Google Places

Posted by Lisa Ikariyama
Monday, 19 December 2011 in General

When you search for businesses in a particular location Google (i.e. accommodation Auckland) often presents a list of places for results near your specified location.   

A listing on Google Places can be influential for visitors learning more about your business listing.

Verified listings
There are several different factors that contribute to the ranking of listings.  As a business owner, the most important step is claiming a place as a verified business owner.  To do this, search for your business on Google Maps and navigate to your business listing.  Above the map, there is a link “Business owner?” that you can click on to verify your business. 

Once you click on this link it will take you through a process of validating your listing and adding additional information to appear with the listing.  It is important to claim as a business owner because you can:

• Add extra information like photos and video
• Respond to reviews as the business owner
• Update your listing information if details change
• Receive stats on your listing performance

Optimising your listing
Once you have claimed your listing as a business owner, beef it up with valuable content for visitors.  Don’t just fill in the required fields of your listing but all fields that you have available information.  Some of the key parts of your listing that should be filled in include:

• Website: Add a link back to your site for more information. 
• Category: Enter board and specific categories that suit your business, but are targeted.
  • Example: An Auckland hotel may fit under the categories: accommodation, hotel, Auckland hotel, and Auckland accommodation.
• Images: Businesses can upload up to 10 photos to appear with their business listing.  Add all 10 images of your business, facilities, services, etc. 
• Videos: Businesses can add up to 5 videos from YouTube.  Add video of tours of your business, location, and services.
• Additional details: Enter in additional information people may want to know about your business.
  • Example: An Auckland hotel may fill in additional details for facilities, wireless internet charges, distance from the airport, etc.       
• Offers: You can add in any specials or offers that are available to appear alongside your listing.  Try this out by offering something only on Google Places to test the effectiveness.   

Reviews
Users can add reviews for your listing, which is one of many factors that can determine your ranking.  Encourage users to review your listing on Google Places and make sure that you monitor what is being said so that you can respond.  It is another spot in the multitude of places where people can review your business and for travel businesses it is as important as Trip Advisor reviews.  In addition to promoting visitors to review you on other review sites, promote them to review your business on Google Places through e-newsletters, email signatures, website linkages, adding links on your business cards, brochures, etc. 
 

Integration with Google+
Google has been testing Places and Google+ page integration in results and supports check-ins for businesses that have offers listing on their Places page on the Google+ Android application.  The future of Google Places will be more heavily integrated with Google+ as Google has been integrating it with several of its product like YouTube and AdWords and may become a stronger ranking factor for Places listing display. 
 

Checklist for Google Places

• Verify  your listing as a business owner
• Add additional information helpful for visitors
• Promote your listing for people to review it
• Respond and engage with reviews