Google Local Search is now known as Google Places, if you are keeping up with the ever-changing brand delineation activities of our Californian friends. Many believe that this change was designed to allow an additional monetization grab by the great Google, but those interested in local search optimization should pay particular attention to this feature, nevertheless.In case you’re unaware of Google Places, this is a graphic that automatically appears whenever you employ geo-targeting within your search query. In other words, if you input “Orlando lawn service” in the search box, the Google Places gadget provides you with a visualization, indicating the location of each featured service provider, together with a clickable link and a description.Here is an example of a new monetization strategy. For $25 a month you can highlight a listing with tags, which will allow you to draw attention to important aspects of your operation. You may be able to insert additional keywords or triggers that other companies, who are not taking advantage of the “tag” deal, cannot.Smile! You are on Google Places!
Here is another marketing innovation from Google. In certain major cities around the United States, Australia or Japan you can apply to the company’s team of photographers, who will arrange a photo shoot of your business. The photographs generated will appear in a specific “place page” where prospects can find out more information about the business in question. As a picture tells a thousand words, this should represent a very valuable service. Demand is very high, though, so be patient.Claim your business “place page” now by going to Google Maps here, entering your business name and when the location shows up, click on the “link” hyperlink in the top right-hand corner.If you want to create your Google Places entry from scratch, you can do so by going here. This will enable you to set up a great deal of information including your operating hours and a number of logos or product photographs, etc. Once you have set this all up, you will be able to log into the dashboard to see how many visits to your site have been generated through local search queries, as a consequence of your Google Places entry. Also, you can copy a two-dimensional barcode, which you can use on marketing materials such as business cards. Smartphones are now equipped to scan the barcodes, which will take them to a mobile optimized version of your Google Places page for instant, fingertip ready information. Pretty neat.