What are Google Places?
Google Places are like an in-built street directory that works with the Google search engine. If you’re searching for a location or a place of business, you’ll often get a little map in the top-right corner of the screen that shows the searcher where exactly a business is located. For example, if you search for “Sydney hair salons” in Google, you might get something like this:
Do you see the map in the top-right corner? Each of those little orange dots is a “place”, and the ones with the larger alphabet balloons are places that are also on the first page of search results. (The blue balloons are places that have also purchased a Google Adwords listing. See our Google Adwords page for more information about that.)
Why is this so important?
Search results that have both a Google Places entry AND a Google Adwords listing will appear first in a search result list, even before organic website listings! This means that having a Google Places entry is an important part of increasing your online presence. If that wasn’t enough motivation, global Google search data trends point toward an increase in localised searching – especially via mobile devices. Having a Google Places entry for your business means you’ll be much more visible to these people, and therefore increase your chances at getting them into your business!
The Google Places management service helps you optimise your listing and show it above your competition. This results in brand recognition, quality lead generation and better business exposure.