Google Places and SEO

I still sell the Google Places service. Before the change in the algorithm I only built citations for the listing. Now I build backlinks for the site as well. That's the only difference.

James:

I know my approach is much different than others.

I absolutely offer the website as well as the Places Page in my services. In fact, I demand that it be part of the service. If not, I walk from the account. Clearly, SEO of the website is a powerful ranking factor for the Places Page now. It certainly has proven to be that way with my clients.

I have always done this, even before the algo change. Why? Because I do not believe my objective is to get first place ranking for the the website or the places page. Nor do I believe my objective is to get the client more online visibility for his/her business. I don't even believe that getting the client more traffic is necessarily my objective.

My objective is to help get the client more business. Now granted, if they are getting a ton of calls and not converting them because they suck at sales, there is nothing I can do about that. But really, I have not had that problem with any of my clients.

I believe the website, places page, directories, review sites, video, mobile phone, etc are all tools to attain the final objective, which is more sales. If the website sucks and doesn't convert, I even offer to help them with branding and website design (actually, I don't personally do this - I sub it out).

Think in terms of the client's bottom line. Help them get more business and you will be able to charge a lot more for your services and they'll be happy to pay you for it.

I know a lot of SEOs don't want to be responsible for a client's sales, but if the client believes your services are not worth the cost, they'll drop you and move on to something else. So, I'd suggest doing more - yes, the website, too - and don't be afraid to charge for it. If the client thinks it's too expensive, fine. Move on to one of their competitors. There is a ton of business out there.

Oh, and yes, build backlinks to the website, not the places page. Links to the places page have not yet proven to work for me in my testing (though, I am still testing this with a few clients). I posed this very question to others on this form and that seemed to be the general consensus.

You can also build backlinks to your citations. That can be an effective tactic as well. Good luck.

Regards,
Dino

THanks supafly. I've alway wondered if linking to the goog place will help but probably not.

Regardless of changes, I think Google Places will always have a market so I think people will always sell it as a service

I also am incorporating GP in with any and all SEO services I provide for my Local clients.

Backlinking both to the website and the key citation sites and building citations to the GP listing works wonders.

It's an easy up-sell and can really make a difference in any businesses bottom line profits - which is what we're all about =)

Rob

Still offering it and thriving with it!