Ten SEO Tips for Optimizing Google Places with Organic Listings

n October 2010 Google started blending the organic website listings and the Google Places listing. Google called this “Place Search” and the results began appearing automatically when Google predicts a searcher is looking for local information.

Place Search is a major change to local search. Local oriented businesses owners must now focus attention on both quality organic placement while simultaneously increasing local Place Search ranking in order to achieve a high blended listing.

Luckily, the traditional organic search engine optimization (SEO) tactic’s we’ve used for websites also influences the ranking of Google Place Search listings. However, there are new SEO tactics we use specifically targeted to obtaining high blended listings in Place Search.

Below are ten Google Place Search SEO tips and tactics for improving blended rankings.

1. Owner-verify Your Place Page

This is step one. You (or your trusted SEO) must first claim your Google Places listing before you can optimize the Place Page content. You claim your Places listing by proving to Google you are the owner of the business. If you need to claim your Place Page you can find out everything you need to know at the Google Places Help page athttp://www.google.com/support/places/ .

2. Physical Address Consistency

Google Place Search gives weight to the consistency of your local business name, address and phone (NAP), so you must make sure the same NAP is used on your Place Page, website and local directories. Be sure to emphasize a local phone number with area code, never list only a toll free 800 number.

Warning: Google is always on the lookout for bogus listings and errors, and any inconsistencies about your NAP could hurt your rankings.

3. Choosing the Best Categories

Your business Place Page allows you to select up to five categories for your business. I have found that the keywords used in the category are the most important factor in getting your business to appear for search categories. Google will suggest categories as you type in the category fields. Use the suggested terms if they are appropriate for you business. You can create your own unique categories just by typing in the keywords. Use keywords your customers would use to find you. Don’t include the city in the category because your Place Page is by default associated with your NAP info.

4. Associate Your Website and Place Page

Google will consider your business website the most authoritative reference about your business, so you want Google Places to easily find your website so Google can use your website data to validate the accuracy of your Place Page profile. Your Place Page has a field for your website address, make sure this is complete and accurate. To help Google make the association, I include a link from the business website to the business Place Page. I include location and category/service keywords in the text of the link.

You can also include the same meta title and header keywords and even multi-media files on both your website and Place Page to further validate the association.

The important thing to know is that if Google can't associate your Place Page with your website, you probably won't get a blended listing. If you’re in a competitive market, you have an advantage if you have a good blended listing because searchers will see more info about your business on the limited search results pages.

5. Citations and Reviews

Many in the SEO industry believe that website citations and reviews are one of the most important factors for improving the actual ranking of your Place Search listing (as of 2011). A citation is SEO-speak for a link to your website from a reputable and usually well known web directory. Here is a list of important citation sources:

• Yelp
• Superpages
• Citysearch
• Yellowpages
• Infogroup
• Yahoo Local
• Localeze
• InsiderPages
• Niche Industry Sites (i.e. TripAdvisor, DealerRater)

Reminder: The consistency of your business name, address, phone (NAP) is very important with citations. Brand can also be important in citations if appropriate.

Many of the above citations sources will find your site on their own and you don’t have to do anything to get the citation. You should double check citations for accuracy in the NAP as mentioned above. There are automated services that do a good job of getting you into the important citation sources. I recommend Universal Business Listing at https://www.ubl.org.

6. More Reviews + Good Ratings = More Clicks

Google engineers publicly state that volume of reviews and rating values are not affecting rankings. However, many SEOs like myself believe that a higher quantity of reviews relative to your competitors may indicate your site is more popular, and possibly improve your ranking. Therefore, I recommend taking action to continually obtain more reviews in Google Places and other local review oriented sites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, etc.

Warning: Obtaining lots of reviews may help your ranking, but don’t take unnatural steps to get reviews or Google might label your links untrustworthy. Steady growth is best.

You don’t need only positive reviews, this can look unnaturally “stuffed.” Amazon has trained the surfing public to expect both positive and negative reviews. You can respond publicly as the owner to a bad review which is a very good thing to do.

Make it easy for your customers to give you a review. Put a link on your website directly to your Place Page. Brainstorm ways to obtain new customer reviews for your industry.

To look more natural, I recommend trying to obtain reviews from diverse sources. Focusing on Google or Yelp is good, but trying to find other review sources for your industry or location would look more natural and therefore help rankings.

7. Place Page Content

Make your business Place Page content shine with great copy and images. Write the content for your page with you customers in mind. What do you customer typically search for when using your product/service? What criteria do they use to select a business? Essentially use the Place Page to accentuate the features and benefits of your business to your customers. Google makes it easy to include photos, videos and links in your profile, so SEO logic says Google will favor businesses that use the tools they provide. So brainstorm ways to add great content to your Place Page and keep it fresh.

8. Social Media Links

Social media participation can create quality links, mentions and citations to your business which can improve your blended Place Search and organic rankings. I recommend you post regular updates to Facebook and Twitter that are related to your products, services or local area. Social media can be time consuming and not all businesses are interested in it, so at a minimum I recommend regular website blog updates with announcement of the update in Facebook and Twitter.

9. Physical Proximity to Location

Many SEOs claim your physical location must be within the city to get high rankings for your city. I have seen exceptions to this, and I believe the key is to have a strong organic SEO website. Aggressive organic SEO and following the Place Page SEO tactics described here can help your Place Page listing displace your competitors listings within the city borders.

10. Check Your Competitors Place Search and Place Page

Review your competitions Place Page profiles. If they rank higher than you, see if the competitor has citations that you can also obtain. Add photos and videos to make your page standout among your competitors.

Summary

Google is constantly changing and refining its search algorithms, and local search is one of the most dynamic and evolving areas of search. Local businesses owners must pay attention to organic placement and Google Place Search ranking in order to achieve a high blended local and organic listing.

The take-away of this article is that you understand these key factors to optimizing your Google Place Page profile.

• Understand that “Place Search” blends your local and organic listings
• Claim you Google Place Page
• Write great content and choose proper categories in your Place Page
• Aggressive website organic SEO is key to improving top blended rankings
• Google must be able to easily associate your Place Page profile to your website
• Citations, reviews and social media will help improve your blended rankings