Tips To Help Your Website Rank with Local Searches
Once known as “Google Places” now called “Google Place Search” is a major force in local internet searching. About 20% of internet searches are local so Google has gone to great lengths to target local small business advertising. However, less than 10% of local businesses actually have their own Google Place Search page and an even smaller percentage have fully optimized their pages. The first place potential clients will start to find you is on your Google Places page from their smart phone or computer. Here are some tips to help your site rank higher in local web searches:
1. Get Your Own Google Places Search Page
Create your own Google Place Search. In order to be able to add information to your page you need to claim it first. Google verifies your claim to the page by sending you a postcard by snail mail with a confirmation code or by sending you a message on your phone.
2. Fill In All Information on Your Google Place Search Page
Google Places Search page you want to make sure all the information is accurate. Add pictures, videos, links to your website, reviews, coupons etc. As much information about your business as possible. You will want to do this for two reasons. First you want your clients to have the most accurate information about your company. Second, you want to completely optimize your Google Place Search Page because optimized pages get ranked first. The better optimized your Google Place Search page is, the higher it ranks in local searches. If you need assistance, Bower Web Solutions is here to answer any questions and help you set up your Google Place Search page.
3. Online Reviews
The most important consideration with reviews is that they have to be real. Don’t post a bunch of bogus reviews on Google or other sites. You WILL get busted, eventually. The more reviews you have, the higher your site is ranked on Google Place Search.
4. Citations
Citations are listings and references made to you in other local directories. Google gathers links and reviews from other local directories and places them in your Google Places listing. This also is a factor in determining your rank in local search. So it is to your advantage to be listed in as many local directories as possible to boost your rank in Google Place Search. Submitting to each of these directories making sure the information is accurate on each is a time consuming task. Contact Bower Web Solutions and ask how we can help you in this effort.
