Add your business to Google Places
In order to improve their local search results as well as their maps, Google runs what they call Google Places. Any business can claim their listing on Google by adding themselves to the directory.
The great thing is that adding your business listing is simple, fast & FREE. Here are some more details about how to get your business listed & why you would be crazy not to do it right away.
How to Get Yourself Listed
To add your listing you will need a (free) Google Account. Here is a brief list of the steps that are required to add your business.
- Head over to: www.google.com/places
- Sign in with your username & password OR create a new account
- Once logged in you will be able to click Add New Business
- The next page will let you fill in all your business details
- To confirm your account you will either need to receive a phone call OR a letter from Google, which will contain your activation code. I’d recommend phone call, so make sure you’ve got access to your business phone when adding your listing.
Here is a quick video made by Google explaining the benefits of being listed.
An example of local business listings in Google search results
You can see below that if you search for a specific profession or business type followed by a city (geotag), then (if available) Google will bring up local business listings within that area.
So you can see that being listed will improve your visibility in local searches, as well as literally put you on the (Google) map.
Sean Twomey
Sean is a business science graduate from the University of Cape Town with a major in Marketing. He completed his honors thesis in 2007 and researched the viability of using social networking websites as a marketing platform. He is passionate about web development, online marketing & entrepreneurship. Sean launched Posmay Media in early 2008.Have Your Say
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