Local Business Marketing Tips: Leveraging the New Google+ Local Business Tab
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At the end of May, Google replaced their Google places pages with the new Google+ local business tab. If you've already got a Google places page profile set up then most likely it's already been migrated to the new Google plus local business tab. In case you didn't know, Google+ is Google's new social media platform. Launched last year, Google+ has caught on in a big way and as of April they claim over 170 million users. The new local business tab allows businesses to have more enhanced functionality on than they ever had on the old Google places listings.
If you've got a local business and you don't have your Google+ Local page set up, take a moment and type in the name of your city + your primary keyword and see what comes up. For example, if I had a florist shop in Springfield, Kentucky, I'd type in: "flower shops + Springfield, Kentucky" The results I found were three florist shops which have not yet been claimed by their owners. One of those shops had a glowing review by a satisfied customer. These three businesses are missing out on a prime opportunity to get a free, first page of Google listing for their business.
If you have not yet claimed your free Google listing, here's how to get started:
• Sign up for a free Google account. The easiest way to get started is by setting up a free Gmail account.
• While you are logged in to your new Gmail account, look at the black navigation bar at the top of your screen. You'll see "+YourName." click on it and you will be on Google+. Scroll down the left navigation icons and click on the, "Local" icon. It will determine your location and show you the, "Recommended Places," page for your city or town.
• If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, you'll see a link to, "create a page." Click that link and then select, "Local business or place." From there you can follow the prompts and fill in the details.
Visitors can find your Google+ Local page listings through a regular Google search, Google Maps, in a search on G+ itself, or from a mobile app on their phone. If they find your listing through a regular search and they've not visited before, they will see a menu box with the following options that they can click on to interact with your page:
• Scores and Reviews
• Explore a neighborhood
• Find the perfect place
• All about a business
After having read this article your next steps should be to either claim your free local business listing on Google+ Local, or if you've already got one, to make sure that your profile is filled out completely, that you've got correct address, phone number, hours of operation and a link to your website. Ask your loyal customers to write up a review for you and post it to your profile.
A Google+ Local business listing is a great way to get lots of targeted traffic to your business for free.
If you want to learn more about how to use Internet marketing strategies to grow your local business, visit http://googleupdatesexplained.com/ today.
If you've got a local business and you don't have your Google+ Local page set up, take a moment and type in the name of your city + your primary keyword and see what comes up. For example, if I had a florist shop in Springfield, Kentucky, I'd type in: "flower shops + Springfield, Kentucky" The results I found were three florist shops which have not yet been claimed by their owners. One of those shops had a glowing review by a satisfied customer. These three businesses are missing out on a prime opportunity to get a free, first page of Google listing for their business.
If you have not yet claimed your free Google listing, here's how to get started:
• Sign up for a free Google account. The easiest way to get started is by setting up a free Gmail account.
• While you are logged in to your new Gmail account, look at the black navigation bar at the top of your screen. You'll see "+YourName." click on it and you will be on Google+. Scroll down the left navigation icons and click on the, "Local" icon. It will determine your location and show you the, "Recommended Places," page for your city or town.
• If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, you'll see a link to, "create a page." Click that link and then select, "Local business or place." From there you can follow the prompts and fill in the details.
Visitors can find your Google+ Local page listings through a regular Google search, Google Maps, in a search on G+ itself, or from a mobile app on their phone. If they find your listing through a regular search and they've not visited before, they will see a menu box with the following options that they can click on to interact with your page:
• Scores and Reviews
• Explore a neighborhood
• Find the perfect place
• All about a business
After having read this article your next steps should be to either claim your free local business listing on Google+ Local, or if you've already got one, to make sure that your profile is filled out completely, that you've got correct address, phone number, hours of operation and a link to your website. Ask your loyal customers to write up a review for you and post it to your profile.
A Google+ Local business listing is a great way to get lots of targeted traffic to your business for free.
If you want to learn more about how to use Internet marketing strategies to grow your local business, visit http://googleupdatesexplained.com/ today.