Creating a positive reputation online requires a lot of hard work, whether you’re starting from scratch or are attempting to rebuild a damaged reputation. This is why the services of a reputation management company can be helpful; they can take on the time and effort involved in handling negative reviews and replacing any critical press in the search engines with positive commentary.

It is essential for anyone who is concerned about their online presence to increase the amount of high quality content and favourable reviews which can be found on the first page of the search results for their names and relevant keywords, and this doesn’t happen by accident; it is the result of intensive SEO work. A reputation management company can use their SEO expertise to increase the visibility of a client’s name and business on the search engines.

Through the use of specialist techniques, a online reputation management company provides the client with more control over how their business brand is seen by their target demographic. Potential customers will not put their trust in a business which has negative reviews, or a lack of consistency in the portrayal of their brand across different web platforms. A reputation management company can help to make the process of creating and managing a consistently positive online reputation simple and straightforward.

Why?

This will help Google to tie up your listing on the various directories, citation sites and other resources to your specific Google Places listing, which goes towards not only establishing credibility with the search giant, but also with the various users that use the sites that you list your company with.

How?

In order to ensure that you are listing your company, or website the same as that of your Google Places listing, make a template file of all the relevant information from your Google Places listing, and use this file throughout your additional listings process. Although this is time consuming, ensuring the accuracy thereof will maximize your efforts and in turn optimize your places listing with Google.

These citation listings, directory submissions and so forth can be done by the business owner, or you can appoint an employee or even out source this process. The most important aspect that whoever does this is using an accurate “listing file” and basically duplicating all information across the external sites correctly and accurately.

Contact us for assistance with your Google Places Listings, citation and directory submission.

Infographic by MDG Advertising

As Google launches its campaign in Kansas City, in targeting the so called Mom and Pop businesses, the statistics reveal that up to 66% of businesses do not have an ‘internet presence’ or website for their business. This combined with the fact that “97% of Americans look online for the services and stuff they buy” literally implies that money is being left on the table, by any business that does not have a website representing their products and services.

Why Are Small Business Owners Not Online?

The same article quoted above, quotes Scott Levitan – Director of Small Business Engagement, as stating that many business owners are not online due to the belief of prohibitive costing, as well as perceived difficulty and the time consuming nature of setting up and running a website. Although these may be valid beliefs or perceptions of the business owner, the costs associated to such marketing activities have in fact proven to be the most cost effective in terms of return on investment, and as with any service the business owner has the option of securing these services, as well as the much needed search optimization, Google places listings and related services at competitive rates.

Let’s consider a scenario of current pricing available for setting up a website, monthly hosting of the site and some basic services which may help the website within the search engine rankings.

• Domain Registration – Around $10 per year
• Monthly Hosting – From $5 per month
• Website Installation / Design – Difficult to provide a single figure, as it would depend on what the owner wants. Lets assume it is a basic WordPress installation, with a premium theme customized for the business – $150 to $300
• Basic Optimization (including places setup and optimization) – $200 – $400 per month – again depending on the level of marketing and online exposure that one may be after. This of course is totally optional, however with value added search engine optimization and online exposure, this should form an integral part of the online marketing budget for any business. (It is unlikely that the offer provided by Google actually provides any of these types of services).

If you are exploring the opportunity of getting your business online, or to improve your current search engine rankings contact us to discuss your options. Local Site SEO focuses on getting results for the small to medium business owner, with proven and ethical marketing and online strategies.

Taking control of your Google Places Listing, as well as implementing sound options on your website in terms of Search Engine Optimization will give you the upper hand in search results and stand to increase online exposure, and realize great returns on your marketing spend! Contact Local Site SEO to discuss how we can help you improve your online presence and increase rankings in the search engine results for your business.

Simply put local search is nothing short of a search by a consumer online, via the search engines (Google, Bing etc), for a product, service or information specific to their area of interest or needs. The results of such a search have been ‘fine-tuned’ by the search engines to return results that are applicable for the consumer according to his or her location where required. The example below is based upon the search term “roofing contractor Atlanta” – and would therefore represent a search for someone residing in Atlanta Georgia for a trade company that specializes in roofing, roof repair, roof installations and so forth.

As can be seen from the search results above, the consumer is provided with a list of websites, as well as a list of business that are generated from the Google Places listings. Together with these listings are the links to the reviews of the companies listed there, something of which the consumer will take into account when making a “short list” of prospective local businesses that they can utilize to address their needs, in this case something to do with a roof, installation or even repair. (Note: Some of the latest developments within the local search industry and market include the fact that Google is aiming to rely more so upon Google reviews as opposed to what used to be reviews from the likes of external community sites, such as Yelp, Kudzu and so forth. Although reference is still made to these ‘citations’, but not as prominently as before.)

