Google’s Place Pages Will Help Your Footprint

Google launched Place Pages last week, a wiki-like web page for every business and place in the US.

There is nothing especially innovative here, considering for Google’s knack for blowing us away with product features. What is important to note about this launch is how it might help your marketing efforts and search engine placement.

Whenever new social service launches, it usually makes sense to secure your business or brand name for a few reasons:

(1) Social foot print:
If you have a consistent presence across most of the Trusted sites like YouTube, LinkedIn, Yelp, etc, it makes it easy for your fans to connect with you and find you. The only way to get the same username on all services is to make sure you sign up right away, even if you don’t plan on using it. Having a deep social footprint (with strong connections, that link to your domain) will empower you to place higher than you would without one, for most keywords.

(2) Get known as an early adopter
When there are only a few people on a new service, the first adopters generally standout. When you import your fans from from other services, you will notice the same gang of innovators and influencers. When you are a business that adopts these technologies first, you will often find marketing bloggers linking to you out of recognition. Early adopters generally have good SEO placement, and there is an indirect correlation there.

(3) Trusted Links
The more trusted sites you have linking back to your main domain, the better your search placement will be. And, when that site linking back to you is GOOGLE, even better! Google Place Pages will help you rank for your business name, if you don’t already.

Each of these pages will apparently have a unique URL but will not be directly indexed in organic results. They will only appear via Maps and Local search, which does get highlighted in Google search above the traditional results.

To sign up for Google Place Pages, search for your business on Google maps, and look for the “EDIT” button in the listing bubble that pops up.