Local SEO Seattle — Do You Have A Google Places Page?

If you’re a Seattle business owner and you haven’t claimed a Google Places page for your business yet, you’re missing out on some powerful local SEO Seattle.

I’ve said it before… and I’m gonna say it again.

Yellow Pages advertising is dead.

Hardly anyone hauls out that big yellow book anymore. When most people want information on a local Seattle business, they head straight for the Internet. More specifically… the majority of people searching for local Seattle businesses visit Google.com.

If you’re still throwing money toward a print ad in the big yellow book, you’re essentially throwing your money away. Think about it… when was the last time you actually looked up a business in the Yellow Pages?

So what’s the easy answer to getting found online, even if you don’t have a website? Google Places.

Why Google Places?

The people at Google are smart. They know people looking for an Italian restaurant in Seattle don’t search the internet for a generic term like “Italian restaurant” anymore. People will search terms like “Seattle Italian restaurant,” “Italian restaurant Seattle,” or “best Italian restaurant in Seattle.”

Searching a generic term like “Italian restaurant” could bring up restaurants from anywhere the world, and that doesn’t help a searcher if they’re looking to dine in Seattle.

Google caught onto this and now offers local businesses their own page within Google Places. You can include your address, photos, video, hours of operation, service areas, information about special sales, and a catalog of your products or services on your page.

We mentioned previously that having a Web Site isn’t necessary to take advantage of Google Places, you just need to add some pertinent information about your business. If this is the sum-total of your web-presence, you will probably see a big enough boost in business to justify a closer look at increasing your participation in the ‘net.  A simple next step is a Facebook page for your business (if you don’t have a personal Facebook page, ask your kids, they can tell you how to stone up).

If you are optimizing your business web site, Google Places is almost a free ticket to the top of the search engine results page.

You can even offer coupons, customers can leave reviews about your business, and you can get a special QR code to place on your marketing materials that people can scan with a smartphone to go straight to your Google Places page.  Yep… your Google Places page is already optimized for mobile searches.

Your Google Places Page

Claiming your Google Places page is easy and free. The complicated part is optimizing it. You want to make sure your Italian restaurant is at the top of the search engine results. The best way to do that is by optimizing your page for local SEO Seattle.

Local SEO Seattle involves more than just placing a few keywords in your online copy that contain “Seattle.” That’s why Seattle SEO Consultant makes creating and optimizing Google Places pages for local businesses a priority.

The first step to business success is getting found. Make getting found easier with your own Google Places page optimized for local SEO Seattle.

Contact Seattle SEO Consultant for your free, no-obligation 30 minute consultation about Google Places and local Seattle SEO today. We’re eager to tell you more.