12 replies
I was curious if the traditional white hat SEO methods work for Google Places / Maps listings as they do a regular link? I understand there are more things involved in it. I was just curious if writing articles for your clients is something alot of people do to raise the listing inside the seven box, etc.
#google #places #seo
  • Profile picture of the author Ric_Worthy
    I think the answer is YES. Google is now going to be ranking "places" the same as it ranks websites. Local businesses are going to have to fight for those top listings in "places" as much as they fought from 1st place in organic listings. The good news is because of the "geo" factor, the competition will be significantly less.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tiger_Claw
      So. Can we just promote these listings with the general SEO methods and see an increase in their position on places and maps?
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      • Profile picture of the author localdominator
        Originally Posted by Tiger_Claw View Post

        So. Can we just promote these listings with the general SEO methods and see an increase in their position on places and maps?
        You might, but the actual way Google Places get ranked won't really have much benefit from you writing an article other than it is just a citation. You need to consider that there are really two different strategies that combine in a synergy.

        Google Places can get first page rankings completely without a website or domain attached to them. I have a lot of clients in this situation. So keeping that in mind, what then is ranking them? It's not any of the traditional organic methods and backlinking, on page optimization, etc. However, does having strong organic optimization help?..., obviously yes it does. And the better both your local and organic are, the easier and more stable your SERP is.

        If you want specific questions answered about the local or what someone to do if for you, let me know.
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      • Profile picture of the author Dhira
        Originally Posted by Tiger_Claw View Post

        So. Can we just promote these listings with the general SEO methods and see an increase in their position on places and maps?
        Yes, it does help, but there are other factors as well that are specific to Google Places.
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  • Profile picture of the author loyamos
    It's official, is now called Google Local Business Center Google Places.This Guide clients.Google made with real local SEO was created by bringing their real experiences and places Google owns. You may think I deserve the award to be clear on this point might be.
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    • There are 2 totally different algos at play right now. Many of us thought G was still testing and therefore had not settled into a single layout style and algo. But as I explain in my most recent blog post, Google recently said they are showing all the various layouts by design and so it seems we have to keep optimizing for both algos.

      The new "Place Search" merged algo which you see for most primary local keyword searches is strongly influenced by plain old organic SEO and depends on the web sites previous organic ranking. (So articles, backlinks do play a part.)

      The old 1, 2, 3 and 7 pack style layout still shows up very often for many longer tail local searches. When you see that layout it's using the old Places algo which does not depend much on the site or organic at all. This algo is influenced more by reviews, citations, Place page optimization, etc.
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      • Profile picture of the author kvnfrnk
        Originally Posted by 5starAffiliatePrograms View Post

        There are 2 totally different algos at play right now. Many of us thought G was still testing and therefore had not settled into a single layout style and algo. But as I explain in my most recent blog post, Google recently said they are showing all the various layouts by design and so it seems we have to keep optimizing for both algos.

        The new "Place Search" merged algo which you see for most primary local keyword searches is strongly influenced by plain old organic SEO and depends on the web sites previous organic ranking. (So articles, backlinks do play a part.)

        The old 1, 2, 3 and 7 pack style layout still shows up very often for many longer tail local searches. When you see that layout it's using the old Places algo which does not depend much on the site or organic at all. This algo is influenced more by reviews, citations, Place page optimization, etc.

        Great Article!! This is one of the best articles I have read on ho w to use Google Places or Google Maps. I will be back. Keep the info coming!! I enjoyed the little history piece for your comment I follow as well.Thanks for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tony Wagner
    As far as reviews, can you use the same reviews at yahoo and bing as you do google?
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  • Profile picture of the author Anthony Gardner
    Why do a lot of the Google Places listings I come across not have an associated website?
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    • Profile picture of the author LiquidSeo
      Originally Posted by Anthony Gardner View Post

      Why do a lot of the Google Places listings I come across not have an associated website?

      Google creates listings on the fly for businesses they discover, and in most cases, these "unclaimed listings" do not have a website attached.
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