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What the heck is a Google Local listing? Whenever I am working with a new client and we discuss ways to drive traffic to their website, and market their business better on the internet, that question comes up.

So what is a Google Local Listing? If you’ve ever Googled anything (can you believe that’s a verb, it must suck to be Yahoo or Bing, no one ever says I Yahoo’d or Bing’d something) you have likely seen them and not realized it. A Google Local Listing is similar to an online listing in Yellow Book or Yellow Pages but it is much more sophisticated. It is tied to the Google Maps tool to display business listings under certain search terms. Below is a photo showing Google Local Listings for the search term “CPA wayland ma”:

Google Local Listing

Google Local Listing - Search Term - CPA wayland ma

The blue arrows point to the Google Local Listings. The easiest way to identify these listings are they are next to map and are lettered A-J (the first 10 are usually displayed).  Note that below the listings there is a link to view more results this link will bring you to a complete listing of those entries that qualify by the search term you used.

You will notice the first listing is for Paresky Flitt and Company, LLP. When we developed the site for this client, at Imagine Web Designs, we created this listing for them. In addition you will note that they are also listed in the number one position under the organic listing, a result of our search engine optimization efforts.

So why have a Google Local Listing

  • You have the greatest control over how this appears as you can create it yourself
  • You can change the content as your business changes
  • It can get you listed on Google right away
  • It is another opportunity beyond SEO, Facebook, Twitter and other tools to get found
  • It’s FREE

If you are a business owner  you must have a Google Local Listing as it is an essential part of your marketing tool kit. If you’d like to set one up for your business there is a great deal of information available at the Google Local Business Center.

Google also creates local listings on their own, culling information from online phone listings, bulletin boards and other sources. You may already have a listing and not know it. The problem with a listing created by Google is that it may not have the content you want. Fear not, you can go to the Google Local Business Center, claim that listing and edit it!

If you don’t have the time to create your own Google Local Listing, contact your web design or marketing firm and have them create one for you.

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