Archive for the ‘Local Search / Google Places’ Category

Goodbye WebShare, Hello Cardinal Path!

Monday, March 14th, 2011 by Corey Koberg
Google Buzz
Six years ago we started WebShare with the singular goal of passing on the knowledge and skills we had acquired in Internet marketing to our clients and partnering with them to take their digital strategy to the next level.

Over the years we’ve been fortunate to experience tremendous growth that has allowed us to continue to add expertise and experience to the team, including a stable of experts in online advertising, conversion optimization, SEM, social media, and web design.  But the area we’re probably best known for has been our analytics expertise.  Offering a full range of services, from strategy to implementation and training to deep-dive analysis, our team includes thought leaders such as WAA Innovation Award finalists, industry authors, sought after speakers, seasoned trainers, and former Google employees.

Today we take a huge step forward with that growth as we combine the expertise of three of the industry’s top firms to create a world class organization featuring some of digital marketing’s finest minds.  WebShare, VKI Studios, and PublicInsite will be joining forces to give our clients a true one-stop shop for all of their digital needs.  This will provide clients access to a team with exceptional depth and expertise across a broad range of disciplines that include search marketing, usability and conversion testing, web design & development, training, business / competitive intelligence, and more.

Above all, we realize that we could not be where we are today without you – our clients, our team of employees, our partners, and our community.  We would like to sincerely thank you all for being a part of WebShare, and we look forward to what the future brings.

If you’d like to learn more about the merger, we’ve set up a FAQ page, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.  We’ll be blogging, tweeting, posting and conversing from Cardinal Path from here on out, so don’t forget to follow, friend, subscribe and friend.

We couldn’t be more thrilled about our future with Cardinal Path and what it will mean to our clients, partners and team — both current and future!

Signing off from the WebShare blog,

Corey & Dave



Corey Koberg
Corey is a co-founder and principal consultant at WebShare...you can find out more about Corey here.

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Posted in Conversion Marketing, Google Analytics, Google Website Optimizer, Local Search / Google Places, Pay Per Click Marketing, Search Marketing, Social Media, Website Design, Website Promotion & LinkBuilding | No Comments »

How to Locate, Claim, or Create your Facebook Place for your Business

Monday, August 23rd, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

UPDATED 10/28/2010

You should be aware that last week Facebook launched Facebook Places. Kinda sounds like Google Places doesn’t it?  This feature is a way for Facebook users to “check in” at the places they are visiting so they can share that information with their friends.  They can also check in the friends they’re with at that same place.  For those of you who are familiar with Foursquare and Gowalla this is essentially the same thing.  The big difference I see is that Facebook is much more popular – a half a billion users more than those two – so this could get big if Facebook doesn’t mess it up.As a business owner, it’s important for you to understand how your business can take advantage of this feature.  If you control your business’s Facebook Place page, you can manage your Place’s address, contact information, business hours, profile picture, admins and other settings. You will be able to advertise it just as you advertise a Facebook Page. However, before you can do anything you need to have control of your business’s Facebook Place.  Here’s how you get that control (note: Facebook’s own instructions are located here):

Locating a Facebook Place:
Log in to your Facebook account (not via a phone), search for your business by typing your business’s name in the usual Facebook search box. If your business’s place already exists on Facebook, click on it. You should know that your Place page is not the same as your business’s Fan Page (if you created one). Try looking for a search result that shows how many “checkins” the place has.If you do not locate your business’s Place page this way, try checking in to the business via a smart phone.  When you successfully complete a check in, there will be a status update on your Facebook profile page that lists where you checked in and the link of your business’s Facebook Place.  Don’t be surprised if you do not find your Facebook Place – many businesses do not have a Facebook Place yet. Skip to “Creating a new Facebook Place” if you still can not locate your Facebook Place at this point.

