VP of Internet Marketing - AdzZoo
One of the most important things you can do is something AdzZoo has done all along – claim your Google Maps listing. Google Maps has many listings and viciously protects how they determine who shows up in the first page top 7. Google Maps are generally triggered when a person localizes a search in one manner or another. Just as with Google’s organic search, the key to Google’s map formula is the same thing – relevancy. Google is the current search engine leader in showing real, relevant results without a gimmick. As a matter of fact, I just read an article from a large radio conglomerate that talked about how “easy” it is to add Google Maps to your marketing campaign. Yes, it’s easy to add it… but to be effective is another story. To be relevant is yet another story too.
When it comes to Google’s local business center, you have to manage your Google account just as you would manage an organic campaign. Yes, with some luck and lackluster competition you can appear easily. Google also encourages everyone to sign up and makes that process easy. It helps bolster their maps listings. However, a lot of businesses get listed without doing a thing. Google is able to determine lots of data about your business from other sources and it aggregates this into a listing. A store or vendor may be listed, but the problem is they have very little validity. The “farmed” listings are merely padding to help the accuracy and content of the map.
For top listings, Google prefers to feature sites that have been validated in one way or another. The easiest ‘certificate of trust’ is to claim your business listing and keep your content accurate and up to date. Also, claiming your business listings and adding extra data about your business, inherently means better targeting and ranking. However, as in all things Google, the algorithm is complicated and nothing is guaranteed to make you number one.
Keep in mind, this is just the beginning and part of many other factors that Google uses to manage your local business center listing. Some of the factors include proper matching of keywords, categories, etc. These extra factors also change frequently as they “refine” their algorithm. Properly managing your Local Business Center campaign can be one of the most effective tools in your search marketing campaign. How effective do you want to be?
