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Who said there is no such thing as a free lunch?

Written by: Dan Goldstein

Article Overview: Use Google Maps as a way to get better results on Google. It is free!

Who said there is no such thing as a free lunch?

Google Maps is an important online marketing tool that often tends to be misunderstood or overlooked. By way of example, I did a series of Google searches for West Palm Beach Injury Attorney, West Palm Beach Accident Lawyer, West Palm Beach Personal Injury Attorney, etc. (Because I can't show you an image of the Google search results, you will need to do the searches yourself to follow along.) When you do these searches, you will notice that the Google Map listings are above the fold and are one of the first things you see when you do a website search.

These are very valuable listings! In this case, one of the law firms that consistently showed up in the top ten Google Maps results was the Law Offices of Craig Goldenfarb. That West Palm Beach attorney website - 800goldlaw.com - is going to get some pretty good website traffic from this Google Maps listing. Best of all this is free!!

Let's first get into some of the facts about Google Maps:

• Your business does not need to have a website to show up in Google Maps.

• You can target multiple keywords for the Google Maps search results.

• Your business can be within 100 miles of the targeted localization.

• Not every city or search term has Google Maps listings.

I'm sure you are asking, "How do I get there?" Well, the first thing you need to do is register your business with Google Maps. You can do that from this link Google Local Business Center. From here you will be able to edit and verify all your listing information. You can create numerous listings under one account.

Google Maps requires your Business name. When you create this try to incorporate a primary keyword or phrase that people would be searching for.

Next add your address, making sure that it is accurate. Provide all information like suite number, street, avenue, boulevard, zip code etc.

Make sure you link to your website.

Don't forget to add your phone number and verify that it's the correct phone number.

Once Google Maps checks your address, it will offer you the opportunity to add customized information such as categories, office hours, forms of payment accepted by the business, videos , photos and so on. The more information you add the more benefit the listing receives.

Now that you have set up your Google Local listing, the next step is extremely important. This is the step where Google verifies that you are the owner of this listing and that the information belongs to you. It also prevents anyone else from misusing your listing, as once the listing is verified, it can only be edited by the account owner. You can either verify your listing via phone or through a postcard. Verifying it via phone is a better option as it is instant whereas the postcard method can take up to three weeks.

Once your listing is verified, ask your clients to post honest reviews on your listing. This is very important and can help add value to your listing. This tool is very socially driven and the more reviews and feedback users provide, the more likely Google will be to promote your listing into the top ten Local Results so that you show up on the first page of your target Google search results.

In addition to getting client reviews, it is very helpful to add photos and videos as well as additional information about your business. Just like getting more client reviews about your business, if you have more information and materials included in your Google Local listing, you will be more likely to show up on the first page of Google search results for your most important search phrases.

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Article Tags: accident lawyer, attorney website, business name, google, google map, google maps, google search results, google searches, law firms, law offices, local business center, localization, marketing tool, palm beach, personal injury attorney, search term, website search, website traffic, west palm beach, west palm beach injury attorney



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