subject: Google Maps Vs. Google Places: A Faq For E-businesses [print this page] In the next few years, Local SEO will be essential with regard to organic search engine optimization. Its impact has been observed by searchers, Google analytics, and online as well as offline business owners who depend on their listing for drawing in traffic and, therefore, revenue. Have you ever heard a real estate agent say location is everything? This could not be truer in the digital realm, particularly in the case of online businesses and their listings in the search engines results. This brief but we hope helpful FAQ can familiarize you with the two huge, very useful Google offerings: Maps and Places.
What is the difference between Google Maps and Google Places?
Google Maps was established much earlier than Places, and business names and addresses as well as other minimal contact information have been available for query on Google Maps for a few years. Never one to stagnate or ignore opportunity for improvement, Google envisioned, created, and launched Places; this new product, similar to Maps, gave companies and their customers new options to provide more than just the fundamental phone book information. Basically, the Places listing replaces the older, more fundamental Maps listing. Now, Google Maps is merely the conduit by which Google Places locates a business.
How can searchers see my Places listing?
A Google Places listing is viewed by potential customers in three basic ways:
1. In the mobile world, searchers download the Google Places mobile application, which displays businesses in their immediate area. These search results can be filtered by many factors, including restaurants, retail shops, price, reviews, and more.
2. When users specify their Google Maps commands for a website to acquire directions or check out a neighborhood, Places listings will be overlayed.
3. The most likely place a customer will encounter your places listing and the most important to SEO is when performing a standard Web search. If someone searches Florists, the first several results will likely be Google Places seo listings for florists in the surrounding area.
What kind of searches will result in Places
listings?
This area is changing the most regarding local searches. Initially, Places pages would simply return for searches that contained regional modifier keywords (e.g. Los Angeles Bowling). Now, Places pages will show up in search results even without a location being part of the search, depending on whether Google can estimate the searchers location.
