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google places

Marketing with Google Places: Free Online Marketing for Offline Businesses

Marketing with Google Places: Free Online Marketing for Offline Businesses

Your business should be represented WELL on Google's maps.
Your business should be represented WELL on Google's maps.

Six simple steps for getting better free online exposure from Google for your offline store or service

If your business is 100% online, this is not for you. But if your business has a physical location that people should know about, you’d better be using Google Places.

Google Places is familiar to most Google users, but millions of business owners haven’t bothered to figure it out – yet it is so easy.   Just adding some simple information for your customers makes it much more powerful.

What’s more, your Google Place listing appears on Google Hotpot – Google’s latest shot at creating a social network for local consumers. Who knows whether Hotspot will take off – but in the meanwhile, take advantage of every bit of free marketing that Google will give you!

Here’s an intro from Google… 
(top tips on using Google Places follows, below)

Here’s how make sure your business looks good on Google Places:

  1. Go to the Google Places main page and log in using your Google account. (Use a Google account on an email address you can share with other people at your business in the future – don’t use your personal Google account.)
  2. Follow the simple instructions for adding details about your business. Google includes tools that let you upload details for multiple locations all at once. Plus (right now), free ‘tags’ that help increase your visibility (currently available in select cities only).  Don’t forget to add your business hours.
  3. Start out with the information people want first when they’re searching on Google: Clear, basic information about your business. Don’t add long, wordy promotional writing; Google users’ don’t read a lot when they are searching, so get right to the point.
  4. Upload GOOD photos.
    1. Ask a shutterbug friend for help or, better still, hire a professional photographer for an hour.
    2. Start with a really nice shot of your shop (not too close-up – this should help new visitors find you, so take it from the street.
    3. Take some nice shots inside your business and pick the best two or three.
    4. Add a couple shots of your products. Don’t take far-away shots with rows of products on shelves – that looks crappy on the web. Instead, take nice close-up shots of popular, attractive products.
    5. Never use photos that you found online or on Google Images. Not ever.
    6. Add your logo or a photo of your main business sign.
    7. Don’t get carried away. Five or six photos is probably enough to start with.
  5. Think about how important customer reviews are for your business. Remember that reviews at Google Places spotlight your customer service. Your job: Make customers happy.  So happy they’ll write reviews about you.  (DON’T post reviews for your own business.  If you must, ask some favourite customers to post reviews for you.)
  6. Read the Google Places User Guide.