Google Places Changes

June 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Changes To Google Places

Google Places

Google introduced their Google Places in September 2009.

It was free to all local businesses. All any local business had to do was claim the listing. To date many still have not done this.

When claimed almost everyone was guaranteed page 1 listing on Google search.

Google did extract information from other sources on the internet and made up a Google Places Page for many local businesses but when Google got information in this way it was sometimes wrong and it was up to each business to claim their listing and correct it.

Reviews

One of the features of Google Places was the facility for customers and clients to leave reviews of their experience in dealing with that business.

This generated an Online Reputation for that business which when positive would automatically attract new customers

Changes to Google Places that are now happening

Google Places have now merged with Google Plus  to form Google Plus Local Pages.

Google Places still seems to appear as normal but when you click on any listing you will find that it has been moved to Google Plus Local Pages.

The reviews that had appeared on the Google Places have been moved across to Google Plus Local Pages. The author of the review has been listed simply as Google User. It is now up to the person who left that review to claim it.

Google wants everyone to join Google Plus

Google is attempting to get every user of the internet to open a Google Plus account.

You must now have a Google Plus account before you are able to leave a review of claim one that has already been left.

Zagat

The previous rating score for reviews which was based on a star rating system has been replaced by Zagat rating system. This gives different scores for various areas of client experience and ends up giving a rating out of 30.

This is a system that has previously been extensively used in rating restaurants.

Google bought the company so that they could use the rating system.

Google Integration

So effectively Google has now integrated Google Places, Search,Maps and Mobile into Google Plus Local Pages.

This will cause a lot of confusion at first but in the long term it will be much better for both customers and business.

At least that is what Google is predicting.

If all this is confusing to you and you need help sorting out how to manage the changes for your business

Phone NOW for a Free Consultation from our Business Consultant

Integrated Marketing Systems

8 Achievement Drive Ormeau 4208
Jeff   Phone:  (07) 5546 6899      Mob: 0419 418 951

Trish                                                    Mob: 0416 850 265

Filed Under: Reputation Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Google Keyword Research

June 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

How Important Are Google Keywords?

 

Google keywords are extremely important for you to use in the articles that you write for your website because Google needs to know what information you are offering to anyone searching Google for information about products or services.

What are google keywords?

Google keywords are those words or phrases which people will type into the search bar to discover what is available on the internet that is of interest to them.

The secret to having a website that attracts lots of visitors is having in yourarticles, words and phrases that many people use when they are searching.

Google will scan your website for these words or phrases and then list in order those websites that will most likely satisfy the enquiry made.

Google wants to ensure a greater user experience for everyone using the internet.

Google Keyword Tool

This is the most popular tool for finding the best keywords to use when writing your articles. An important feature is that this tool is free to use.

You simply type in the keyword tool a phrase that you think best describes your product or service.

Google will the list a hundred or more phrases similar to that which you have typed and also the number of times that particular phrase has been used in searched in the past 30 days.

They will also give you the level of competition that you can expect.

You can then find a balance between number of searches and the competition that you will face from other websites in using that phrase.

Tip:  Add your business location Gold Coast or Brisbane to get more targeted reponses

Finding the balance.

When looking at keywords it is best to sort them  from highest to lowest in Local Monthly Searches. It is not wise to use the global searches unless you are seeking clients internationally.

If you choose the phrases with the most monthly searches it means a lot of people are searching for that term but you will almost always find that there is a lot of competition for that term and you are unlikely to  be successful in ranking your website.

If you choose a phrase with lower searches and therefore lower competition you will easily rank but there will be so few people your financial success will be minimal

It is best therefore to find a balance between the number of searches and the competition to give yourself the greatest chance of success.In this way you stand a reasonable chance of ranking and at the same time have enough searches to make if profitable.

Refining the search for better local keywords

You can refine your search for the best keywords by using Google Insight.

This separate tool will refine your search even further by giving you the searches for each state in Australia.

Keyword research is definitely one internet marketing strategy you must get right if you are to be successful in your online marketing.

More tools

There are many more tools available which are not free.

At Integrated Marketing  Systems we have several of these to help refine the search and get the best keywords that will ensure success.

For a free consultation to assess how we can help you with your online marketing

Phone our Marketing Consultant NOW

Integrated Marketing Systems

8 Achievement Drive Ormeau 4208
Jeff   Phone:  (07) 5546 6899      Mob: 0419 418 951
Trish                                                    Mob: 0416 850 265

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,