Claiming a Facebook Place:
1. If you’re lucky enough to find your business’s Facebook Place, click on it to visit.  Then locate the “Is this your business?” link at the bottom left of the page and click it.
2. This link takes you to Facebook’s “claiming flow”. [SEE UPDATE BELOW] It’s similar to other claiming processes in that some of you will need to do a phone verification to validate your are an appropriate representative for your business. It works very differently from other claiming processes when it requires you to supply some “official” documentation to prove your worthiness. You can see what sort of documentation via this screenshot.
UPDATE: Facebook changed their verification process in October 2010 to below. Now you either need to have a company email address listed on your personal Facebook account or provide a scanned document of a utility or phone bill that includes your business’s name and address. Much easier.

Creating a new Facebook Place:
1. The first thing you will need is to be physically present at your business with a smart phone.
2. Download the latest Facebook app for your smart phone.  The iPhone app seems to work the best but you can do it from a Droid (we know – we did it). If apps are not working, you can point your browser to http://touch.facebook.com.3. Once in the app you want to try and check in at your place of business. As you found out in the “Locating a Facebook Place” section, your Facebook Place does not exist.
4. Click the “Add” button to the left of the Places search box or the “+” in the upper right.
5. Enter a name for your Facebook Place as well as an optional description. Then, click the “Add” button.
6. Click the “Check In” button to share your visit.
7. Once you create your Place, search for it again on the “desktop” Facebook, follow the “Is this your business?” link, and begin the process to claiming a Facebook Place (see above).

Finally, I highly advise everyone understand their privacy settings with respect to Facebook Places. This video provides a pretty good overview of what you need to know.



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Posted in Local Search / Google Places | No Comments »

Getting a direct link to your Business’s Google Maps listing or Google Places Page

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

1. Search for your Google Places listing on Google Maps

2. Click one of the two More Info links next to your Google Places details

3. In the upper right corner of the resulting Google Place page click Link


4. In the resulting URL, delete everything after the CID number. Your resulting address should look something like this: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=4250254080900850257


Now that you have it you can share it with people.  This is a great way to get people to submit reviews for your business against your Google Places listing. Put the link wherever you can put a link (website, email campaign, email signature, social media pages, etc).



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Posted in Local Search / Google Places | No Comments »

Respond to Your Business’s Online Reviews; Google Places Now Helps You Do So

Monday, August 16th, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz
One of the most common complaints I hear from business owners about online reviews is that they typically have no way of responding to them publicly. I’ve seen some owners post their own review to try and respond to something a previous reviewer may have said.  It’s true that anyone can post a review about your business but it looks pretty funny when the business owner submits a review of their own business just to make a response. Plus it may put a cloud of suspicion over ALL of your reviews.  It may make readers think, “if the owner is posting a review for this, how do I know all these other positive reviews are not from him as well?”.

As a business owner, you should respond to reviews about your business when you are given the chance. Google recently enabled the ability for owners to publicly respond to reviews from customers on their Google Places page. This is yet another reason to claim your Google Places listing in Google. Other directory sites like Yelp have had this capability for over a year; same for SuperPages, CitySearch, and TripAdvisor to name just a few. Both Google and Yelp give you some good suggestions and guidelines on how to respond appropriately to reviews. The short summary is: be nice and view each review as an opportunity to improve your business.

If the review was not completed via your Google Places page, you may not be able to respond.  For instance, Google will typically import reviews from other sources. You can only respond to reviews given on your Google Places page….unless you have access to the other directory’s listing as well. For example if I own my Yelp listing and I see a Yelp imported review on my Google Places page, I can simply go to Yelp to respond to that review there.  It is yet to be seen whether your response will also get imported by Google though.

You must have your business claimed via Google Places to respond to reviews. Simply login to your Google Places account or go directly to your listing on Google Maps while logged into your Google account in which your Google Places listing is stored against.

The rest is pretty self-explanatory. But remember be nice and view each review as an opportunity to improve your business as “The entire world will be able to read it.”

UPDATE 8/26/2010:

As of today Google is no longer showing Yelp reviews within Google Places.



