The Search Is Now Over - Google Local Places Makes It Easy For You

A significant change took place in late 2010 in how Google handles local searches.

For decades it had remarked that one in five of the searches individuals did on their search engine were locally oriented. While folks needed specific information about a large number of different topics, a strong minority were looking for local information, usually in the form of finding their local butcher, baker and candlestick makers.

Google has always been experimenting with its mapping capabilities and Gps system combined with its superior access to the universe of data online. Today, Google is able to determine the physical location of your computer when you do a search. It also is aware of the physical locations of all the businesses in its data base. Consequently, it can plot their relative proximity to you when you (or a potential customer) perform a search.

Google has made its way into the behemoth it is by stressing one particular goal: providing the browser with the most relevant information possible in response to their search. Google Local Places is just one more major step they have taken to dominate the search market, by providing its users the relevant information they want.

This has been an evolving functionality. Until recently, if someone looked for a "chiropractor" on Google, or any of the other search engines, they would get millions of possible results. The first page of results might display a national chiropractor institute, or possibly individual firms in New York or Los Angeles. Seldom would the searcher see a result from their immediate area. This caused the individual looking to modify their search to something like, "chiropractor, Minneapolis." When they did that, the outcomes were much better. Websites would be listed which incorporated both terms, and thus more relevant to the Minneapolitan who was looking for a chiropractor.

The whole industry had sprung up called Search Engine Optimization or "SEO" to help businesses win the battle to show up on that first page of Google results. I and other SEO experts advised businesses to get their web sites to show up for local terms having, 'long tail geographical keywords.' That's why I named my consulting business, Minneapolis Internet Marketing Consultant and picked a url for my web site of MinneapolisInternetMarketingConsultant dot com.

It worked well for me and for many businesses. Now those of us in the market know a variety of additional steps that a business can take to get their web site placed at the top of the search engine results. These fall under two general categories, on page and off page factors. These still matter when a business chooses to get itself or a product line ranked in the organic results on Google and also the other search engines. (Organic results are the natural search results that Google finds for any given search as opposed to the paid ads.)

They remain particularly relevant to non local companies, national brands, etc that cannot take advantage of the local internet search gambit discussed here. These are beyond the scope of this report. Typically, local businesses can get on the top page of Google results just by paying attention to the details I will be outlining in the coming pages. They still remain powerful and crucial in highly competitive fields and markets. For many "main street businesses, mastering Google local places will be enough to help you get the lion's share of the available visibility in your marketplace.

So now you may ask how to get on Google maps. That's another story in this ongoing series.

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