A web surfing prospect goes to Google and types a location and a key phrase like “Ramsey NJ Restaurant”. What happens next? Google will probably deliver a Local Maps Listing.

Google used to call these the LBC or Local Business Center Listings. And since they change things fast with Maps, it’s now called Google Places.

Here’s what it looks like:

Since the Google Places Listing is “above the fold”, surfers get to look at it first, before they see the main list of results. That makes it very valuable to a business that wants to get seen by prospects surfing the web. Most business owners simply don’t know about the Google Places Listings and how much business they generate which is tens of thousands of phone calls and website lookups every day.

How Much Does A Google Place Listing Cost?

It’s free. That is IF you know how to enter all the information correctly without violating the sometimes vague Google Quality Guidelines.

But most companies charge between $500 and $1,000 as a one time fee for getting your listing in the Google Local, Yahoo Local, and Bing / MSN Local Directories as they’re called. Web Design Workplace charges $500 to get you into all 3 directories. It’s something we’ve done around 100 times and we’re very good at it. Considering how much time it takes to get this done right, that $500 fee is downright affordable. For some businesses it can be the most affordable business advertising they ever paid for.

Claiming a Google Places Listing

Google may already have a listing for you even if you don’t own a website. It does this by using “citations” from other trusted sources like review blogs and listings in other websites like Best Of the Web. Whether Google has the information or you need to enter it for the first time, there is a verification process called “claiming” your listing. If you can do all that by yourself that’s great but most get hung up somewhere along the way. To avoid any hassles and ensure it’s done right call Mal Milligan the owner of Web Design Workplace at 201-696-5375.