Most likely Google has already created a “Places” listing for your company. All you need to do is claim the listing and update it. Before I take you through the steps on how to claim your listing I want to tell you why you should take the time to claim or set up your listing.
- It is FREE. Google gets a lot more traffic than the Yellow Pages and if you are advertising with them you know it’s not cheap so why not spend 20 minutes and claim your listing?
- Google Places is trackable. What this means is that you can log into your account and see how many people have visited your Places page, where they came from as well as other information.
- You can add pictures, videos and coupons to your Places page. The pictures and videos give your potential customers a feel for your business and the coupons are something that you can track. Videos can consist of activities, product demonstrations, or testimonials. If you need help creating a video, give me a call. We work with a lot of talented people who can help you create a video at a very reasonable price.
- It will drive traffic to your business. If you are a business to consumer, it could drive a lot of traffic; but even if you sell business to business, you will see an increase in new prospects.
So how do you set up or claim your Google Places account?
- Go to Google and type in your company’s name and city and state. You will get a listing that looks like this. If you do not that means that Google has not created a listing for your company so you will need to go to Google Places and register your business.
Now click on the “More information link” and you will be taken to this page.
There is a link on the top right that says “business owner?” or “Claim this listing”. Click on that button and you can update your listing.
There are two ways to verify your listing. The first is by phone, which may not be available if this is the first listing that you have claimed. The second is by postcard. Both serve to verify that you are in fact the owner of the business. If you click by phone have a pen and a piece of paper handy. Google will call your phone number within seconds and give you a code that you need to put in to complete the registration process.
I’ve also written a ebook called “Making Google Places work for you. A step by step plan to getting more customers”. For a limited time you can receive it free by filling out the form to the right.
Technorati Tags: send business to small business., SEO, Setting up Google Places
Have you ever wondered how many people search for something your business provides? Google has a free resource that will give you that information.