A Handful Of Tips For Using Google Places

Lots of people visit the internet when searching for local businesses in the areas where they live

. In fact, up to 75% of online searches are related to local content. People turn to the web to find plumbers, grocers, car dealers, and so on, from their towns or cities.

As a result, Google has come up with a free service known as Google Places that makes it easier for customers to find local businesses. All that business owners need to do is register information about their businesses in Google Places according to Google's guidelines followed by carefully optimizing this information to attain the best rankings. In their zeal to get higher local search rankings some business owners attempt to manipulate the search engines in ways that actually work to lower their rankings while others overlook small but important details. Here are some things that business owners should keep in mind when using Google Places.

Search Engine Optimization primarily relies on keywords but when it comes to listing on Google Places one is cautioned to use them judiciously. Some people wrongly assume that stuffing their Google Places pages with keywords will improve their rankings; Google does not recommend stuffing of keywords into business names and titles as some businesses do. Additionally, one must not stuff keywords in the categories section. Many people have a habit of putting the name of their locations in all the five categories boxes but this will only result in disappointing local ranking reports when they test their online visibility.

Business owners who are impatient for success often resort to faking reviews about their businesses and products. They do this because in its search results Google favors websites with more reviews. While this trick can work sometimes, Google is well capable of catching people who try to cheat the system and the consequences are dire. Google will, for example, become very suspicious if a website receives a massive number of very flattering reviews within a very short time. If the users' posting these reviews are very new to the site and they are already leaving rave reviews then the business owner will be suspected of fraud thus resulting in a poor website ranking on the local ranking reports.

Another common mistake that many people make is using inconsistent names, addresses and phone numbers. These details must be consistent in all a business' online listings because Google's web crawlers rely on them when compiling information about the business. Businesses that have more than one website should ideally list the same names, addresses and phone numbers. Sometimes businesses opt to hide their addresses but this has also been found to negatively affect their local ranking reports.

Another blunder that many business owners unwittingly make is creating locations in places where the business has no physical presence. Google requires that the exact physical location of the business be provided rather than a Post Office box number. This is crucial because in actuality Google favors business with verifiable physical locations.

Businesses using Google Places should get regular local ranking reports so that they can always know how visible their businesses are and what they can do to improve their online visibility.

by: Billy Sharp

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