Google Places Tags -- Marketing “Must Have” or Short Term Gimmick?

Aug. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- Do a Google search for any business and the chances are that you will see a map appear above the organic search results, highlighting up to 7 local companies.  This is known as the “7-pack” and is a highly prized location for companies and organizations wanting to generate more business from the Internet.

And Google has now introduced a way for the 7 listed companies to distinguish themselves even further, by using a yellow highlighting tag to draw attention to features such as a special offer, video or website.  But, unlike the basic entry in Google Places, this feature comes with its own tag…$25 a month.  That might not seem like much, but these days small businesses have to justify all additional expense so adding the tag needs to be a considered move, not a knee-jerk reaction.

Initial reports indicate that implementing the tag may result in increased clickthroughs to a website, but it is too early to tell. No doubt the increase observed is partly due to the novelty effect--as so few people are aware of the option at the moment, there are not many tags appearing on the listings so they will help to draw attention to the ones that are marked.  But as more businesses adopt them it may come to the point where most, if not all, of the listings have them in which case it is unlikely to have any beneficial effect.  At that point, the only question is whether not having a tag will have a negative impact on traffic.

For those businesses who are not already making use of Google Places, they should understand that to get, and keep, a place in the 7-pack is not a matter of luck, but rather good management and marketing.  Chris Lewis, of High Impact Site Design, an Internet marketing consultancy specializing in helping people to get more business from the Internet, says; "Being in the 7-pack on the Google search engine results page is the most sought after position and definitely drives more traffic to your website.  Our clients have seen increases of up to 237% when we got them into Google Places!"

For businesses that want to set up their own Google Places pages, Lewis offers this advice:

1.   Make sure that you use the same name, website address, street address and telephone number on all communications and Internet sites.
2.   Incorporate your type of business into the heading, not just your business name.
3.   Use your carefully selected keywords as the categories.
4.   Complete all the sections on the Google Places pages, even if they don’t seem highly relevant to your business.
5.   Add pictures and videos, using the best photo first as this is the one that shows up as a thumbnail on your primary listing.
6.   Have a coupon with a special offer or discount.
7.   Enter your business details to relevant online directories.
8.   Ask your customers to provide reviews on suitable websites.

Once you have followed all the steps in the Google Places submission, you will need to verify your business.  This is best done by selecting the phone message option rather than the postcard, as that takes up to 2 weeks.

As soon as you have entered the confirmation code your listing is complete and you can look for it to appear in the 7-pack within 24 hours.  Of course, whether it gets there is a function of how strong the competition is for those places, and how well your entry is designed and written.  If you need help with that, contact Chris Lewis at High Impact Site Design, http://www.highimpactsitedesign.com.

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Is your business listed in the Google Places 7-pack for your chosen keywords? Are you getting the results you want from your website? If not, call Chris Lewis on 540-635-5308 or visit http://www.highimpactsitedesign.com for details on how to get more business from the Internet.

High Impact Site Design, a Hubspot Partner, specializes in Search engine optimization and website design for the small business. Our proven, search engine optimization and Internet marketing services will increase your rankings, sales and profits, cost-effectively, using inbound marketing techniques and making effective use of social media.