With 70% of households using the Internet to gather information about local businesses and services, online presence is becoming more and more significant—especially when it comes to being searchable on Google. What are Google Places and Google Local? There are many ways to exploit the internet for your marketing campaign advantages, however being on Google Places is definitely one of the most important aspects. Google Places is your door to major marketing opportunities in Google. The content in your Google Places for business will appear in Google Plus, Google Maps, the SERP and Google Local, helping largely on boosting your visibility. Google Local, on the other hand, is a listing where users can get place recommendations, publish their own photos and reviews, and view a business’ Google+ page with posts and other useful information. It is crucial for location-relevant businesses. For instance, 43% of all Google searches are local or location based—anytime a person is trying to find a product or service, they include to their searches locations closest to where they are. These queries aren’t you trying to beat out your nationwide or global position for search engine rankings, but are instead highly local-based and often immediate in their conversion from a query to a phone call or physical customer at your location. What are the Benefits of Claiming your Listing on Google? Part of managing and developing your online presence is claiming your Google listing, and to your advantage, there are a few reasons why you should do this.

1. Improved online presence. Claiming your Google listing does not only mean being on the map, but also entails increased exposure to Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
2. Helps ensure Google contains correct information about your business. Google uses the details businesses provide on their Google+ Business Pages to make sure the information it provides its customers is complete and up-to-date. That information is then routed into all Google services, including Google Maps, Search and Earth.
3. Enables customer interaction. Aside from reviews, Google listing also enables you and your customers to add pictures and post short articles about your business. This is a great way to spark interest, allowing your customers to interact with your business.
4. Gives you competitive advantages over other, non-claimed, listings. By creating an online presence which is better presented and better marketed than other businesses providing similar products or services, you can gain market share at the expense of your competition.

Steps on Claiming your Google Listing Creating and claiming your Google listing is but a simple process. Below is a step-by-step instruction on how to build your listing from the ground up. Step 1: Sign up and Sign in to your Google+ Account If you still don’t have a Google account, you’ll need to Sign Up first. But for those who already have an existing account, you can simply go directly to https://plus.google.com/business. Keep in mind that your Google My Business account will be connected to your Google+ account. Once you are directed to the dashboard, click Get Your Page and select Service Area. Search for your business name along with your business location. An existing listing will appear on the dropdown, just select and proceed to verification. If no existing listing appears, you will need to add your business. Enter your business details and Continue to Verify. Step 2: Verify Listing You will be directed to the verification page. You can choose how the verification PIN will be sent to you—whether by phone, SMS or postcard. If you choose By Phone, you will need to enter your mobile phone number and choose your carrier. Once you are done, click on Finish and your phone will ring within minutes. You will receive an automated message that bears your PIN. In case of new businesses with a brand new phone number, the Postcard should be the preferred choice. Once you receive the PIN, enter it in the required field to create a verified Google listing. Step 3: Retention Once you have set up your page, you can now easily customize your profile. You can add photos, taglines, edit your page information or update your products and services—all to spark the interest of your customers. It is of utmost importance to keep your profile up-to-date, this way you can easily keep your customers glued to what you have to say, a great means of promoting customer loyalty or retention. Although setting up your Google listing is just as easy as 1, 2, 3, maintaining it and keeping it up-to-date can sometimes be tedious. Fortunately, at Linkage Web Development, we offer our expertise to make it easier for you. As part of our online marketing solutions, we can help you put your company on the map. We offer our various customized online services, not only to setup your business on Google but also to maintain it. With our dependable expertise and extensive web development and online marketing know-how, we ensure you an explosion of customer demand that comes with business growth.