Google Places could be your ticket to the top of Google
Google Places – formerly known as the Google Local Business Center – is a great resource for people in need of local business information because Google serves up local business search results in response to any search query that has a “local intent” to it. The local business search results are displayed on the first page of search results – either on top of the organic search results or somewhere towards the middle of the page within the organic search results – and feature a map alongside a box of business listings that link to each business’ website and Google Places Page.
Google Places strives to make it as easy as possible for searchers to find relevant information about local businesses.
Google Places Enables Local Businesses to Tap Into Huge Online Demand
Google Places is also a great resource for businesses that depend upon local clientele because it helps them tap into the huge online demand for local content, which, according to Google, is responsible for about 20% of all Google searches (that number climbs to about 33% for Google searches via the mobile Web).
When you consider the fact that Google’s search volume for August 2010 was a little over 10.2 billion searches in the US alone, you can begin to appreciate just how significant the demand is for local content.
The Importance of “Places” at the Top of Google
Content that ranks at or near the top of Google’s first page of organic Web search results gets the lion’s share of all of the clicks for every search query (according to all available data and studies, the first page of Google gets about 90% of all of the clicks for every search, with more than half of all clicks going to the first three search results). So a top Google ranking for a keyword with a high search volume can cause a huge increase in traffic to a website.
But getting to the top of Google’s organic search results has, historically, been challenging for a number of reasons. It can also, in some cases, take a long time.
Google Places Could be Your Ticket to the Top of Google
Because Google only ever serves up local business search results on the first page of search results – and commonly on top of the organic Web search results, Google Places opens up another entry point to the top of Google.
Moreover, since Google Places is still in its “infancy,” it is entirely possible for a business to come along, claim its Places Page, make a few, simple tweaks to it, and end up at the top of the local business search results – at the top of Google’s organic Web search results.
And because Google indexes Places Pages differently than other web pages, modifications can have an immediate effect on the ranking of a Places Page.
All in all, Google Places is an excellent way for a local business to “get found” on the Web by people in need of what the business sells. If you haven’t already claimed and optimized your Places Page, make sure you don’t wait any longer. Thousands of people in your city are searching the Web for your type of business – right now. Make sure they find your business before they find a competitor’s business by establishing a solid presence in Google Places.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
