Getting listed in Google's local listing is very important for all local businesses.
Google local listings will feature local companies above the natural results for a search. This is good news for local businesses because more and more people are using the internet to search for local goods or services.
Being featured in the top 10 places of the Google local listings will help bring in more targeted traffic and in turn more customers without any need for the company to pay for any promotion.
However there is one problem - there are only 10 places in the Google local listings and in big cities with a lot of competition it can be quite hard to get in the top 10.
There are many ways to help you get featured in the top 10 of Google local listings.
Here are some tips to help your company get listed in the top 10.
A. Use the exact address that is on your website. For example "street" is different to "st." or "limited" is different to "ltd"
B. Use a local number. If you can't get a local number search online to get one.
C. Email address must be the same as website email address.
D. Do fill in as much detail about your company as possible and leave nothing out.
E. Try to put the keyword in the description but avoid keyword stuffing.
F. Photos and videos can help improve placement so upload them if available.
G. Get customers to review your company on review sites.
H. Citations and mentions in other directories are important.
I. If possible get testimonials from past customers and use them on your site and in the listings.
As with any Google listings, your website content plays a major role.
To give yourself a better chance of higher listings keep your website content as fresh and new as possible. Try to change some of the content at least once a month.
Adding articles or news from your industry onto your website will help keep content new and fresh.
You can also add special offers or coupon codes on your website to keep content fresh and active. This will attract more customers and keep your company more interesting for people who reach you via search engines to stay longer.
Here's a tip on getting great reviews and testimonials from customers.
Ask customers for a review on review sites and give them a discount for any future purchase from your company - a win win situation for you. Remember to ask only customers who are positive about your company. Negative reviews from customers would be detrimental to your Google local listings.
Do make sure they use the exact address and contact numbers and the one on your website otherwise Google may not count it as a review for your company.
If you keep doing this then slowly your reviews will build up and you will see your website appear higher and higher in the Google local listings.
Author Resource:
Ben Luong is an experienced internet marketer specialising in SEO and Google places.
For more information about getting listed on Google Place or Local internet marketing tips please visit:
Birmingham Internet Marketing Or