You are reading this article because you have a physical location or an office which can be visited by customers and you wish for the location to be visible on Google when someone types your business name.
You will have seen Google Places listings and not even realised what they are.
Here is 6 great reasons to set up a Google Places listing.
- There’s no fee to use this service, because it’s a free service offered by Google.
- You can provide information about your business. You can put your business name, description, phone number, and location on your listing. It’s very much like being listed in the Yellow Pages except that the listing is on the Web. You can also add other relevant info, including photos and YouTube videos.
- Your listing will appear on Google search results. The focus here is on the local searches, and the results are therefore limited to your local area. So if a Google user is searching for a Chinese restaurant in San Jose, CA, then Google determines the user’s location and then provides all the Chinese restaurants near them. That will include your business if you own a Chinese restaurant nearby. The Google user can even check out your listing to learn more about you.
- Your location will appear on Google maps. For small businesses, this is a crucial advantage. Now your potential customers will know exactly where your office can be found. Google acts as a beacon for your would-would be customers to follow. In addition, even just getting your Google map location on Google search results boosts awareness in your brand.
- You get reviews about your business. This is always a good thing, even if you get a bad review every now and then. Reviews make your business more relevant, and that will boost your ranking in search results. And when you view them objectively, these things tell you how to improve your business. You’ll know what you are doing right, and you can address the complaints by improving on weak areas.
- Addressing reviews enable you to engage with your customers. You can acknowledge reviews, and this can make your customers feel more special. You can thank the ones who wrote the good reviews. As for the negative reviews, even just hearing from you can decrease any bad feelings, and readers can at least know that you are taking complaints seriously.
So essentially, Google Places is crucial for your business because it will increase people’s awareness of your brand. It also enables you to enhance your relationship with your customers. These are the advantages that a small business cannot afford to ignore.
