Over recent months, Google has changed Google Places for Business into Google+ Local. These pages serve as a directory listing for your business that can place prominently in Google search results. They allow you to display photos, videos, reviews, and other essential facts about your business like your address, phone number, and hours. You can also utilize your Google+ Local page to offer your customers real time updates about your business as well as offers they can take advantage of.
There are many advantages that Google+ Local can offer. The biggest is its ability to put your company in front of more and more people in the Google search area. This can also help increase your organic search ranking, so long as you have all of your information like business name, contact information, payment types, and categories associated with your business filled out properly. You also receive a listing on Google Maps when you join Google+ Local, and your business will appear in relevant searches on Google’s map feature.
You can also receive Google Ratings when you sign up for Google+ Local. These ratings are comprised of reviews and ratings your customers have left for your business, and are depicted by a gold star standard by your search results. Just one negative review can have a big impact on your ratings, so make sure to monitor the reviews, responding to both the positive and negative comments in order to keep happy customers happy and rectify the issues with upset customers.
So, how can you make sure you are properly using Google+ Local for your business? There are some simple ways that you can enhance your Google+ Local page to make your business more appealing to both customers and the search engine. First, make sure to add photos and videos to the page. These allow your clients to get a visual of what you do. As mentioned previously, you can also post real time updates and offers with Google+ Local, and these are crucial in driving engagement and customers to your page. By keeping your Google+ Local timeline updated, you are able to promote sales, special events, and anything else you want your customers to know about.
If you are interested in setting up a new Google+ Local page, or are worried about the switch of your current page from Google Places to Google+ Local, SMT will be happy to help you with the transition. Contact us today online or at 407-682-2222 to get started.