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Targeted Web Traffic To Help Local Business Get On The First Page Of Google Places

Guest post by: Wolfgang Bloomfield

Article Overview: One of the most exciting things to happen for local businesses recently is the introduction of Google Places (formally Google Maps), giving the business owner targeted web traffic, and the opportunity to get on the first page of Google in their local area.

Targeted Web Traffic To Help Local Business Get On The First Page Of Google Places

One of the most exciting things to happen for local businesses recently is the introduction of Google Places (formally Google Maps), giving the business owner targeted web traffic, and the opportunity to get on the first page of Google in their local area.

This is now helping to level the playing field, giving the local business a good chance of competing with the large National companies, and in fact giving the advantage over them, forcing the National companies to lose the tight grip that they have had over local businesses.

How can this help your local business, and what is Google Places all about? Well, Google have recently discovered that most people using the Internet to find products and services are looking for a local business to provide it for them.

In their wisdom Google have decided to change the way that the search results are being presented to the searcher, by favouring the local business and presenting local results first, in fact some National results are not showing up at all, in local searches.

The results of the searches are shown with a description of the services offered, and a map that shows where the local business is located.

This does not happen automatically though, the local business owner needs to list their business in Google places, and for the best result the listing should be well optimized, to get onto the first page of Google, in their local area.

A lot of local businesses are slow to do this, mainly because it is a little complicated, but also because a lot of them are not fully aware of this exciting opportunity.

To get a good listing it is advisable to act fast, as there are only a number of places on the first page of Google, and they are filling up fast, which will make it a lot more difficult for those that are slow to act.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) For Targeted Web Traffic.

If you have a business that has several categories, such as a widow company, you could have several listings by, listing each category separately; you could have a listing for windows, one for doors and one for conservatories, this way the customer that wants new windows, will see that you are a specialist in windows, and the same goes for the other categories too.

This would mean that your visitors would be targeted web traffic, and therefore more likely to ask you for a price, giving you more chances of making more sales, and earning more money for your local business.

As more and more people are now searching online instead of offline (Yellow Pages and local Newspapers), it would be a good idea to have a local website, as a lot of people like to see what the local business has to offer before they visit or telephone them.

This would strengthen the above strategy even more, as you would have a link to your website from your listings, to the appropriate category page of your website for your prospect to visit, creating even more credibility for your local business.

Are you beginning to see how this would work, and the power behind it? You see most local businesses are not very familiar with the Internet and they don´t know how it works, so they would be unlikely to be able to do this for themselves, and some of them would be reluctant to hire an expert to do it for them, because of the costs involved.

This does require a lot of work and time spent doing it, but it is worth the effort, or the costs involved in hiring someone, as the results would mean that you could well dominate the market for your product or service in your local area.

I do hope that by now you can see how targeted web traffic can help your local business to get onto the first page of Google places in your local area.

If you have enjoyed reading this article, and have found it to be of use to you, please feel free to share it with others.

Here’s to your success

Wolfgang Bloomfield

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Article Tags: Businesses, first page of, Google, Google Places, Help local business, Search Engine Optimization, targeted web traffic



Related Forum Posts
Re: How can I promote my site? - I recently added my details to Google Places. Is that the same as a Google Local Business Listing?
Re: How can I promote my site? - [quote="smartcompanysoftware":1buq8jkk]I recently added my details to Google Places. Is that the same as a Google Local Business Listing?[/quote:1buq8jkk] Yes, they're the same. You add your business information so that you can be found on the web. You can engage with customers and much more. You just reminded me to add my business there as well. Thanks!
Re: Significance of Review Sites - I also heard that if your place your site on Google Places you are almost guaranteed to rank on the first page of Google for your keyword. That might be another one people should take into consideration.
Advantages with Social Media Sites - I just want to share my article about social media sites. Local Google Traffic - Social Media Sites There are other important ways to connect with your customers beyond Google Places, however. Some we already mentioned – other Google properties – which we will cover in more detail shortly. But first, let’s look at a relatively new way to reach your customers to promote your mortgage brokers marketing business – social media. One of the fastest growing segments of the internet over the last few years is what's known as Social Media. Facebook and Twitter are the two most well-known examples of social media sites that are gaining popularity these days as worthy means to promote online businesses. Having a Facebook page is becoming more and more important and now can function as a marketing tool for mortgage broker, because people have come to expect it. There are over 600 million users on Facebook, and if you don't have a presence there you're missing out on a lot of potential business. Plus, for many people Facebook has become synonymous with the internet. A lot of people spend most of their time online using Facebook, so if you aren't reaching them there, you may not have a chance to reach them at all. Facebook started out as a way to connect on a personal level, but over the last couple of years they have added a lot of features that are targeted at businesses. You’ve probably already started to notice a lot of big companies adding “Find us on Facebook” to their websites, advertising and other places. It can work just as well for local businesses; in fact it can work even better. Because Facebook is by nature a place to be “social” a local business fits in much better than a big, faceless corporation. Setting up a Facebook Page for your business gives you a way to connect with your customers “virtually” and it can help to create a real sense of community particularly in marketing your mortgage business. Twitter is another social media site where you should definitely have a presence. It’s a little different beast, because the whole point is to post short updates (up to 140 characters at a time) so you can only share so much information. It can be useful for sending out messages about special offers and other news, but more importantly it’s another way for your customers and potential customers to contact you. Your customers can send you messages, called “Tweets”, via Twitter so it is similar to email in some ways. But because the messages are so short, it can be an effective way for them to ask quick questions or give you quick feedback, without having to invest a lot of time to do it. Aside from reaching potential customers, there's another reason you should have a presence in these places - managing your brand. People will talk about their experiences with your company on the internet whether you're part of it or not. It's important that you are aware and updated.
Page Rank Changes - Hi Kevin - there is a lot of speculation as to why so many websites lost Page Rank. A few new sites that I've been following also got Page Rank for the first time. Every time Google does a Page Rank update there are websites that get caught in the crossfire and have to work to get their rankings back up!


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