Google places SEO - How important is organic ranking?

[mikeads66]

Everywhere i hear people tell me that organic ranking is a big factor for google places SEO.

This strikes me as odd since I'm currently on page 3 letter I for my keyword in my city, and page 2 letter B for the city right next to me.

My business site doesn't appear even within the first 50 pages of google's organic search results for that keyword.

Would it be worth investing some money and time into ranking in organic search results?

 

[KevinA]

If I were you, I would focus on improving my ranking in the Google Places listings, before even thinking about SEO because this is often very simple. Most businesses don;t fill out every single field (even if it is optional) and this affects their Places listing.
Have you filled out absolutely everything, including uploading pictures, videos, and coupon specials?

Also, make sure you include the phrase 'your suburb & business type' somewhere in your heading and description. Eg: manhattan dentist or dentist in manhattan

If you have done everything you possibly can (and hopefully rank on the first page in Places), it can bring you more visitors then a long haul SEO campaign I have found. Plus SEO as we know is very unpredictable.

 

[clubvin]

I have seen blogspot blogs in google listing when they are not on top 100 in organic SEO. Just focus on your local listings.

 

[mikeads66]

If I were you, I would focus on improving my ranking in the Google Places listings, before even thinking about SEO because this is often very simple. Most businesses don;t fill out every single field (even if it is optional) and this affects their Places listing.
Have you filled out absolutely everything, including uploading pictures, videos, and coupon specials?

Also, make sure you include the phrase 'your suburb & business type' somewhere in your heading and description. Eg: manhattan dentist or dentist in manhattan

If you have done everything you possibly can (and hopefully rank on the first page in Places), it can bring you more visitors then a long haul SEO campaign I have found. Plus SEO as we know is very unpredictable.

Oh yes. I have the max amount of pictures uploaded, all of which are actual on-site pictures of my business and my work, as well as the max amount of videos uploaded, all of which are on-site work being done by my business.

It's been at 100% complete for some time, but it should be closer to 150% complete. There is nothing else i can possibly add, there's no room

EDIT: However, i didn't have any offers. Just put 3 offers up.

 

[dvharpson5i]

I've read from a forum somewhere that he has a problem with Google Places. His URL isn't showing even though he already put the link of his website. Can anybody help me with that?

 

[mikeads66]

I've read from a forum somewhere that he has a problem with Google Places. His URL isn't showing even though he already put the link of his website. Can anybody help me with that?

Usually you just have to wait. Most things on google places aren't updated automatically, and it may take anywhere from a day or two to a week for the change to go live.

 

[markhenry121]

Organic search engine optimization is the act of optimizing a website so that it ranks higher in the search engine result pages. Visitors that arrive on a web page from organic search results are typically more targeted and therefore more inclined to make a purchase, enquire about services, or perform any other desired action on that page. Organic SEO aims to position a website at, or near, the top of natural search listings on the major search engines. When a surfer searches for a term relevant to that page, it will appear in a prominent position increasing the chances of gaining visitors to a website. Websites do not pay to appear in the organic listings and are ranked according to their relevance to the search term, popularity, and perceived value to the visitor. By using the most appropriate and popular keywords, it is possible to drive a large volume of traffic to a site for a minimal cost.

 

[veheme]

Without a proper ranking for keywords which can continually give you streams of targetted traffic, you are truly missing out on a lot of potential clients and thus, money. To answer your question, yes, it is important.

 

[mikeads66]

Without a proper ranking for keywords which can continually give you streams of targetted traffic, you are truly missing out on a lot of potential clients and thus, money. To answer your question, yes, it is important.

Even if i ranked #1 in organic, 90% of the traffic wouldn't be local and would actually be completely useless. I don't need people from New York finding my website, using my bandwith, or calling my business line. In need local people, and ranking highly for some keyword in organic results is kind of useless for me.

 

[veheme]

Even if i ranked #1 in organic, 90% of the traffic wouldn't be local and would actually be completely useless. I don't need people from New York finding my website, using my bandwith, or calling my business line. In need local people, and ranking highly for some keyword in organic results is kind of useless for me.

Are you referring to local keywords here? Why would 90% of the traffic come from foreign places if the keywords have local keywords on it? Did you research enough on the potential keywords?

 

[artizhay]

Even if i ranked #1 in organic, 90% of the traffic wouldn't be local and would actually be completely useless. I don't need people from New York finding my website, using my bandwith, or calling my business line. In need local people, and ranking highly for some keyword in organic results is kind of useless for me.

If you are looking for local customers, yet are trying to rank for non-local keywords, perhaps you need to rethink your understanding of SEO and research it before stating that it is completely useless, given that this whole forum is dedicated to SEO.

 

[Serp_Pimp]

I have a few sites sitting on top of the local listings. You have to have a solid plan on site and off site to stay over those stupid red dots.

 

[Kaithe.Clarke]

No doubt, Google places and organic rankings are bit related... but for Google places ranking, many other factors are considered... like,
- Citations
- Domain extension
- Geo Targeting in Google webmaster tools
- User generated reviews

 

[mikeads66]

If you are looking for local customers, yet are trying to rank for non-local keywords, perhaps you need to rethink your understanding of SEO and research it before stating that it is completely useless, given that this whole forum is dedicated to SEO.

The overwhelming majority of people in my area looking for my services don't type in, for instance, "<city> plumbing repairs" they simply type in "plumbing repairs".

I have a geo-targeted adwords campaign running where I'm targeting both "<city> plumbing" and just "plumbing". The latter recieves probably 20x more traffic.

I'm trying to rank in google places for non-local keywords because those keywords receive much more traffic. But i don't see the point in exerting effort to rank highly for that keyword in organic results.

I don't see what part of this is hard to understand.

 

[veheme]

I don't see what part of this is hard to understand.

Because you're the one doing it and it's a given you know the situation already. We are the ones trying to give you sound advices. Show some patience as we are doing the same.

 

[MichellePen]

I know it's always been a big factor but it feels to me like number of citations has recently been given even more weight than previously. Up until a month ago I had a clients G Place listing sitting at number 3 without having done any real work on it at all. I've now been building citations for a while (none of which are being recognised by Google at the mo?!) and for the last few weeks, the site has dropped to page three of the listing.

Anyone else seen anything similar?

 

[veheme]

I know it's always been a big factor but it feels to me like number of citations has recently been given even more weight than previously. Up until a month ago I had a clients G Place listing sitting at number 3 without having done any real work on it at all. I've now been building citations for a while (none of which are being recognised by Google at the mo?!) and for the last few weeks, the site has dropped to page three of the listing.

Anyone else seen anything similar?

Sorry, but, what do you mean exactly by "citations"?

 

[KevinA]

Oh yes. I have the max amount of pictures uploaded, all of which are actual on-site pictures of my business and my work, as well as the max amount of videos uploaded, all of which are on-site work being done by my business.

It's been at 100% complete for some time, but it should be closer to 150% complete. There is nothing else i can possibly add, there's no room

EDIT: However, i didn't have any offers. Just put 3 offers up.

There you go, lets see if the coupons make any difference! Let me know how if goes.
The next big thing would obviously be the number of positive customer reviews that you have up there. See if you can somehow convince your customers to leave feedback, maybe provide them an incentive to do so.

 

[semxpert]

Got a "Google Places For Local Business" (12 pages PDF) report for free if interested. PM me

 

[iclosem]

Sorry, but, what do you mean exactly by "citations"?

Citation is where you NAP (Name address phone number) appears... Usually want it in directories but you can post it in other places as well.