Take Control Of Your Business Presence On Google Places

Posted by Jeremy Bise on Monday, July 5 2010

Google Places (formerly Google Local Business Center) is how the search giant presents local businesses to searchers who are looking for local establishments. Fortunately Google allows business owners to "claim" their business online, which gives you — the business owner — several tools to help make the Googler's experience with your listing the best it can be.

The first thing you'll want to do is head to http://www.google.com/maps and search to see if your business is already there. There's good reason for doing this first. We actually just worked with a client on getting their listing up to date and we found the business duplicated four different times, and three of those listings had 10 year old incorrect information! If you find that your listing has incorrect information, you can click on the listing and there will an option in the balloon (under "more") to Report A Problem so Google can correct it.

If your business is listed, but you haven't claimed it, you should certainly do so! Doing so will allow you ensure the information is correct. To claim your business, click on your listing and choose "more" in the balloon and click Edit Details. On the right hand column, there's an option to "Claim your business." You'll fill out a series of forms and you'll be asked to verify your business ownership. All of this is described in our Getting Set Up In Google Places resource.

Furthermore, if your business isn't listed at all in Google Places, you'll want to use the Getting Set Up In Google Places resource to get in there. The more places you can be found online, the better.

Here's a rundown of some of the great stuff you get when you claim your business on Google Places:

  • The ability to post store hours, contact information, website information, and other pertinent goodies Googlers will want to know
  • Statistics on the number of times a Googler requested driving directions to your business
  • The number of times your business showed up in searches (impressions)
  • A poster you can print out and display in your front window so smartphone users can quickly scan a barcode to find more information about you
  • The ability to add some multimedia flair (photos and video) to make your Google Places listing stand out
  • Get reviews which let others know how awesome you are or to help you improve business 

Isn't it time you take control of your business presence on Google Places? We think so!