Google Places - Can you get client listed in different city

Ultimate Blueprint To Start Your Own Agency | Get Clients Without Cold Calling

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4972623].message }}

Seantrepreneur

12 years ago

Ya, it really depends on the comp in the area. If its in a major city then it is HIGHLY unlikely without having a totally separate address.

What's the service he provides? It is very competitive?

Sean

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

-------->Started with $500 on Amazon and building it from there. Week #1 income report is live ($593.78 in revenue)<----------

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4972801].message }}

link82 12 years ago

Super curious about hearing more on this...
- Thanks
- 1 reply
Signature
Quietly Selling Powerful Links. Just a handful on clean domains, PM me for inquiry :D
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4972849].message }}
- JR Consulting 12 years ago
  
  Depends on how far away it is, and what the competition is.
  
  I'll give you an example. I had a client last year for a niche that didn't really have a lot of competition, maybe 10 or so other businesses in the area, and most were in the city of Boston. Her business is located 30 miles from Boston.
  
  I had her ranked #1 across the board in her city. #1 for most of her keywords in Boston, #1 for most of her keywords in Providence (50 miles from her), and #1 for most of her keywords in Worcester (17 miles from her).
  
  On the other hand, I had a client that was located 7-8 miles outside of LA, in a very competitive niche, and I couldn't get him higher than page 3 after 6 months of trying. This was a VERY competitive niche though.
  
  It can be done in some cases, in other cases it's virtually impossible.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4972976].message }}

12 years ago

Actually I had a situation like this with one of my clients. I didn't get a new address or nothing as that could hurt you in the long run. You want to give google the real physical address. All you gotta do is be better than the comp., optimize the listing for the city you want to target and put extra work into building citations also if the competition is way to high then try to look for another keyword maybe with less searches but easier to rank for. That way you rank the business for the lower searches keywords but this will still help his business and hopefully he will get Google reviews from that lower traffic keywords. Once you get a few 5 star ratings from there then you can try to optimize the listing for the more competitive KW. So keep you address the same but optimize the listing for the other city. Google will be able to see that you are near enough and will give you the rankings you deserve as you are a legit business serving that city as well.

I was able to rank my clients business in the top A spot in less than one month without having to provide Google with a fake address.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

** Click Cash Magnet Solos Ads 100 - 1000 Clicks**
Click Here and Book Your Spot

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4973640].message }}

12 years ago

Originally Posted by manny2513

Actually I had a situation like this with one of my clients. I didn't get a new address or nothing as that could hurt you in the long run. You want to give google the real physical address. All you gotta do is be better than the comp., optimize the listing for the city you want to target and put extra work into building citations also if the competition is way to high then try to look for another keyword maybe with less searches but easier to rank for. That way you rank the business for the lower searches keywords but this will still help his business and hopefully he will get Google reviews from that lower traffic keywords. Once you get a few 5 star ratings from there then you can try to optimize the listing for the more competitive KW. So keep you address the same but optimize the listing for the other city. Google will be able to see that you are near enough and will give you the rankings you deserve as you are a legit business serving that city as well.

I was able to rank my clients business in the top A spot in less than one month without having to provide Google with a fake address.

I have to disagree with you. I have a client outside of Chicago who has 88 reviews, tons of 5 star ratings, over 70 citations and won't break into page 2 of the places listing because of the location. We then set up a virtual office, under another DBA and tested it out. We broke into the first page of places, with 9 reviews, and 20 citations.

It isn't just a matter of optimizing. It simply is impossible in some niches with some keywords.

The competition, and location play a HUGE role in this.

I have clients in small towns that can rank for 10 different cities due to lack of competition.

No matter what you decide to do, you need to evaluate the competition. If you're going for a very popular keyword and niche, google places isn't always the right way to do it because it is simply impossible under their current algorithm. Instead, you should optimize the site itself for the city you want to target, get it to number one, and THEN try to focus on getting the website above the places listings as a whole.

