What’s Google+Local? Why’s It Important

You seen it when you do a local search. A listing of local businesses and corresponding “balloons” on a map. Catches your eye, doesn’t it?

Once called “Google Places” it is now called Google+Local (We won’t discuss the relationship to the Google+ social networking creation by Googledom.) Google+Local shares info with Google Maps, but they are not the same thing.

Things to know about Google+Local:

1. It’s free. I didn’t say easy, but it is free. It’s Google’s online directory of local businesses. You can list your business. If you haven’t, but your business appears, you have discovered that Google doesn’t wait on you in its efforts to list every business in the world.

2. You can claim and control your listing if it already appears. If it doesn’t, you can add your business.

3. You don’t need to have a website to have a Google+Local listing. In fact, some businesses, if they do the Google+Local profile properly, can rank well without a website (but only in Google).

4. Your G+L can be a money maker. Google ranks your business based in part on how well you do your local listing. Good rankings get you noticed. And the resulting clicks can turn into clients.

5. Doing Google+Local pays off if done well, but it’s not easy. We help you get this right, and we have the ability then to “optimize” your listing to get you even more attention.

Is Google+Local important for your business? Very! Do it right, and you’ll have a distinct advantage on the competition.