Google Places page (formerly called Google Local Business Centre Listings) provides even more ways to reach the local market.
Google Places has replaced Google Local Business Centre Listings which will help strengthen the connection to Place Pages. Place Pages were launched by Google in September last year for more than 50 million places around the world. Google has assured owners of verified listings that Google Places will have all the functionality of Google Local Business Centre Listings with a few additional features.
These additional features include the following. Not all features are available to all markets but are being rolled out slowly by Google.
Service areas: On your Google Places page, you can now show which geographic areas you serve which is a major plus. This is a great feature that will allow business to not only reach the area they are based in but the areas their business services. In addition, if you run a business without a storefront or office location such as an online plumbing store, you can have the option of making your address private.
Business photo shoots: Google is offering select businesses in the US, Japan and Australia to take part in a Google business photo shoot where Google photographers come to your business and take photos of your company. These images supplement your Places Page listing and other photos you have uploaded to the page.
Advertising tags: For just US$25 per month, selected businesses in the US can further optimise their Places Page. Tags are yellow markers on Google Maps that highlight important aspects of their business such as coupons, price lists or updated menus.
Customised QR codes: Businesses can download a QR code that’s unique to their business, directly from their dashboard page. QR codes can be placed on business cards or other marketing materials, and customers can scan them with certain smartphones to be taken directly to the mobile version of the Place Page for that business. This is only available in the US market at present.
Favourite Places: Due to popular demand, Google is doing a second print run of decals for the Favorite Places program, and are mailing window decals to 50,000 businesses around the US. These decals also include a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to directly view the mobile Place Page for the business to learn more about their great offerings.
With one of five searches on Google related to location, Google Places is important for local search and should be an important part of any internet marketing campaign to reach the local market. So far, four million businesses have claimed their Place Page on Google through the Google Local Business Centre.
Read our article on the Best Practices for Your Google Local Business Centre Listing to find out how you can optimise your Places Page. Google is continually striving to improve the Places Page and since its inception, there has been other improvements such as real-time updates and coupons specially formatted for mobile phones.
You can find out more about Google Places by checking the Lat Long blog or post any questions or feedback. Claiming your Google Places is important for local businesses to increase their visibility in Search Engines and stay relevant in the local market. Contact us to find out more about Google Places formerly known as Google Local Business Centre Listings and how we can help you optimise your listing, increase your ranking and maximise your local revenue.
