Google Places for Business, formerly known as Google Local Business Centre is a service offered by Google. Linked to Google Maps, its aim is to present businesses registered with Google Places in local search results. Registered businesses have the added advantage of displaying their business address, telephone number and local map location over and above the standard title/link and description shown for natural search results.
Beside each Google Places business result there is also a “Place page” link which takes visitors through to a company’s individual Google Places business page. Here you can list your address, hours of operation and display photos of your products along with other information.
Google has recently started to ‘blend’ Google Places results with natural search results as shown above. When searching for “Office Partitioning in Kent“, you can see the natural search result above the Google Places result.
Google Places Setup
Setup is fairly straightforward but does require some knowledge of how to keyword optimise your listing to ensure your listing makes it into the top 7 displayed results.
Google have a PIN verification system in place to confirm that the person claiming the Google Places listing is the business owner or an authorised representative of the business. The PIN is either sent to the specified business address or the business phone number in your listing. Once received the PIN must be entered into the Google Places account for it to go live.
Our Advice
Google Places listings is an important tool for local SEO and online marketing.
• Get listed on Google Places!
• Make the most of your Google Places listing with images etc.
• Ask your customers to visit your Google Places listing and submit reviews.
Contact us for help on submitting and optimising your Google Places listing for your business.
