. Google has taken the stance that local businesses should be given an edge when it comes to local searches. Naturally, if someone is looking for a local business in their search, they should find a local business rather than a well-optimized website that is not a local business.
Being listed on Google Places will help your rankings, will put you on the iPhone and Android screens, and even has fringe benefits like free photo shoots. Getting into Google Places isn’t hard if you are a real offline business.
