News Letter 9

Google Places

Thanks for checking out Cornerstone’s 9th News Letter. In this issue I’m going to cover “Google Places” so that you can make your business more Google friendly.

Google’s present strategy is very focused on local searches. That means, Google uses your location on the planet when you make a search. If you live in Vancouver, Google can tell and so only shows you the businesses in your area, i.e. If you searched for a restaurant ,you'll get local restaurants. You certainly don’t need to get results for Seattle Restaurants.

Let’s see how a local search works.

 I open Google and type in a search term like “window cleaning”. I’m in Vancouver so here is what pops up.

Here is a summary of what the numbers mean.

1) These are the Paid Advertising sections that Google offers and the results show companies from Vancouver. The top paid advertising section has a faint pinkish background and the left column is also paid advertising. If you click on any of these links, that window cleaning company will pay Google anywhere from 50 cents to 2 dollars. It is said that 95 percent of the searchers only go as far as the first page.

2) This is the Google Maps section and is free. On the top left is a map of where your local window cleaning businesses are. You can see they are simply labeled A to E. These letters correspond to the below listing on the right. The “A” in the top map corresponds to the “A” in the lower right section which is Men in Kilts.

3) This is the regular free listing area. To be at the top of the pile on this page requires knowledge in optimizing your website. In the above image, the top ranked site is allclear.ca. We made their website several years ago and incorporated search engine optimization (SEO) into it.

Google Plus or Google +
When you hover your mouse over the link in the lower right (2), the left side changes to show you more information about the business. Here’s an example.

I hovered my mouse over “Cornerstone Software Solutions” link and the right side of the page changes to give you more information about the business. This is information that appears was supplied by myself through my Google +  account. Through my Google + account I can write my own description, change the phone number, hours, etc.

From this we can have a defintion for Google Places.
Google Places is the information that Google uses when it lists your business. Google should already have your business listed in its results, but your Google Places page allows you to control what data Google has and displays to searchers about you.

Reputation
Have you noticed there are several places that allows you to make a Review about the business? This area is very important for businesses because reviews establishes “reputation”. Reputation is important to Google and to the customers who are searching for information. Lots of good reviews can influence a user to click on your link or not click on it if there are bad reviews. If your business hands out receipts or invoices, it is a good idea to add a line at the bottom that says. “If you appreciate or service, please give us a Review with your Yelp or Google + Account”.

If you are a do-it-your-selfer type then you should get a Google account and go here: http://www.google.com/local/add/

The “Let the professional do it” approach gets you the above and much more.

I could list off the other tips and tricks that can be done to your website but I am really trying to stay away from the all the words that go with Search Engines.

Here’s the deal. Normally I charge 500 dollars for a Local Search Engine work but till the end of Febuaury, I will optimize your site for only 249 dollars!!!

I'm ready to optimize your site today so call me at 778-688-9943 or fire me an email

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