Google Local Business Center and Google Maps

[bh_afficionado]

Did you know you can get ranked number 1 on Google for free using Google Local Business Center and Google Maps?

Google Local helps your advertisements show up in Google searches that are made in close proximity to your business which will help you get more traffic, leads and sales.

Let?s use Just Creative Design as an example; if someone who lives around Newcastle (where I freelance from) searches for ?graphic designer Newcastle? my business comes up first in the local search results of which you can see in the image above and that position is 100% free through the use of Google Local.

In the image below you can see the free local Google listing again but this time you can also see my paid advertising at the top (highlighted in yellow) which I have paid for through Google Adwords. I use Google Adwords to ensure that I get clicked first no matter what.
Anyway, keep reading to find out how to get to number 1 on Google for free.

What You Need To Get Free Advertising on Google

Before you jump in and get your free advertising on Google you will need to have these things:

? An account with Google.
? A short description of your business for when a user clicks on your business name.
? Te phone number(s), addresses and any other contact information you want to advertise. Remember that the phone number will show up on the results page.
? A logo and/or image(s) of your business and products.

How to Get Free Advertising on Google

1. Go to Google Maps and search for your business to verify that it is not already listed.
2. Go back to Google Maps and click ?Put your business on Google Maps? found in the left side bar.
3. Follow the simple steps provided by Google. You will be asked to verify your business by phone or SMS. A good tip is to to not put your full address into Google but rather the largest town in your area. For example I live about 20 minutes outside of Newcastle in suburbia and not as many people would search for ?graphic designer cardiff? as they would ?graphic designer newcastle?. I also do not want to show my home address on Google Maps as I freelance from home so this is a good way around it.
4. Come back in a few weeks and see if your listing is up. My listing took about 3 weeks to show up and started off in position D and somehow moved to position A? I am not sure how this is controlled but I won?t complain.
5. Well there we have it, you can now get free advertising on Google. You can track and edit your listing by going back to the Google Local page.

Further Tips

? You can also offer coupon codes on your Google Local listing - use this to your advantage!
? You can also add your products to Google Base, the product search engine.
? If you live in North America, submit your site for free to True Local, the leading local search engine.


Method was found at Making Money Methods

[John Colin]

thx for the great info, gonna try it
btw, I joined your site

[daniel47]

Hello friends

You also probably know how they tend to work: A potential customer does a search on Google.com or in Google Maps, comes across your listing, clicks on it to see your reviews and details, and then gets directions to your location.
Now, imagine if there were a way for you to get a better understanding of how those customers are finding you. Did they search for "pizza" or "pasta" to get to the listing for your Italian restaurant? Do they live across town, but drive miles for your great selection of camping gear? What happens to traffic to your new dental practice when you start advertising in the local paper? With information like that, you'd be able to make better informed decisions on how to drive more traffic to your listing and attract more customers.
Later today, you'll be able to do just that, thanks to a new dashboard feature we're launching in the Local Business Center (www.google.com/lbc). The LBC is a free tool that enables business owners to control the content of their business listings as they appear in Google Search and Google Maps. All you have to do is claim your listing in the LBC and go through a quick verification process to get access to the following kinds of data:

Thanks for all friends

[daniel47]

Hello friends

You also probably know how they tend to work: A potential customer does a search on Google.com or in Google Maps, comes across your listing, clicks on it to see your reviews and details, and then gets directions to your location.
Now, imagine if there were a way for you to get a better understanding of how those customers are finding you. Did they search for "pizza" or "pasta" to get to the listing for your Italian restaurant? Do they live across town, but drive miles for your great selection of camping gear? What happens to traffic to your new dental practice when you start advertising in the local paper? With information like that, you'd be able to make better informed decisions on how to drive more traffic to your listing and attract more customers.
Later today, you'll be able to do just that, thanks to a new dashboard feature we're launching in the Local Business Center (www.google.com/lbc). The LBC is a free tool that enables business owners to control the content of their business listings as they appear in Google Search and Google Maps. All you have to do is claim your listing in the LBC and go through a quick verification process to get access to the following kinds of data:

Thanks for all friends

Go Carting