Local Business Listing on Google Q & A
Here are a few local business listing on Google concerns in a Q & A format. The following techniques focus on the most “white hat” strategies to use when creating and building an online presence in the local business directory on Google Places.
If I use the service area option will it have a negative effect on my rankings in Google local listing?
I think it’s too early to really know but if you are a home based business and you don’t want to make your home address public it is the best option you have. I haven’t seen any effect in ranking but I have heard of a few issues from some SEO marketers. Some reports say that a few business owners, with an actual physical company location, have witnessed a decrease in rankings for the physical location when service areas are indicated. I really doubt that Google’s intention is to penalize a business owner for using an option that Google is making available. They may need some time to adjust their ranking algorithms but it’s too new of a feature to know for sure at this point.
Can I use location keywords in my categories?
Including location keywords in your categories is a violation of Google’s guidelines and they are enforcing it. If someone tells you it really helped in their ranking just realize that it probably does work but only until their listing gets deactivated.
I have an 800 toll free phone number and a local number which should be my primary number on my Google listing?
Please use the local number in your listing and then make sure it’s on your website and any other directory listings on the Internet. This consistent approach of having all information about your company match everywhere online, builds credibility with Google. So, in addition to having the same phone number be sure that the name of your company (title on your Google Place Page) and the address are also consistent. Note that Google’s guidelines suggests having a local phone number that rings to an individual person rather than a call-center.
Do I need to have a website to rank well on Google Places?
There is lots of proof that a business can rank on Google in the local business results without a website! However, if you are involved in a competitive market, a well optimized website will make a difference in my opinion. I think having a link to a quality company website that provides relevant content, builds trust and credibility with Google and the customer. Plus, making your local business listing your primary online presence may not be the best indication of a viable local operation. So the bottom line is to build a powerful website that is optimized for the same keyword phrases as your Google listing! Doing this can help your business listing to rank better in the local 7- pack and offer value to new customers and clients.
Can I use a P.O. Box instead of a physical address on my local listing?
In the past Google did permit businesses to use a box number but now it is against the Google Places guidelines and can create a negative local ranking factor if you’re using one on your website. I know that many business owners have started using the postal service locations like the UPS Store because you get an actual suite number. I’m sure Google’s technology knows that the business owner is using a postal service rather than an actual physical address but it has not affected ranking as of yet.
What is the most important thing that will improve my business listing ranking on Google?
Citations are the number one most powerful off-page factor! Your profile may be optimized to the hilt but without citations to back up your business information, your ranking will not be as high as it could be. So get as many citations as possible. Just in case you’re unclear what a citation is, a citation is the mentioning of your business on another website. It is usually a mention of your business name, address and phone number. A citation from an authority website like Wikipedia carries more weight than from less prominent sites or directories and I think scores more points for your listing. You can increase your number of citations by utilizing the directories such as YellowPages.com, SuperPages.com and you can check out Universal Business Listings (https://www.ubl.org) which will submit your business listing to the top authority directory for a small annual fee.
Google Local Listing For Home Business Owners
Do you work from home? Are you a service business like a lawn service, pest control, alarm company of maybe a wedding photographer? You may have seen the local business listing directory in Google but since you don’t have a business location you didn’t look into creating your own listing.
The good news is that you don’t need a bricks and mortar address to have a local business listing in Google Places! Work at home moms, painters, carpet installers, locksmiths, limousine companies and any local service company can promote their home based business in Google Places.
Google understands that a businesses credibility is not based on the location of the business and since your initial customer contact is by cell phone or maybe a website and your services are performed at the clients home or place of business you don’t need a physical office location to work from.
As a home based business operator you may not want to advertise your address! And in the past a physical address was required so your only option was to go down to the UPS Store and rent a mailbox to get a local Google listing only to find that you couldn’t get a good placement in “Google Maps” with a rented address.
The bottom line to this posting is that you do qualify for a listing on Google Places in the local business directory?
Google has made some improvements and included some new options designed to help out the home based business owner. You’ll want to take a few minutes to understand just how these new changes can have a positive impact on your marketing exposure.
Google now gives you an option to include the geographic areas that you serve. You can do this only if your business requires you to go to the customer to provide the service or make a delivery. As a home business you will still be required to provide a valid physical address when creating the listing but you can make your address private so it is not shown on Google.
You can show your service area in terms of distance, showing a coverage area of up to 50 miles from your home.
So if your local business offers services that take you directly to the customer you’ll broaden your exposure quickly with Google Places.
If you want to know how to add a service area to your existing business listing, just go directly to Google.com/places and create a listing. It’s free and should only take a about an hour to create the initial page.
