Get Listed On Google Maps

According to  leading online  research provider Hitwise, “Google Maps now holds 22% of the local search market and should overtake the market leader, MapQuest, by the end of 2009.”

If you haven’t noticed yet, Google Maps listings and locations are now included in the search engine results pages (serps). This is reflective of Google’s Universal Search Model unveiled in May of 2007.  When a search is performed, Universal Search delivers a variety of results including map, videos, images, news, books and websites.  For example, if you search for “Cleveland Orthopedic doctors” the first results include 10 Google Maps listings which then link to the corresponding physician websites.

Listing your business in Google Maps will enable your site to soar above the organic listings into the highly coveted number 1 spot in the serps.  To make the most of these listings, you should claim your spot and optimize them by including a keyword phrase with your business listing.  Adding keywords in the title tags of your Website has a positive effect on rankings and similarly, incorporating a keyword into your Google Maps name or description listing can boost  your rankings.

For example rather than simply  submitting your company name, address and phone number as in this example:
ABC Group, LLC.
1234 Main St.
Cleveland, Ohio
…include a keyword to define the products or services your company provides.  An optimized listing would look like this

Cleveland debt collection– ABC Group,LLC
1234 Main St.
Cleveland, Ohio

Unfortunately, many of the Google Maps listings include incorrect data.  Google’s data sometimes lags behind due to them merging their source data with other information pulled from the web. To solve this problem, businesses need to take control of their listings and make sure they are updated regularly.

To add your business to Google Maps(or correct inaccurate listings)  go to www.google.com/local/add.  Add your business today and watch your traffic increase tomorrow.

For assistance in setting up your Google maps listing contact the Intercon Group