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Posted in Local Search / Google Places | No Comments »

Google Tags and Posts for Google Places Listings Going Live

Friday, June 11th, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

If you check out the recent post on the Google Lat Long Blog, you will see that Google Maps is rolling out their Google Tags feature across the United States shortly. What the heck are “Google Tags”? Of course if it is something from Google, you can assume it’s another way for you to advertise with them. This specific way is targeted at local businesses.  Google’s goal with Google Tags is to make it simple for the “mom and pop” shop to advertise with them; even more simple than using Google AdWords.  With the trouble that Google Places (formerly Google Local Business Listings) has had in the past in getting business owners correctly listed on the map, I’m not sure it will be that easy out of the gate but it’s good to see the opportunity offered.
Example of Google Tags in Google Search and Maps
Details:

  • Cost = $25/month/listing (need a credit card)
  • You must have claimed your Google Places listing
  • What can you advertise via a Tag? Coupon, video, website, photos, custom message (via the Post feature), or your menu/reservation listing (if applicable to your business)
  • At the time of this writing, Google Tag advertising is only available in California, Atlanta, Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, and Washington DC
    • The first states after these will be Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Washington, and Colorado
    • All other states are expected to come online shortly
    • Where do I find out if I can use Tags? Go into your business listings dashboards and look for the feature.

Google tags in Google Places dashboard

Also announced with Google Tags is the ability to advertise locally with its Post feature within your Google Places listing. Your message can be changed whenever you want and are a good way to tell your community about new products, specials, or other recent news about your business. The post will show up only on your Google Places page but as mentioned above, you can advertise your posts via Google Tags. If you elect to do so, your post will also show up in Google search results when your listing appears there.

Posts feature in Google Places dashboard

We would love to hear your feedback on your use of Google Tags for your business.



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Posted in Local Search / Google Places, Pay Per Click Marketing | No Comments »

Google Places Updates Dashboard But We Still Want Google Analytics Integration

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

It looks like Google Places made a couple minor changes today to their dashboard interface. Besides a slight design change incorporating good use of background contrast, the big modifications were:

1) Showing some statistics right in the dashboard

Google Places Statistics in Dashboard2) An alert bar and status messages for individual business listings

Google Places Actions in Dashboard

Subtle but decent improvements nonetheless.  Google also updated their help document to reflect these changes. As I mentioned when the new dashboard first came out, I still wish they would integrate your Google Places pre-click data with your Google Analytics account (similar to AdWords and AdSense).  Fingers crossed.



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Custom Links Allowed in Additional Details Section of your Google Places Listing

Friday, May 28th, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

With the rebranding of the Google Local Business Center to Google Places, several new features have been put in place. In my last post I talked about specifying your business’s service area. In this post I want to talk about placing custom links within the details section of your listing.  This is a very simple thing to do but can be extremely beneficial for various types of businesses.  Many examples I have seen across the web use restaurants to show their menu or to book reservations.  Good idea and those are likely the most common but really anyone can use them.  Advertise your specials or deals or promote your social media pages. Whatever direct links…you choose.

Below is an example of what I mean from our client, Grappone Honda. Here we placed direct links to their pre-owned inventory, schedule service page, and several of their specials pages.

Example of google places custom links

In our second example from another client, Air Conditioning by Jay, you can see their custom links promote their Facebook and Twitter initiatives along with a quick link to scheduling service ASAP (very appreciative this time of year in Phoenix).

AC by Jay example of Google Places custom links

Setup is simple (assuming you have claimed your Google Places listing…you have, right?). First, locate the Additional Details section at the bottom of your Google Places listing.  Next, enter what the anchor text should say (aka words that will be displayed) in the first column and enter your link in the second column.  Click submit and verify the change was made.  Anyone have any good custom link examples they are using? Please share in the comments.

