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Using Google Places To Rank High In Local Search

Submitted by: Nick Jerrat

The use of search to source local services has exploded in recent times, in part driven by the new features of search engines to easily locate local businesses.

Google Places provides the

easiest and quickest

way to be listed near the top of a Google search for location specific keywords. As such, it is important to take advantage of your free business listing in Google Places.

Google Places allows you to easily add a one-page business listing using a simple web interface. You can add photos and videos to your listing and you can edit your business information anytime you wish. You can also add your business description and business categories. Google Places gives your business a

basic online presence

even if your business does not yet have a website. Your Google Places listing is used in Google Maps and local Google search when people type in keywords relating to your business.

Get listed

Creating a Google Places listing is easy. Visit http://www.google.com/places and follow the instructions. In some cases, your business will already be listed. If this is the case, you may claim your listing, check and edit business details and add additional details. You will be asked to verify your business information via mail, business phone or mobile. Google sends you a confirmation PIN which you can then use to verify your listing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfPh4fUjJ68[/youtube]

Managing your business listing

Once your listing goes live, it is important to manage it and keep it up-to-date. Here are some tips on how you can maximise the visibility of your Google Places listing:

Provide complete and accurate information

To help users and visitors find you easily,

make sure that your location is placed correctly on Google maps.

During setup, you may drag the map marker to your exact business location. Make sure your physical address points to a precise business location. You can also check the Google street view image to see if your business is shown. Google removes listings with PO boxes as these are not physical locations. If your business has a website, list your official business website because Google may use information from it to improve your search results. You may also provide information such as phone numbers, opening hours and payment terms.

Finally, you should add

photos and videos

to make your listing really stand out.

Include keywords and business categories

When adding your business name to the top of your listing, make sure to not include any marketing taglines, URLs or keywords, as your listing may not be approved. You may include any taglines or keywords below the heading in the business description field. For example, if your business is a restaurant in Sydney, make sure you include the search terms ‘Sydney restaurant’ and ‘restaurant in Sydney’ in your 200-character business description.

Take some time to choose the most

appropriate and specific business category

for your listing. You may select a category from a list that Google provides or you may enter your own category if you don’t see one that matches your business.

Get reviews

Ask your happy customers to review your local listing. Getting good reviews – in addition to accurate business information, keywords and categories – may improve your rankings in local searches. Make sure that you respond to your reviews too!

Follow Google Places Guidelines

Make sure that your listing obeys the guidelines set by Google as violations may suspend access to Google Places or other Google Services. You may view the guidelines at http://www.google.com/support/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107528

Some final words

Google Places is a free service every business should take advantage of. In some cases, it can result in a top of Google ranking for local searches, without the efforts needed to obtain a Google organic search listing. The best way to secure a high ranking in Google local search is to manage your listing well and maximise all the options and fields available in the listing with your business keywords.

About the Author: Nick Jerrat is the founder and Managing Director of

IdeaBank

, provider of innovative web design and web marketing services. He has worked with several businesses and clients across Australia including Tony Gattari of

Achievers Group

and

Peter Irvine

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=727598&ca=Internet

Norfolk youths banned from buying eggs and ketchup

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Youths in the Norfolk town of Caister-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth, England, have been banned from purchasing “squirty bottles” of ketchup, and eggs after a number of complaints from residents in the area. The move, which is backed by the Norfolk Police, is aimed at reducing the number of anti-social incidents occurring in the area. Sergeant Andy Brown, of the Norfolk Police, has said that no further complaints have been received since the ban came into force.

I know it sounds a bit daft, but it has made a difference because we’ve had no more reported incidents since the supermarkets came on board.

While squirting ketchup itself is not a criminal offence, the damage that it can cause, such as removing paint from cars or houses, is often enough to bring charges of criminal damage. Sgt Brown said that there were “about a dozen complaints from residents, some of them elderly, about people squirting ketchup over doors, windows and vehicles.” Martin Bailie, a spokesperson for Lidl supermarkets, has defended his staff’s actions, saying “the stores’ staff were [already] challenging youngsters who were trying to bulk buy these things. It wasn’t that we haven’t been selling eggs and ketchup to youths, but have been careful about who we have sold them to, and we are glad it has been making a difference.”

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Harvard’s Berkman Center blog group develops blogging tutorials

Sunday, March 27, 2005

A discussion group about weblogs, or blogs for short, that meets at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society last week began releasing video tutorials about how to blog using various web and software tools.

Harvard University‘s Berkman Center hosts the blogging discussion group, which has met weekly for the past two years.

After months of discussion and collaboration on the new tutorials, at Friday’s evening meeting presenters showed off some of their early video tutorials, which stream recorded audio, and previously-captured video of a computer screen, along with simultaneous live audio from a microphone.

Participants learned how similar tutorials can be constructed using free software tools such as CamStudio. Audio of the session was made available on the World Wide Web.

Shimon Rura, a local software developer, presented a recent screen-capture + voiceover flash file he had made, demonstrating how to use a bookmarklet in the Frassle blogging package. Other participants discussed video demonstrations of how to podcast, and how to use specific blogging tools such as WordPress.

There was also disussion of a recent initiative to set up a Blogging101 site for distributing and translating these instructional materials. Rebecca MacKinnon, a noted blogger and Berkman Fellow, spoke about the BloggerCorps initiative to connect non-profits who want broader exposure with local blogging enthusiasts.

The meeting was held inside the main conference room in the Berkman Center’s Cambridge offices on Massachusetts Avenue.

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Australian refugee contractor accused of breaching its duty of care

Friday, December 30, 2005

Contents

  • 1 Richard Niyonsaba
  • 2 Denial of food
  • 3 Background and Criticisms
  • 4 Sources

The Australian Centre for Languages, a company which has a multi-million dollar contract with the Australian government to provide refugee services, has been accused of breaching its duty of care following the death of a chronically ill child and allegations of failing to provide three women in their care with food.

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Tom Cruise orders €14,500 takeaway meal

Tuesday, August 2, 2005

Tom Cruise this week took the delivery service to a whole new level. Celebrating his 43rd birthday with numerous guests at a party in the USA, Cruise decided to call up his three favorite chefs, all living in Italy, to prepare a meal.

Cruise decided to fly all three chefs out to the United States at a cost of €14,500. According to the Daily Mail the chefs cooked the celebrity tagliatelle ragu, veal, and chocolate tiramisu.

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Bus crash in Victoria, Australia injures twenty, some critical

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A bus crash in Victoria, Australia has injured at least 20 people, two of whom are listed as critical. One victim is reported to be still trapped in the wreckage.

The accident occurred between a bus and a semi-trailer on the Princes Highway in the Traralgon area around 10:50am AEST. The La Trobe Valley Busliner bus was traveling east when it collided with the back of a heavy haulage truck.

Those critically injured are being airlifted to a hospital in Melbourne. Others are being transported by Ambulance to La Trobe Valley Hospital in Traralgon.

SES crews are on scene, along with St. John Ambulance and fire crews.

The eastbound lanes of the highway have been blocked by police and traffic is being diverted.

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