Google’s new Place-to-Place navigation
There’s something new on the block in Google Places
It’s not real obvious and if Google wants to make a splash with it, they need to hire a better usability designer, but it is there just the same and could possibly make an impact on your bottom line if you are a local business hoping to capitalize on your 1st place position in the 7 pack.
(In case “7 pack” leaves you scratching your head in wonderment, that refers to those listings with the red pin for local search queries.)
Take a look.
You might have to look real hard to find it so I’ve circled the Place-to-Place navigation links in red.
Where do those links lead you?
Do this. Go to maps.Google.com and search on “San Jose, CA health insurance agency” as an example or any other local query. Google will pull up a list of business Place pages in order of what they consider to be the best results for your query. Now click on any title in the list. From here if you click the Place-to-Place navigation link pointing to the left, you’ll be taken to the previous Place page. Click the one to the right, and you’ll go to the next.
Google’s Place-to-Place navigation – An easy way to “window shop”
As you can see, Place-to-Place navigation provides an easy way to “stroll down the street,” so to speak, and comparison shop amongst all the local listings that match your search criteria. As internet marketers or business owners we may not like the easy access to competitors, but this is a plus for shoppers as it makes it easier for them to find the best service or product.
How should SEOs, internet marketers and business owners respond?
Online businesses, search engine optimization specialists, and internet marketers can easily fall into the trap of thinking that being at the top of Google is most important. Place-to-Place navigation is here to reaffirm that it’s not.
As I’ve always said, online businesses and their marketing consultants need to “CHASE CUSTOMERS – NOT RANK.” And now since your Place page is in a lineup where you are EASILY being compared side by side with your competitor, you need to be even more diligent about making your Place page and your business stand out from the pack – the same as you would have to do if you had a direct competitor located around the corner from you.
Are you doing that?
- Are the words you’ve chosen to describe your business appealing?
- What about your pictures or videos? Do they speak positively about you, your service, or your products?
- And how about reviews? Have you been diligent in contacting happy customers to get them to leave positive testimonials for you?
- Do you have a promotion or a coupon that you can advertise on your Place page?
Thanks to your Place page in Google or your local page in Bing, your customers are sizing you up even before they land on your website. This is even more true now that there are so many local searches in mobile dev1ices like cell phones. What will your customers think about you? Does your Place page cut the muster? Does it compel your visitors to want to click through to your website, or better yet, call you?
Remember – Being the first one on the block isn’t so important. It’s being the best that counts.
Now get back to work and do just that. Be the best that you can be.
Wondering how you can stand out in the crowd and how you can project that you are the best in your class? Stay tuned to this blog where we’ll be passing on some Place page optimization tips as well as other ways to catapult your online business – not just to the top – but to success.
Don’t want to go it alone? Kat & Mouse specializes in local search optimization. We have affordable service and consulting options available to help local businesses which we’ll be unveiling publicly on this website in the days to come. But no need to wait. Give us a call today at (408) 694-3706 and we can get you on the road to success immediately.
Special thanks to one of my favorite local search specialists, Mike Blumenthal, for bringing this new Google Place feature to my attention.
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Tags: Google Maps, Local Directories, Local SEO
