We recently wrote a post on Google Places (formally the Google Local Business Centre), and how every business should take the opportunity to register for this free advert. But like every search based service offered on the internet, there are certain factors that decide how each of the local listings rank. In short, you can optimise your Google Places entry to maximise its impact.

There are a lot of people talking about just which of these factors have the most impact? What we have decided to do is to create a simple set of tips so that people can get the biggest bang-for-their-buck without diving into the technicalities.

One point to keep in mind is that you don't actually need a website to rank in local listings – some industry watchers seem to be of the opinion that site-based changes have only limited effect on local listings. Though making changes to your site to increase its relevance to your operating area is a positive move irrespective of its eventual effect on local listings.

Some of you may be thinking: “I'm not sure all of these techniques apply to me”, well you know your business better than anyone. I would just suggest that you do as much as you can!

So let's dive in…

Age Of Listing

OK, it may seem strange to start with something that you can't actually optimise, but think of it as something to spur you into action if you don't currently have a Google Places listing. It seems the longer the listing has been in place the more weight it carries. So register your Places listing today!

Categories

This is a big one. You can select up to 5 categories for your listing and its worth spending a little time thinking about the best choices for this section. You may have a mobile car washing firm that keeps your customers' cars looking sparkling, but putting your listing as 'sparkling cars' is probably not a great choice! What do you expect your customers to type? That is a good place to start.

For people who already have an SEO campaign it is also worth looking at the keywords for which you are currently optimising.

Claimed Listing

So what is a claimed listing? A claimed listing are listings that have been verified by the company themselves (which can be done by phone / SMS / mail). Greater weight is placed on listings that have been authenticated, so be sure to claim your listing.

Citations

Citations are basically references to your company being located in a particular area. These can be achieved by submitting your site to directories (especially local ones) and by setting your location to the specified area.

Distance to Centroid

This is the distance of your address to what Google sees as the centre of the specified location: e.g. if someone searches for 'London Bakery' and your address is in outer London then this will hurt your rankings. Obviously this a little difficult to optimise. Some people have talked about setting up a post box in a central location, however I'm a bit wary of this. Especially as…

Match your Contact page address with Google Places address

Simply keep your address standard across where you use it. This strengthens your claim to be located in that area.

Include References to Region in Page Title + Description

This is a fairly easy on-page change that anyone can make to their site, just include references to your particular location in the meta title and meta description tags for the pages on your site. I know that sometimes it feels like there is a lot of information to pack into these restricted spaces, but with some clever writing it is almost always possible. This is one site-based change I would recommend performing.

Photos

Yes, actually getting some decent pictures taken of your business. If  you aren't a shop location then still get some decent pictures of the van or transport you use. This not only adds more weight to your Places listing but serves to reassure potential customers that you are a legitimate business.

Videos

Similar to Photos, upload a video to YouTube to advertise your business. Not sure what your video should be of? It can be anything, an interview with yourself or others in the company, shots of people working, maybe even a little humour if applicable.

Coupons

Your Google Places listing has the facility to offer coupons for prospective customers to redeem at your store. This is good for attracting customers but there seems to be a spread of opinion whether this actually increases the strength of your Places Listing.

Local Phone Number

This may seem a little obscure, but if you are offering a localised service then using a phone number with a local area code can be an advantage. After all, a rival with a 0800 number could be anywhere, a local number ties you to that area.

HCard

HCards are basically a way of including contact information in existing files such as HTML pages. Google has been looking at this data for a while now: for example they made reference to these 'microformats' when they introduced their Rich Snippets for some search results.

Customer Reviews

Positive customer reviews are your friend here, and although generating these is not always the easiest thing in the world. Their existence can not only help your word-of-mouth traffic and Google Places listing but can even help with your online advertising. Finding ways to incentivise happy customers to write online reviews is definitely time well spent.

Negative Google Places Ranking Factors

Using Keywords Name + Description

I've mentioned this negative factor as it seems like something of a contentious issue. For many it’s a great way to boost the relevance of your listing for a particular keyphrase, for others it’s a good way to get your listing penalised.

Some suggest just adding words to the business title if they seem applicable – e.g. 'Mc Millans' might enter 'Mc Millans Bakery' – but Google's guidelines specifically rule this tactic out.

“Do not attempt to manipulate search results by adding extraneous keywords or a description of your business into the business name.”

This is not a complete list of factors but an amalgam of the cacophony of opinions available on the web. Keep an eye on the Google Places guidelines to make sure you aren't being pulled astray, but know that time spent making the most of your Places listing is a great free way to boost your Google Profile.

..Want to know more? There is a very comprehensive and lengthy breakdown of many ranking factors by David Mihm. For a more auditory look into Google Places check out Internet Marketing Podcast #73.

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