A while back I woke up in the middle of the night with an excruciating tooth-ache. That morning it became obvious that I was going to need a dentist. I didn’t have a regular dentist because I hadn’t been to one in a couple of years. So, I sat down at my computer, navigated to Google.com and searched for ‘dentist in Chandler.’
The first result that came up was a dentist that was less than a mile away from my home. Listed right next to a map to his office was his address and phone number. I called and got an appointment for later that morning.
Google Local Screen Shot
While sitting in the dentist’s chair a couple hours later, he asked how I had found his office. I told him about my internet search and he replied, “I don’t even pay for that listing.” The interesting thing is that there are 3 other dentists in that same plaza – none of which ever showed up on my radar.
How exactly was this dentist able to position himself, at no cost, above his competition and generate new business that was ultimately up-for-grabs? The answer is simple. He utilized Google’s simple and effective local search feature, and you can too.
To get your site listed in Google’s Local Search, simply follow these simple steps:
1. First perform a search of your companies name on Google to make sure that you are not already listed.
2. Visit www.google.com/local/add
3. If you do not already have a Google account (gmail, blogger, ad words etc.) then you can create one for free.
4. Once you are logged in, click on ‘Add New Business.’
5. Fill out the requested company information and make sure to pick as many relevant categories as you can (up to 5) that describe your business, product and/or services.
6. On the next page you will have the ability to enter additional information including operating hours, payment methods, and even videos and photos (highly recommended).
7. The final step is for Google to verify your information either by calling the phone number you provided or by sending a postcard to the address you listed.
Once the verification process is complete, your listing will be up and appearing in the search results when your customers search for the products and services you offer. With a few minutes of your time, you too can be driving additional customers to your business and out-pacing your competitors – all for free.
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