SeoCustomer

With more and more people using the Internet to buy or sell a product or service, Google Places has become the better alternative to the Yellow Pages.

It is also called referred to as Google Maps and is actually an extension of Google Search. Google Places is a very convenient tool for sellers and buyers and it is completely free to use.

If you operate a local business and you want to increase your sales, it is recommended that you get your company listed in it.

The Farmer Update in 2011 gave local businesses the opportunity to get to the top of the Google search page results. That is, if they know how to effectively use Google Places.

What this means is that there are certain things that you must do in order to land at the top spot of Google searches using Google places, and these are:

• Account Set Up – The first thing you need to do is set up an account in Google Places. It is free and easy to do but it must be complete. An important step in getting to the top of the searches is completing your information and using the right keywords.Supply complete and correct information on your Name, Address, contact details, email and website addresses, and also provide an accurate description of your business. Fill out as many fields as possible. You can also supply videos and photos of your business. This will add style to your business and give readers more information about it.

• Supply a citation – This is simply a reference of your business from another website. The citation must be identical to the precise match of your Google Places listing.

• Check the accuracy of all your citations – This includes names, addresses, phone numbers and so forth. Even if your company is listed, incorrect information will affect its ranking adversely.

• Get your company listed – To get the best citations, you need to get listed on Yahoo, Insiderpages, Angie’s List, Superpages and other search sites. Google will be able to get more information about your company from these sites.

• Create additional local links – This means building up additional local links that refer to your business name, URL, phone number and business address. Like the usual SEO methods, you can indicate them in social media networks and postings. However, it would be more advantageous if you will source them from other business websites, directories and bloggers since they function as a form of review.

• Regularly update your Google Places page – This can be accomplished by simply modifying the main areas of your page, as often as possible. It is not necessary to edit the videos or the images but maybe just editing the description. Doing these things can impact your ranking, in a positive way.

• Get as many reviews as you can – These reviews play a major role in increasing your ranking and driving your listing upward. So get as many reviews as possible, from different websites. You can encourage other sites to do this by also offering to exchange reviews of their business as well.

This article was written by Ricky Joyner – Owner of SEOFuture.com.