Google LBC | Web Design WorkPlace

July 31, 2010 By einstein99

I was just typing a favorite search phrase of mine and the #1 listing on Google Maps for “NYC Bakery” was a domain called “liveongooogle.com“. I had to marvel at the thought of this for a minute. So Magnolia Bakery has 1,000 citations and reviews and it got beat by a brand new domain with only 100 citations? How? I had to ask is this a new form of official Google Advertising where the will sell a #1 position on Google Maps and not label it as “sponsored results”?

Unfortunately this post is all questions and no answers. I have begun to investigate these mysteries and I will report back once this is solved. I’ve submitted a question to the company and I’ll post again when I get the results.

I can tell you that the competition to be #1 on any related phrase like “Manhattan Bakery” or “New York Bakery” is high. The Google Adwords Keyword Tool estimates there are 50,000 searches a month for the phrase New York Bakery. So to get a place as the #1 listing on Google Maps is hugely valuable. What’s it worth? Thousands of dollars a month IMHO.So I’m hugely interested in how they did this.

Affordable Google Local Listings

July 28, 2010 By einstein99

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.