[ 2 ] Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Ultimate Blueprint To Start Your Own Agency | Get Clients Without Cold Calling

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4973743].message }}

12 years ago

Originally Posted by iAmNameLess

I have to disagree with you. I have a client outside of Chicago who has 88 reviews, tons of 5 star ratings, over 70 citations and won't break into page 2 of the places listing because of the location. We then set up a virtual office, under another DBA and tested it out. We broke into the first page of places, with 9 reviews, and 20 citations.

It isn't just a matter of optimizing. It simply is impossible in some niches with some keywords.

The competition, and location play a HUGE role in this.

I have clients in small towns that can rank for 10 different cities due to lack of competition.

No matter what you decide to do, you need to evaluate the competition. If you're going for a very popular keyword and niche, google places isn't always the right way to do it because it is simply impossible under their current algorithm. Instead, you should optimize the site itself for the city you want to target, get it to number one, and THEN try to focus on getting the website above the places listings as a whole.

See, I am just talking from personal experience. Now as I see your listing got many reviews and citations but did the listing was optimized for Chicago? Plus how far away from Chicago is the business located? There are so many factors that can make Google rank you or not. Once again I am just saying what worked for me not saying that is a rule since if your location is not near enough to the city then no matter how well optimized and how many ratings you get; Google will not rank your business as it will not consider the business near enough to serve your target city.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

** Click Cash Magnet Solos Ads 100 - 1000 Clicks**
Click Here and Book Your Spot

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4973857].message }}

12 years ago

Originally Posted by manny2513

See, I am just talking from personal experience. Now as I see your listing got many reviews and citations but did the listing was optimized for Chicago? Plus how far away from Chicago is the business located? There are so many factors that can make Google rank you or not. Once again I am just saying what worked for me not saying that is a rule since if your location is not near enough to the city then no matter how well optimized and how many ratings you get; Google will not rank your business as it will not consider the business near enough to serve your target city.

Like I said, location and competition has everything to do with it. I don't want to cause anyone here to lose a client by telling them they can do it when it depends ENTIRELY on competition and location. I don't care how well optimized you are, you can't break into top of places listing when your competition has a density of 40 competitors every mile. LOL. Plain and simple you can not break into a competitive market, in a competitive niche with an out of city address.

If you can prove to me otherwise, I would love to see it. The hard fact is that in competitive markets even if you are A on places, that doesn't mean you're going to be within the top 2 pages of places in another zip in another area of the city. If you are able to rank organic grocery store, Green bay, WI that is a lot more likely than being able to rank Lawyer, Chicago IL when you don't live in chicago.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Ultimate Blueprint To Start Your Own Agency | Get Clients Without Cold Calling

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4974123].message }}

12 years ago

Originally Posted by iAmNameLess

Like I said, location and competition has everything to do with it. I don't want to cause anyone here to lose a client by telling them they can do it when it depends ENTIRELY on competition and location. I don't care how well optimized you are, you can't break into top of places listing when your competition has a density of 40 competitors every mile. LOL. Plain and simple you can not break into a competitive market, in a competitive niche with an out of city address.

If you can prove to me otherwise, I would love to see it. The hard fact is that in competitive markets even if you are A on places, that doesn't mean you're going to be within the top 2 pages of places in another zip in another area of the city. If you are able to rank organic grocery store, Green bay, WI that is a lot more likely than being able to rank Lawyer, Chicago IL when you don't live in chicago.

You know what I totally agree with you is all about location and competition that is why in my original post I said

if the competition is way to high then try to look for another keyword maybe with less searches but easier to rank for.

as if there too many competition then there is no way to rank for it if the business if from another city but if the competition is too high then he will not be able to rank for it. I have never dealt with PO boxes before but I think Google will not look with good eyes a PO box as an address that is why I said is better to rank your listing with the real physical address. Once again I am not saying it has to be done that way I just say from personal experience is not impossible if the competition is not high.

Thanks
2 replies

Signature

** Click Cash Magnet Solos Ads 100 - 1000 Clicks**
Click Here and Book Your Spot

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4975391].message }}

YukonJack

12 years ago

PO Boxes are not allowed. A few years back people used to get away with using the physical address at the Fed Ex store or Mail Etc. Well, Google got smart to that too.

