by, Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media
Google now claims that more than 22 percent of all searches are currently related to location or contain geo-targeted keywords. This is only going to grow in the next couple of years, as local becomes more important. Due to this, Google has made significant advancements to secure its lead in local search with Google Place Pages (GPP).
Since Google's latest local algorithmic shift from Maps to Places, small businesses again have a significant marketing opportunity - and they are asking about how to appear higher in these rankings. It has been found that a well-optimized Google Places Page will rank higher than most clients' actual websites on a branded geo-search. The reason is that Google crawls and indexes their own product first.
Having a Google Places Page should be considered a required first step in a local marketing campaign by every business because Google is using these pages as a platform for more products. Google Offers, which will be coming soon, is a response to coupon sites like Groupon. Also, Google Places allows for reviews, which is similar to Yelp. Make certain, there will be more to come, as local becomes more and more important.
Next week we will talk about how to get started with Google Places.
Google now claims that more than 22 percent of all searches are currently related to location or contain geo-targeted keywords. This is only going to grow in the next couple of years, as local becomes more important. Due to this, Google has made significant advancements to secure its lead in local search with Google Place Pages (GPP).
Since Google's latest local algorithmic shift from Maps to Places, small businesses again have a significant marketing opportunity - and they are asking about how to appear higher in these rankings. It has been found that a well-optimized Google Places Page will rank higher than most clients' actual websites on a branded geo-search. The reason is that Google crawls and indexes their own product first.
Having a Google Places Page should be considered a required first step in a local marketing campaign by every business because Google is using these pages as a platform for more products. Google Offers, which will be coming soon, is a response to coupon sites like Groupon. Also, Google Places allows for reviews, which is similar to Yelp. Make certain, there will be more to come, as local becomes more and more important.
Next week we will talk about how to get started with Google Places.
