Google+ Local – Should You Sign Up?
Ever since Google got rid of Google Places and replaced it with Google+ Local, it’s been hard to ignore. Any time you’re looking for a local business using Google, it’s inevitable that at the top of your search results you will find Google+ Local listings.
At first I was annoyed with the amount of screen real estate that they were taking up in the search results, although that’s not entirely new. For searches like restaurants, you will find a full page of Google+ Local listings before you get to the actual search results.
Should You Sign Up for Google+ Local?
If you own a business with a brick and mortar location and you haven’t already signed up for your Google+ Local listing, you might be asking yourself; “Is it worth it?” For many business owners, they see it as just ANOTHER online account that they need to manage. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and now Google+ Local. What next?
Judging by how relevant the Google+ Local listings are and how prevalent they are in Google’s search results,you definitely don’t want to ignore Google+ Local. If customers are searching for you and your competitors are all listed on Google+ Local, you’re going to miss out on business. There’s a good chance that your customers may not even get to the search results at all, and if you’re near the bottom of the page, or worse, on page 2, you don’t stand a chance. The good news is that there may already be a Google+ Local page created for your business and all you need to do is claim it.
There are a few exceptions to who should sign up for Google+ Local.
– If you don’t want to pay your mortgage or rent, don’t sign up for Google+ Local.
– If your kids don’t need to eat, don’t sign up for Google+ Local.
– If you enjoy watching your customers go elsewhere, don’t sign up for Google+ Local.
– If you don’t want your happy customers talking about your business, don’t sign up for Google+ Local.
That’s about it.
Bottom line: If you own a local business with a physical location that you want people to visit, you better take a few minutes and sign up for Google+ Local.
