May 27 2010

Google Places No-No’s

Google Places is a free marketing tool for local businesses.  The benefits of these listings include showing up in web search results and mobile search results.  Updating these listings is free and available to the business 24x7x365.  Not something you can easily do with the traditional yellow pages.  Definitely something you need to consider beyond Google and tap into multiple local listing websites and search engines.

Here are a few guidelines and information to know about when using Google Places.  Many of these guidelines apply to other local listing websites as well.  Many of these points are pretty self-explanatory.  Violating these guidelines and your listing can be suspended.  The basic premise is that you need to present your business in the local listings as you would in the traditional world.

  1. Only the business owner(s) or authorized representatives may claim the local listing(s).
  2. Don’t pack your listing with keywords like in your business name.
  3. Along the same concept, do not include phone numbers or URLs in the business name.
  4. You cannot use PO Boxes, it has to be physical address.
  5. Do not provide phone numbers or web addresses that redirect consumers to other landing pages or phone numbers other than those of the actual business.

While we recommend reading Google Places quality guidelines here , we do recommend reading about local listing security issues which are related to the above no-no’s.

The Internet has become a good marketing tool for the local business dependent upon the local consumer for their revenue through web searches and mobile searches.  Tap into the power of geo-listings as you engage in geo-marketing!

This is a guest post by Melih Oztalay of SmartFinds that provides Local Business Listing Management Services. You will find SmartFinds Internet Marketing to be of great benefit to your time resources and the low cost service may eliminate your yellow page ad costs. Let the experts of over 15 years Internet marketing experience help you use this local business marketing tool properly.

5 Responses to “Google Places No-No’s”

  1. Randy Kirk says:
    May 27, 2010 at 10:05 pm

    Very sound advice. Your readers may want to get more detail, however, and they can find the most comprehensive free resource on the internet at http://www.GooglePlacesHelp.blogspot.com. Appreciate your contribution.

  2. Kelly Smith says:
    May 31, 2010 at 2:57 am

    As with everything on the internet, some people try to scam the system and for a time they get away with it. But after a while, their indulgence comes back to hurt them. Just follow the basic rules of SEO and Google Places! Have a long term strategy and follow the rules! Its that simple.

  3. Coding Strategist says:
    June 2, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    I agree with you that you should not pack your listings with keywords, but I think you should not miss the opportunity to put in at least one or two. Signin up for Google places is the only thing you can do to rank high in Google without any SEO knowledge. In Europe very few businesses have an account setup for Google Places. This means that signing up and using your major keyword in the title and description you will get a top 5 listing in regular search (and maps off course). It is extremely easy to rank top 5 for your main keyword in combination with the name of your city. One of my clients wanted just a good looking site and had no budget for SEO. I told thm (vormgrip.nl) about Google places and he now ranks number 1 for his most important keyword: meabelmakers. see: http://www.google.com/search?q=meubelmakers+amsterdam

  4. Lonny Dunn says:
    June 5, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    Completely disagrees with whatever point was trying to be made about keywords. First the concept is entirely conceived and predicated upon keyword technology, and I agree with the above writer who realizes this. Maybe it was just a typo, or a quickly written blogpost??

    There are “Categories” which Google allows the Business Owner to choose, if I am not mistaken 5 Categories their business can be in. So let’s say I am a cake maker?? I work from home, and up until now, I have basically word of mouth advertising, some ex employers who call me and some ladies from church…? OK? I can now get creative, and participate in Keyword Technology by getting my listing in 5 seperate and distinct classifications, To Wit:

    * Catering
    * Weddings
    * Bakery
    * Events/Event Planning
    * Cakes

    Using this simple hypothetical, we have determined that Sally Sue Cake Baker, working from home, with nothing but a few “referral based contacts” can now be searched for over an extremely large and diverse range of search categories.

    Thus advising the readers NOT to load their listing with KeyWord Searches seems to be entierely off the mark. However, I do think it was a typo in this case, since the writer has 15 years in Local Search experience.

    Important to this discussion is that the Listing is FREE, and the listings are picked up by other local search engines, maybe by Local, Now, In, etc. Generally, in a major metropolitan area, there are usually 20 or 30 local search engines who’s major source of information is gOOgleLocal/Places. So these same keywords will filter through them as well. I appreciate the article, and look forward to more of the same, I appreciate you. I tweet at http://Twitter/ProNetworkBuild Lonny Dunn Editor/Author

  5. Summerlin luxury homes says:
    November 19, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    I do not know how Google places works but then it seems very interesting. At the end of it all it all depends on the effort of the blogger. The internet is gifted with almost all answers to questions and is of good quality .