Is Google Places Really Worthwhile? Not for me ...
I have been struggling a bit with one of my main sites in the post panda era. It ranked #1 for years but has been dropping a bit, so we are now adjusting our SEO strategy. We'll get back there soon.
But......... Google places!
I noticed for our niche, that the top 3 places are above the Google places entries and sadly we had dropped down into the Google Places list. Even though I never added by business to google places or 'claimed' my page....
Why sadly..?
Because the Google Places entires are cxxp! All you get is the title tag, a url and an address. Fine if you are the local plumber, but I have a National/International Business, and now LOOK like a local plumber.........
No more full meta description, no more site links .........
Why on earth would anyone want a Google Places listing? Give me the top 3 spots any day....
So after much hassle, we got our Google Places listing removed by Google. For our #1 keyword, we now have to work our way back up to the top 3 slots, which hopefully we can do in a couple of weeks. (we are now below all the Google places listings of course)
For our #2 keyword, we are back to #1 already. With........full meta description, site links etc.
Go figure.........
But just curious. If you are the local realtor, or plumber, or pizza shop, I can kind of understand what you might want a Google places listing. Kind of. (Not convinced, Because you just get 'listed' with all the other small guys who can't get a top ranking) But why else would you want one?
I am sure someone will give me a totally valid and logical reason why Google places are good. I'm just struggling to see it at the moment.
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