How to Optimise Google Places Listings

Article by Zac Grace, SEO Strategist and link building team leader at Dejan SEO company.

Google Places is one of the main ways that consumers find businesses online. That is especially true for local based businesses as local search is always on the constant rise and has been for the past few years. Besides being indexed in Google search you need to cover as many verticals as possible and local search is one you should not miss at any cost, which is why we create Google Places listings in the first place.

Some websites still make the mistake of not creating simple Google Places listings, and just a simple listing like this can triple your visits from local search. Having a listing in Google Places is not enough, you need to tweak it a bit, in other words you need to optimise Google Places and this can be achieved in just 15-20 minutes.

Create a complete profile

Creating a complete profile is the most important part of the process. Many businesses already have listings, but their listings are usually incomplete and missing vital information. A complete profile will include pictures, videos, and accurate contact information such as email, phone, fax, website, and physical address. Always update the contact information because the listing is no good if people cannot reach you due to inaccurate information. Pinpoint the exact location of your business and do not include a service area because it negates your score and it is very vague and confusing for consumers because it does not tell them exactly where you are located. Google will actually give a higher rank to businesses that offer pictures, descriptions, and hours on their profiles. This also makes customers see your business as more credible and legitimate.

Get positive reviews

Reviews are another aspect of a high ranking and optimised profile because people like to know what they can expect from the business. The problem is that most people do not usually report positive experiences that they have had with businesses and instead only leave reviews and feedback when they have had some sort of problem.

If there are negative reviews on your page, then you can try to respond or resolve the issues, but otherwise you must displace the negative reviews by getting positive reviews to show up on the first page of your profile. Google does not allow businesses to coax people into leaving reviews by paying people or offering discounts to leave reviews and the like.

If they find out that you have been doing that they will pull your listing. However, there are some subtle ways you can request that people leave positive reviews. It is perfectly fine to ask website visitors or followers from other sites like Twitter and Facebook to leave positive reviews.

Use keywords

Use the right keywords in your profile so that your profile will rank higher and attract more views. Keywords are just the words used to describe your goods and services, but they are the exact terms that people put into search engines. It is a good idea to strategically place keywords throughout your profile, but do not try to use too many because Google will mark it as spam and possibly pull your listing. The key is to use the most powerful keywords 2-3 times within the profile.

Having a fully optimised Google Places profile will draw more traffic to your website and possibly to your business if done properly. Include all relevant information about your business, include pictures, and keep all of your contact information up to date and that alone will go a long way. Add some positive reviews and strategically placed keywords to get the best results.

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How Scalable Is Your Business?

What is scalability and why should you care?

A scalable business is one in which revenue is able to grow faster than costs and other resources.

For example, where you can triple your revenues while only doubling costs.

Scalable businesses make great acquisition targets for VCs or trade buyers because of the upside leverage.

Many service businesses in particular are not scaleable.  Every dollar in additional revenue adds linearly to expenses.

Some are even negatively scaleable – where each additional dollar in revenue introduces higher marginal costs, overheads etc.

Fixed Cost vs Marginal Costs

Many businesses have a fixed cost to keep the doors open, plus a marginal cost based on each additional widget shipped or service rendered.

In many industries, once these fixed costs have been met, marginal profit can be enormous. e.g.

• Putting 10 people in a seminar room costs $X.  Adding another 10 only costs $0.1X
• Employing a team of staff at the carwash costs $Y.  But each additional carwash through the door delivers 90% profit
• Building the software costs $Z.  Each additional copy sold is almost all profit.  The only cost is marketing and sales cost

Applying This In Your Marketing

Depending on your own cost structure, it’s worth considering how much you would spend to acquire one more customer or make one more sale.  This “allowable cost of acquisiton” number is often far more than you would spend if you’re thinking in terms of “average profit margin” across all your client base.

We have a few clients who have, say, cost base $X and sales $1.2X.   But, at the same time, every incremental client delivers high (70%+) marginal profit.

For these companies to scale rapidly, a mindset shift is required… they need to stop thinking of themselves as a “widget” company and start thinking of themselves as a marketing company.

Often this shift in thinking allows more budget and focus to be poured into client acquision and rapid scaling in a way that is not possible if you’re still thinking in terms of “average cost”.

 

 

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