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On Tuesday I discussed the Bizarro World of Google Local. Staying on topic I decided to bring you the top 5 ways to "Game" the Google Local search results to increase your exposure and visibility on the popular search engine.
5 things every business should do to "Game" the Google Local search results
Target Your Biggest Market - If you service the entire state it is best for you to target the capital city (or the area with the largest population). If you don't have an office or shop in the city it might be worthwhile investing in a GPO Box, as this will push you higher in the results. Smaller businesses should target their local area.
Be the first - Submit your business before your competitors do. Preliminary tests have shown us that early adopters of Google Local seem to have a better chance of being listed on the front page.
The 4 Week Waiting List - This may seem like a disadvantage but think again. You get an instant 4 week head-start on your competitors if no maps are listed in your search results. Your competitors won't know what hit them!
Use Descriptive Words in your Business Name - I am seeing this trend a lot, and for good reason - it works! After your business name simply put a few words that describe your business - for example, Bunnings could use "Bunnings - Hardware Gardenware Mile-End" to target the keywords "Hardware Mile-End" and "Gardenware Mile-End". But be selective, there is very limited space.
Submit Multiple Listings - If you have multiple offices or a postal address in a different location from your physical address then I urge you to submit both listings. Franchises should be submitting the listing for every store.
5 things every business should avoid when submitting their business to Google Local
Faking your address - You may think you're smart by faking your address on Google Local to attract business in larger areas. But the truth is you're simply fooling yourself. Google Local is a mapping service at heart, it aims to bring people to your shop or store-front. Putting in a fake address defeats the purpose.
Needless spamming - Although I suggested adding your listing multiple times, I must also warn that needless spamming may actually get your listing revoked. Choose your location and keywords wisely.
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS - Newspapers may use all capitals to demand attention, but online it is considered "yelling" and socially unacceptable. A listing with all capitals is an obnoxious way to get your message across (And can quite possibly hurt your brand). Obviously this does not apply to businesses that use an acronym as their name, like IBM or AGL.
Not specifying your business name - This seems like a no-brainer, but you will be surprised to see how many listings are out there simply full of keywords without any business name. The front page of Google is a great way to brand your product or service. Through many eyes it is seen as an endorsement by Google (and who doesn't trust Google?).
Listing 1800 or 1300 numbers - This is a real nuisance for anyone living outside of the US. It's unfortunate but Google Local won't recognise your 1800 or 1300 number because the phone confirmation comes from the US - unless you confirm your listing via postal mail (which takes much longer). To get your listing up and running I recommend specifying a direct number that is reachable from overseas for confirmation purposes.
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