Google Places custom link setup



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Specify Your Business’s Service Area within your Google Places Listing

Thursday, May 13th, 2010 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

Did anyone notice that you can specify a service area in your Google Places Listing? Google Maps began rolling out this feature in late March with little publicity. This is quite a feature for businesses that want to publicize the different locations they serve; a great feature for businesses that will come to a home or for businesses that are actually based out of a home.  Service areas listings give access to areas on the map where you may not have a physical address.  For example, your business address may be in Tempe, Arizona, but in reality you can service any location within the Phoenix metro area.

Anyone can change their business service area by logging into their Google Places account and editing your business listing.  Look for the section labeled “Service Areas and Location Settings”.   Below we are using an example from a WebShare client that sells custom doors and windows in the Orange County area.  As you can see, you can choose between specifying a radial distance from your location or simply listing the locations you want to show that you serve.  If you have multiple business locations, be sure to edit all of them.

Distance from one location view:

Google Places distance from one location

List of areas served view:

Google Places areas served

Below you can see an example of what a listing will look like in Google Maps.  This client has four showroom locations but obviously they install door and windows anywhere within Orange County. Now customers can clearly see what areas Renaissance services if they are shopping for a door and window contractor.

Google maps view of areas served Renaissance Doors and Windows

Did anyone notice that you can now specify a service area in your Google Local Business Listing? Google Maps began rolling out this feature in late March with not much publicity. This is quite a feature for businesses that want to publicize the different locations they serve; a great feature for businesses that will come to a home or for businesses that are actually based out of a home. Service areas listings give access to areas on the map where you may not have a physical address. For example, your business address may be in Tempe, Arizona, but in reality you can service any location within the Phoenix metro area.

Anyone can change their business service area by logging into their Google Local Business Center and editing your business listing. Look for the section labeled “Service Areas and Location Settings”. Below we are using an example from a WebShare client that sells custom doors and windows in the Orange County area. As you can see, you can choose between specifying a distance from your location or simply listing the locations you want to show that you serve. If you have multiple business location listings, be sure to edit all of them.

LBC-radius.jpgLBC-listareas.jpg

Below you can see an example of what a listing will look like in Google Maps. This client has four showroom locations but obviously they install door and windows anywhere within Orange County. Now customers can clearly see what areas Renaissance services if they are shopping for a door and window contractor.



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Posted in Local Search / Google Places, Search Marketing, Website Promotion & LinkBuilding | 2 Comments »

New Dashboard in Google’s Local Business Center Extends Your Analytics

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 by Dave Reichenbacher
Google Buzz

Google announced their new Local Business Center dashboard today.  Many businesses use Google’s local business search in hopes of driving traffic to their store locations or web site.  The new dashboard feature allows business owners to see how local business listings in Google are performing.  Providing this data extends one’s analytics by allowing you to see pre-click data for local business results.  Our hope is that this is a step toward integrating local business listing pre-click data and Google Analytics data.

Local business listings can be found by searching either Google.com or  Google Maps.  On Google.com, if Google is able to identify a local keyword, they will show a map result along with organic and paid search results.  The listings next to the map results come from local business listings. The new dashboard shows local business listing impressions, actions, top search queries and the zip codes used in driving directions.  This can be invaluable data for business owners to better understand and utilize their local business listings.  In the past, this data was extremely limited and not very useful.  More in depth demonstrations are available from Google or Greg Sterling’s blog post.

Google Local Business Center Dashboard

Our hope and request is that Google will continue with this dashboard concept and take it one step further by allowing the integration of one’s local business listing account with their Google Analytics account.  This would prove to be very useful, similar to the way Google AdWords and more recently AdSense linking to Analytics has proven to be.  As we have seen with AdWords, allocating pre-click data into GA can further help you measure your ROI in a multitude of marketing mediums.  If you haven’t already set your business up with a local business listing this new dashboard is a great incentive to get things going.



Dave Reichenbacher
DR directs program management and operations at WebShare. He also is one of our Seminars for Success instructors and has an affinity toward local search marketing. You can find out more about Dave here.

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Posted in Google Analytics, Local Search / Google Places | 1 Comment »