What I have my customers do is to find a friend that has an office INSIDE the city that you want to rank for. Then add a "Suite 100" to it and let your friend know to forward any mail to you. Problem solved. The you will just want to use that same address on their website, Yahoo, Bing and all the other tons of citations that you will build for your client. Google will need to see that consistency on many platforms.

If the above scenario doesn't exist, then they can get a "virtual office". There are office complexes all over that rent out an office location and physical address for a business to use. Sometimes they just rent the address for the incoming mail alone, although they are harder to find.

This really only works for a business that doesn't service people at it's location, ie a service business of some sorts that travels TO the customers. If they actually have a physical address and customers come to your location, then you probably would NOT want to rank for the big city that you aren't in anyways, as it will do you no good, they are not really your target market.

So in summary, to better answer the question, if you are physically located in a suburb with a mailing address that IS NOT the big city your are trying to rank for....Good luck, my experience is that you won't be able to rank well, merely because your address is not within those city limits. This is a HUGE Google criteria for their Places ranking.

You could always get them to rank organically without the address, but it will not have a Google Places account attached to it, which does put them at a disadvantage, but better than nothing.

[ 1 ] Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4975630].message }}

12 years ago

Originally Posted by YukonJack

PO Boxes are not allowed. A few years back people used to get away with using the physical address at the Fed Ex store or Mail Etc. Well, Google got smart to that too.

What I have my customers do is to find a friend that has an office INSIDE the city that you want to rank for. Then add a "Suite 100" to it and let your friend know to forward any mail to you. Problem solved. The you will just want to use that same address on their website, Yahoo, Bing and all the other tons of citations that you will build for your client. Google will need to see that consistency on many platforms.

If the above scenario doesn't exist, then they can get a "virtual office". There are office complexes all over that rent out an office location and physical address for a business to use. Sometimes they just rent the address for the incoming mail alone, although they are harder to find.

This really only works for a business that doesn't service people at it's location, ie a service business of some sorts that travels TO the customers. If they actually have a physical address and customers come to your location, then you probably would NOT want to rank for the big city that you aren't in anyways, as it will do you no good, they are not really your target market.

So in summary, to better answer the question, if you are physically located in a suburb with a mailing address that IS NOT the big city your are trying to rank for....Good luck, my experience is that you won't be able to rank well, merely because your address is not within those city limits. This is a HUGE Google criteria for their Places ranking.

You could always get them to rank organically without the address, but it will not have a Google Places account attached to it, which does put them at a disadvantage, but better than nothing.

I agree with everything... YukonJack, were you on this forum a while back? Your name looks familiar, but the post count is very low compared to the one I THINK I remember. LOL.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Ultimate Blueprint To Start Your Own Agency | Get Clients Without Cold Calling

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4975675].message }}

YukonJack

12 years ago

Originally Posted by iAmNameLess

I agree with everything... YukonJack, were you on this forum a while back? Your name looks familiar, but the post count is very low compared to the one I THINK I remember. LOL.

Thanks iAmNameLess, probably not me though. I have been a passive stalker since January. Finally experienced enough (made enough dumb mistakes) now to start joining the conversations and help others and return the good will that I received from this forum that got me going.

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4975751].message }}

12 years ago

Originally Posted by manny2513

You know what I totally agree with you is all about location and competition that is why in my original post I said as if there too many competition then there is no way to rank for it if the business if from another city but if the competition is too high then he will not be able to rank for it. I have never dealt with PO boxes before but I think Google will not look with good eyes a PO box as an address that is why I said is better to rank your listing with the real physical address. Once again I am not saying it has to be done that way I just say from personal experience is not impossible if the competition is not high.

My apologies, I thought you were saying it could be ranked even in high competition!

I wouldn't recommend a PO box, haven't tested that out though. Virtual offices can give you your own "suite". For example, if you wanted to use your own address, you can list your address, suite B, C, D, etc. Major cities will have virtual offices you can rent for cheap and have a number, fax, conference room and most important a mailing address.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Ultimate Blueprint To Start Your Own Agency | Get Clients Without Cold Calling

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4975654].message }}