SEO shouldn’t be the beginning and end of an online campaign for any business. In order to succeed online, it’s important to use several strands of online marketing to develop your web presence. Often, you will find that the various strands of your online campaign complement each other, such as using PPC to support the early stages of a search engine optimisation campaign. Another way to support your SEO is to take a look at Google Places.

Google Places is the next step in Google’s campaign to enrich local search results. Google first edged toward local results a few years ago, and the more refined results of Google Local have made things interesting for businesses with any local angle. The updated scheme ties the commercial side of Google more firmly to the search engine’s local search angle.

What exactly is Google Places?

Most internet users should have noticed local results appearing with increasing frequency over the last year or three. These results appear in a special section for certain searches, often appearing as a list of business names next to a Google map. Often, the results appear on a Google Maps search as well. Google Places will show listings in much the same way, with one significant change.

Google Places is simply a rebranding of Google Local Business Centre, but the change in name is a sign of the significant changes Google has made to the way it deals with local search and business. Whereas before the search engine’s local business search was geared mainly toward user control, Google Places is definitely built for businesses to use. The main way in which this is reflected is in the ability for businesses to place sponsored listings.

Any business that has dealt with Google should be familiar with the way sponsored listings work. If you’re designing an online campaign, you’ve possibly looked into Google AdWords to help boost your traffic. With AdWords, competition was usually quite high because every business was competing on a grand scale. With sponsored listings on Google Places, the playing field is much smaller, and the listing is directly attached to your business listing in the local results. Basically, paid listings are just a way to enhance your regular results.

Google Places is the next step in the evolution of Google Local

The sponsored listings add an interesting element to Google’s local results. Any smart business should be looking at potential local angles as a part of its search engine optimisation campaign, as local listings can give a business a very competitive edge. Talk to our consultants at SEO Consult Australia about this. Although this area of Google is mainly aimed at the small business owner, larger businesses have taken advantage of the highly-specific target groups that local search exposes.

The slight change with Google Places makes the game even more interesting. Google is saying that a sponsored listing can get you a photo, a video, directions or a special message for customers – but only one of these. This means that local listings will be even more of a game of strategy than before.