smbSEO, an Internet marketing company in Dallas, has created a new service that will improve a person’s online advertising efforts. The main trick they use involves optimizing ads for Google Places. Through Google Places, businesses can target local customers without having to spend hundreds on PPC advertising.
Local targeting has become more popular since Google Places came about. In fact, over 2 million Internet users surf Google every 60 seconds. Twenty percent of those searches include local keywords. Altogether, over 400,000 Internet surfers are researching businesses in their area.
To take advantage of this trend, you need to understand how Google Places works.
Google Places Revealed
You do not have to pay anything to list a business with Google Places. As long as your business has a legal address, it can be listed free-of-charge. Within your listing, you can provide various details including: directions, hours and reviews. You also have the option of posting miscellaneous elements, such as photographs or links to your website. When your listing is finished, it will be categorized with other local ads, which increases the amount of traffic you receive. People who are looking for landmarks, neighborhoods and other entities near your area will also notice your business. In addition, with a Google Places ad, your business is automatically placed into Google Maps, a separate service offering free directions.
In terms of ranking, a Google Places ad usually surpasses the positions of other websites. This means that Internet surfers will see them above all else on all local searches. Indeed, when Google Places is used, business owners do not have to waste their money on PPC ads.
However, even with this in mind there are still times when a Google Places listing falls below page 1 on a search engine. This is due to poor SEO on the part of business owners. Although Google Places has powerful ranking potential, its ads must still be optimized.
To do this, webmasters must optimize their listing with popular Internet keywords. This skill might be difficult for those not acquainted with SEO. For this reason, it is recommended that you hire a professional. By focusing on a holistic local search listing optimization effort, SMB SEO can pretty much guarantee you will get a high ranking with your Google Places listing.
If you have trouble deciding which professional to use, consider SMB SEO. We are a step above the rest because they do not restrict themselves to any one industry or region. Also, we use white-hat SEO techniques. This is important, as black-hat SEO uses unethical means to rise in search engines. Avoid any company that uses this type of SEO, as it will not only ruin your reputation, but it could also land you into legal trouble. With SMB SEO, your ad will attain the highest ranking with ethical and guilt-free SEO.
Don’t forget that reviews and citations are the key to ranking high on Google Places (Maps). SMB SEO has a process that incorporates the ratings and reviews and encourages a positive online reputation, thereby increasing your calls from Google Places listings and helping you stay at the top of search engine results.