The example of Bing’s search results are not much different, as can be seen below:

So that is basically what local search is about, and any business owner who is targeting their local community with sector specific services or products should be aware of this, as well as aim to improve and optimize their respective listings to even out the local search and marketing playing field.

If you need assistance with claiming, finding or optimizing your Google Places Listing or with Bing Business Portal contact us!

In order to understand the opportunities lost in this perspective requires a view of statistics that have been published with respect to how consumers use the internet specifically within the local search context (see our post on What is Local Search?). The following have been accessed from a variety of sources, and is in no way comprehensive, but rather a mere insight into what people are actually doing online today:

• Google has stated that 73% of all activity online is in some or other way related to local content.
  Our interpretation thereof is that the consumer is searching for businesses, services, products or even information specific to their interests. This is a key element of the consumer purchasing decision, and to be part of that you want to have your business appear in the best light possible to at least be in contention for such decision making by customers.
• BIAKelsey, the Local Media and Advertising Experts provide in depth research and results specific to local search amongst a wide variety of other very relevant marketing information, have stated that up to 86% of users online will at some point in time use the internet to search for local businesses.
• Whilst the NDP Group provides that 97% of internet users in the United States gather information for the purchasing requirements online.

As a local business owner these statistics represent a significant amount of exposure that can be generated for your business, and of course it’s free as Google does not charge for the local Places listing that your business may or may not already have.

Last but not least, Hubspot provides that of the daily searches on Google, 20% of these searches are for “local information”. This percentage translates to over 600 million searches per day, so to answer the question, Does My Business Really Need a Google Places Listing? We believe the answer is as clear as day!

Refer to our posts on Finding your Google Places Listing and Claiming your Google places listing, or contact us for assistance.

The hours of operation are another crucial element that need filling out, here you may be more readily available as compared to your competitors, and in which instance the end user or consumer will take these business into account, as they may well suit their schedule or free time to visit your business premises. Before the hours of operation you can specify whether or not you visit customers, as is the case in home improvement providers, flower deliveries and so forth. Again this is important as a consumer searching for something to be delivered or for a service required in the home will be exposed to your listing.

The option of incorporating photos and videos into your listing provides the opportunity for the business in question to ‘sell’ their offering visually, and thereby attract additional customers and prospects for their business. Listings are allowed to add up to 10 images and 5 videos. It is highly recommended that you take full advantage of this to enable maximum exposure and marketing for your business.

Once you have fully completed this step, and again we recommend that all details be completed, press submit and will most likely be required to wait for a postcard (sms / phone confirmation) to come from Google with a PIN, which is to confirm the listing – and of course is a security measure to protect the respective business listings. Once the postcard is received, login and confirm the listing.

This will then take you to the listing itself where you can complete the claim process, which is not unlike starting from scratch.

One of the easiest ways to get started is by going to the Google Places site – http://www.google.com/places/. From here, as a business owner select the “Get Started” option on the right of your screen. Unless you have an existing Google account (which includes Gmail etc) you will have to create an account, this can be a new Google account or you can use your regular email account to establish a Google Account. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Create an account – Use Gmail Account or your own email.
2. Complete all required fields – email, password, confirm password. Your location, the word verification.
3. You will be asked to confirm the account, if you used an external (ie non Google) email address. Find this confirmation email in your inbox and click on the specified link. Google will then ask for a mobile number – this is handy if you forget your password later on, you may also skip this step.
4. You will then be directed to a page that asks for Country and Business phone number. Select your country, and then add your business phone details – Select Find Business Information
5. If Google has an existing listing on Maps / Places this will appear, in which case you can select Edit.
6. Failing this – Select Add a New Listing. Here you will be presented with a wide range of business details, including email, website, categories and so forth. It is crucial to complete all fields as comprehensively and accurately as possible.

Our next article will cover the completion of the Google Places Listing.

If you have any questions, or need some help drop us a line via the contact page.

The most important aspect is that you have to claim your Google Places business listing. This will ensure control over the accuracy thereof and more importantly give you the opportunity of updating the listing, populating all required fields and ultimately optimising the listing to increase your rankings within the search results. Have a look at the Google Places case study, which provides some important reasons and examples of these listings.

We have put together a brief guide on how to claim your business listing, which we have broken into easy to digest parts for the ‘uninitiated’. If you need any help with this process be sure to contact us, LocalSiteSEO focuses on providing value added solutions to companies within this specific field, as well as optimising your listing for the best possible exposure.

Here are the links to the steps in Claiming Your Google Places Listing:

1. Finding Your Google Places Listing – locating your listing and claiming it.
2. Completing the basic Google Places listing for your business.
3. Optimising your Google Places Listing.
4. Advanced steps for increasing your online exposure.

All information herein contained is for references purposes only, no claim is made to any results and all trademarks belong to the respective trademark holders.