Iain
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Ranking higher in Google Places can help increase traffic to your website and doesn't require any technical knowledge. Follow this guide and you'll be getting more traffic in no time.
I'll be adding to this guide to ranking higher in Google Places, so keep an eye on here and check back once a week!
The first step you need to complete is to sign up with some respected online directories. You don't need to pay for these but there are paid subscriptions available if you want to hurry things up.
FreeIndex
This is my absolute favourite directory as it allows you to get a high quality, PR7 link to your website. You can also place deep-links to specific pages of your website. FreeIndex have a ranking system that's determined PURELY on how many reviews you have.
Yelp
This directory is very similar to FreeIndex but you can't place deep-links but the one link you do get is good quality. Google take a LOT of notice when businesses are listed here.
Once you've signed up to these directories, be sure to complete your profile as much as possible. Upload photos and as much information as you possibly can. Once this is done, email the link to your page to your customers and ask them to leave a review.
Don't forget that Google Places itself also accept reviews...
One important point to note with FreeIndex and Yelp is that you CANNOT leave reviews yourself. If you do, they'll know and you run the risk of getting banned. If you ARE going to leave reviews yourself, say if a customer emails you feedback and you won't to upload it, use a different company and internet connection.
BrownBook
One of the less known directories in the UK but Google take note if your business is listed with these guys. It should only take 30 minutes to make a complete profile from scratch and will influence your ranking on Google Places. Register for BrownBook and then add your business or claim your page if it's already there. This directory lets you get some deep links, upload images and photos. It also has a quick and straight forward sign up process.
Press Releases
Writing a press release isn't as daunting as it seems and they're a great way of saying "hey Google, over here!". There's hundreds of companies that can offer a publishing service for press releases but the best one I've seen so far is PR Log who offer a free submission service as well as a paid service. I've used both and I've seen better results with the paid version but the free is great too.
Article Writing
This requires a little bit of time and some writing skill but it's within reach of almost anyone. Write an article on something relevant to the service you provide and plant some links within the article to your website. As an example, I wrote an article on Professional Window Cleaning on Squidoo. You could also use EzineArticles or HubPages as these all provide SEO benefits and are free to use.
Time
This is your absolute best friend when managing your Search Engine Optimisation campaign. However, it can also be your worst enemy, since you have no control over this. Be patient with your SEO and once your website and it's incoming links have aged, you'll start to see an increase in your search rank.
I'll be adding to this guide to ranking higher in Google Places, so keep an eye on here and check back once a week!
The first step you need to complete is to sign up with some respected online directories. You don't need to pay for these but there are paid subscriptions available if you want to hurry things up.
FreeIndex
This is my absolute favourite directory as it allows you to get a high quality, PR7 link to your website. You can also place deep-links to specific pages of your website. FreeIndex have a ranking system that's determined PURELY on how many reviews you have.
Yelp
This directory is very similar to FreeIndex but you can't place deep-links but the one link you do get is good quality. Google take a LOT of notice when businesses are listed here.
Once you've signed up to these directories, be sure to complete your profile as much as possible. Upload photos and as much information as you possibly can. Once this is done, email the link to your page to your customers and ask them to leave a review.
Don't forget that Google Places itself also accept reviews...
One important point to note with FreeIndex and Yelp is that you CANNOT leave reviews yourself. If you do, they'll know and you run the risk of getting banned. If you ARE going to leave reviews yourself, say if a customer emails you feedback and you won't to upload it, use a different company and internet connection.
BrownBook
One of the less known directories in the UK but Google take note if your business is listed with these guys. It should only take 30 minutes to make a complete profile from scratch and will influence your ranking on Google Places. Register for BrownBook and then add your business or claim your page if it's already there. This directory lets you get some deep links, upload images and photos. It also has a quick and straight forward sign up process.
Press Releases
Writing a press release isn't as daunting as it seems and they're a great way of saying "hey Google, over here!". There's hundreds of companies that can offer a publishing service for press releases but the best one I've seen so far is PR Log who offer a free submission service as well as a paid service. I've used both and I've seen better results with the paid version but the free is great too.
Article Writing
This requires a little bit of time and some writing skill but it's within reach of almost anyone. Write an article on something relevant to the service you provide and plant some links within the article to your website. As an example, I wrote an article on Professional Window Cleaning on Squidoo. You could also use EzineArticles or HubPages as these all provide SEO benefits and are free to use.
Time
This is your absolute best friend when managing your Search Engine Optimisation campaign. However, it can also be your worst enemy, since you have no control over this. Be patient with your SEO and once your website and it's incoming links have aged, you'll start to see an increase in your search rank.