Google Local Question

I have a site that I am trying to get listed towards the top of Google maps, as you know G only assigns letters to the first seven listings and unfortunately there are already seven listed in G so the site I am working on doesent have a letter assigned it just has a red dot on the G map and dosent show up in the G local listing.

Everything complies with G's T&C's.

The website for the company is ranking ok on page 1 but I cant get it in to the top seven on G maps so its virtualy invisible on there. It does have reviews, videos etc on it.

Its only been up around a month.

There are a few guides on how to rank for Google places. I saw Google places cheat sheet in the Downloads section a while back, maybe that will help..

Its same scenario as we do SEO, try to increase reviews and backlincks.
Check your compatetors information by clicking 'More Info' there you can see source of reviews.
Try to find where those reviews come from, post your reviews there and add more reviews from high PR sites.
Then citations.Each time google boot finds your business name, address and phone number there is a +1. If your business listed in BBB then there is a huge + for you. Try to increase your backlincks against your competitors.
Hope this will help you.

are already seven listed in G

Click to expand...

That doesnt mean it has to be that way, get reviews, many reviews, push with links and you shall overtook at least one of those seven ahead of you...

Thanks for the replies, I think the issue may be that the site i am trying to get listed in Google local didnt have a postal address on it. that is now corrected. Out of the other sites that are in Google local only two have any content and have been claimed so hopefuly it shouldnt be too hard to grab a slot.

scorpion king said:

Its same scenario as we do SEO, try to increase reviews and backlincks.
Check your compatetors information by clicking 'More Info' there you can see source of reviews.
Try to find where those reviews come from, post your reviews there and add more reviews from high PR sites.
Then citations.Each time google boot finds your business name, address and phone number there is a +1. If your business listed in BBB then there is a huge + for you. Try to increase your backlincks against your competitors.
Hope this will help you.

Click to expand...

Whats BBB?

better business bureau

madi123 said:

Whats BBB?

Click to expand...

Getting better ranks on google places is one of the first SEO projects I got in to (ahhh the memories).
Luckily the google places search is a simplified version of Googles indexing. They use the info on the page for keywording everything (descriptions and such) including the reviews by google accounts. Go back to the page review the account and make sure all the info is optomized for the target word then review review review then review some more from google accounts and other review and directory sites that google regulary crawls
(for example if its a restaurant post reviews from zagat and such)
then do some linking, G +1,
And if you really want to go Blackhatting and shady
you create google maps accounts and write descriptions on the location stuffed with keywords this will also be indexed and by google and will affect ranking This can be tricky, your competitors can rat you out but you wont get removed luckily.
Yeah this may look like a lot of work BUT results are very quick and effective because they show at the top
Hope this helps
Let me know if it does im really curious to know of this helps you

Here are some tips

• Get 10 Videos on your places paage
• Get 10 Pictures
• Get 1-2 real reviews per week
• Reply to each one
• Have coupons
• Post status updates each week
• Have social pages (facebook, twitter, etc)

Follow this and you will see some results after a few months.

The correct phrase is not "Google Local", it is "Google Places". You will get better information if you use the correct phrase. This is SEO, and exact words & spellings are critical.

One factor that determines ranking in Google places is something called "distance from centroid" which is a geographical spot in the city that Google calls "center", and preference is given to businesses that are closer to it.

Make certain your Places entry is completely filled-out, with photos, and correct NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number). You need 5+ reviews to get a red marker, but there isn't any value for more than that, until your number of reviews approaches 100, so there's no point in faking any more that that.

I've read that uploading the maximum number of videos allowed gives you a plus, but only doing one video is actually a minus, so for that I would do "all or nothing".

Other factors for ranking in Google Places parallel those for it's normal listings, so if you domain is less than a month old, your chances of getting place well are pretty low if the kw is competitive and particularly if the other businesses have optimized their listings, and have done on & off-page SEO.

You may not know it, but there are pages for Google Places past the first page. If you expand all the Places and then click pages 2, 3, etc... eventually you will find your business's Google Places listing.

I've also noticed that the Google Places listings roughly parallel the regular listings, so as you ascend in the one, the other will naturally follow, I assume.

Here's a recent tip. This one is new. I've learned it myself, haven't read it anywhere and haven't posted it anywhere either. Setting up a Google Offer gave me +1 in rank on both normal listing and in Google Places.