How Google Places Can Benefit Your Small Business

Google Places is an important marketing tool for small businesses. This can help you to boost your online presence and achieve more visible results in search engine rankings.

Why You Need Google Places

Setting up a successful small business is all about increasing your visibility to customers. As well as carrying out local advertising you also need to look at marketing on the Internet. This is fast becoming the best place for advertising both online and offline business. A successful online marketing campaign can be a cost effective way to boost your business.

Just consider for a moment the fact that up to 80% of all consumers find what products/service they want by using keyword searches in top search engines like Google. Many people also use location tools such as Google Maps to find local businesses in their area. In order for you to attract the right customers you are going to have to be able to compete in search engines rankings and make sure your business is clearly listed for local customers. You can achieve this by utilising the features offered by Google Places.

How Does Google Places Work?

With Google Places you can set up a complete online profile for your business in just a few easy steps. This will feature in search engine results including web listings and maps. Google Places goes further than other business listings and enables you to add the following details:

• Basic Details – here you can quickly and easily enter your business name, location, contact details and store opening hours.

• Additional Details - Google Places will also let you add more details such as images and even video clips to your business listing. This can provide the additional edge you need over your competitors to attract new customers.

Places Portfolios

One important feature of Google Places is that is allows businesses to specify which locations they provide services in. This is ideal if your business operates throughout a certain mile/km radius or you have multiple locations throughout the country. You will be able to enter your main business address and also add other relevant places or area codes that you can provide services for. This level of detail is useful for increasing your target audience and providing customers with the information they need at a glance.

Coupons

Google Places can also help you to encourage new customers by offering incentives through the ‘Coupons’ tab. You will be able to add details of your special offers quickly and easily into your Google Places profile. This can attract more attention to your listings and help you get ahead of the crowd. Even small incentives such as 10% off or free shipping can make your listing more attractive to customers and boost your website traffic.