Dec. 14, 2009 at 10:11am

What will people find when they search for you on Google maps?

Five reasons to update your Google Local Business listing

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Strategic Communications
Comments (1)

You have probably already seen your listing on Google Maps (the listing that pops up when you type your CU’s name or address into Google Maps).

But did you know that Google lets businesses update the listing? (It’s free! And only took me about 20 minutes.)

But as I was looking for a good credit union and/or bank example to share in this post, I was surprised to find that very few have taken advantage of this opportunity.

Here are five reasons that you should update your listing:

1. Make it easy for people to find information about you. You can add your business hours and update your list of keywords (what terms they may use to find you) and services. Think of terms that go beyond the usual “credit union” chances are they will be searching “bank” and terms such as “loans, mortgage, etc.” if you want to look more into the terms, visit Google AdWords keyword tool.

2. Raise your local search ranks. Your information will appear higher on the list once you have submitted content. For example, if someone types in “Credit union, Seattle” in Google Maps, the listing with more information and customer reviews will show up higher on the list.)

3. Fix inaccurate information. Some of Google's information is gathered from DexKnows and Superpages. If this information is inaccurate (when you look at your listing you will what information is provided by these sites), you may also need to create an account with DexKnows and fix your information. An easy way is to fix all at once by going to http://universalbusinesslisting.org/.

4. Keep track of who is looking for you. Once you have an account, Google Local Business Center gives you access to analytics so you can keep track of how many people are searching for you and where they are located.

5. Stand out from the other guys. Photos and added information make your listing stand out from the competitors and makes it more likely that people will click through. You can also add your YouTube videos that will show up when people click on "more info" on the map conversation bubble.

Click here to go to Google’s local business center and set up your account. You can create a Gmail account in seconds or sign up with an existing account.

Have you had success with your Google business listing? Let us know what you are doing.

Comments (1)

Very informative Kacie! That is a great tip for search engine optimization!
1 | Left by Nicole Duncan | Dec. 28, 2009 at 9:29am