Creative way to secure local addresses for Google Places?
-
For those of us that operate business in other areas that we technically dont have an "address" in... are there any creative ideas/ways anyone has run across in securing a physical address that you can use for local listing?
I have already tried the virtual office type of companies, and their inventory is limited to major metropolitan areas.
-
I know of a company that likely worked out a deal with a chain of rent to own furniture stores and were able to get Google Places listings with their own unique local phone numbers at each physical address across the state of Texas. I notice now they do not have the places listings they once had? Maybe they did not hide their physical address as they should have since customers purchase online rather than come into store and Google shut all their places listings down. Not real sure. Also a lot of their local domains they bought do not seem to come up number 1, 2, 3 spots anymore. They appear on page 2 - 5 on Google although their main domain ranks for things well still.
-
Hi Ryan,
I think maybe you're right in that I'm not understanding the scenario you are describing (i.e., I don't know what your business does). The thing is, if you sell some type of a package to a bunch of real estate offices (just as an example) that doesn't mean you get to say you are located there. Now, if you were actually putting staff at the real estate offices and were getting a dedicated suite number and phone number within the office building for said staff, that would be akin to medical practices with multiple doctors in them. I'm not sure this if this is what you are describing, though. I'm not sure how much detail you are able to provide. More would be helpful.
-
Miriam-
I think you are assuming that I want to game the system, which is not the case. There are plenty of scenarios where securing a local address in a partnership with someone would be a great idea. i liked your post by the way, but in my case it actually strengthens the purpose:
I will have a local listing that does not accept customers at the location- hide the address and partner with a trusted source in areas that I do service. This is a perfectly legit plan, but need help executing.
-
Hi Guys,
I can't recommend attempting to secure addresses where you aren't physically located. Honesty is the best policy with this...if Google thinks something is fishy, their hammer is swift in falling and unforgiving. Also, be sure to take note on this new policy change if you are dealing with go-to-client-type business models:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/why-you-may-need-to-hide-your-google-places-address-asap
Rather than spending effort/time/money on getting addresses, my advice would be to hire a copywriter to start gunning for secondary organic rankings for all of your service locations. It's not only allowed, but it can really work.
-
Thmbs up'd. Love the idea! Not super easy to execute but could be very well it.
-
Please do! You can PM me here on SEOMOZ.
-
Agree on the value. I am probably going to hire/outsource someone to just focus on this task for me over the next few months.... well worth the money.
I will think about the franchise. The only slight issue I have there is that I am looking at a lot of small town places, so that may be hard. But worth a shot for sure.
One other idea I came up with that would work well for others (not myself because of competition) is real estate offices. Most franchises has locations in town, and the realtors run their own offices.
Will let you know what I find out on both ends.
-
I have never tried it, but I've also been pondering on the best method for this same subject. I'm not saying it would be easy but think about it.
You only have to cut one deal, with one major company that has a multitude of locations and your set.
Shoot! It could end up being worth it even if you hired a professional sales team to close that deal for you with the head honcho.
Many companies know the value an SEO company can bring to there business.
-
Thanks for the idea. have you done this before? The only worry i have with larger chains/franchises is that they would have to "run it up the flagpole" and i would get lost in the red tape. Has this worked for you though? I like the idea.
-
Piggyback on a franchise that has many locations by offering them some type of package deal of your services as an exchange.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Can we use Youtube Videos of google webmaster on blog post?
Is it okay to embed YouTube videos of channel which we don't own? For example, I have written a blog on enabling event search in Google Analytics and Google Webmasters YouTube channel has a video based on those steps. I am looking to add that video in my blog.
Branding | | Ravi_Rana0 -
Google Analytics During Rebranding
Our organization is rebranding, should I start a new analytics property or change the domain in the old one?
Branding | | sdaily0 -
Doing two Google Local Listings for the Same Business
So I have a question. I'm working on an auto dealer's website and we're trying to gear their service center toward the general public (rather than just one brand - IE Honda, GMC, Buick). We have created a subdomain for the service page, and I was wondering if we could create a unique Google Plus page for it, in an effort to help its rank. Since the auto service center is on site at the dealership, I did not know if this would hurt us. Does anyone have experience dealing with this issue? Thank you!
Branding | | OOMDODigital0 -
Google +
Hello mozzers , We manage a website for a client This is the website: http://www.mynaughtyscotland.com . [editor's note: site for escorts in Scotland, may not be safe for some workplaces]They recently got penalized but they don't have links so is not a penguin update.The client said that they noticed the drops in rank after they had their Google + account suspended.So the question is, if you have your google + account conected to the website by the rel="publisher" tag,And your google + account gets suspended, will you be getting your site penalized as well ?
Branding | | asmedia0 -
Why has Google started to re-write my page titles?
Since earlier this week I've noticed that Google has started to re-write several of our page titles and I'm not entirely sure why - does anyone have any info? We are a UK business and currently have top spot for the keyword 'toilet cubicles' - however, our index.html page title has changed as follows: FROM: Toilet Cubicles | WC Panel Systems for Washrooms | Cubicle Centre TO: Cubicle Centre: Toilet Cubicles | WC Panel Systems for Washrooms Is this Google favouring a more brand-led approach to search? Be interesting to hear everyone's thoughts... Cheers, Craig.
Branding | | cubicle_Craig0 -
Splitting our main website in Two... What is the fastest way for the new sites to become a brand in Googles eyes.
In a couple weeks our main website (which generates all of the revenue) will be split into two because of a long term branding / identity crisis. So my question is, how can i make sure (besides obvious 301 redirects) that these 2 new fresh urls become a brand as quick as possible in googles eyes? So far i am thinking of things like: press releases, blog posts with brand mentions. I am not ignorant and expect this to happen overnight, but we need a strong foundation to build on, which is why i am asking Anyone got a list / case study / advise so I can really blow it up on launch week? Thanks 🙂
Branding | | Hyrule0 -
Is Google having trouble determining between two of my brand sites
I have a couple brand sites that our company uses and a couple of weeks ago one started to suddenly show up in the #1 position while searching for the other site via its brand. If I search for "collegexpress" our other site careersandcolleges.com is in the #1 possition. If I search for "collegexpress.com" it shows carrersandcolleges.com's title and description but links to www.collegexpress.com Could I have something messed up or is google confused with our two sites? In the past I am told that CollegeXpress referred to the careersandcolleges.com page but that has been there for many many years and this SERP change only started to show the first week in march of this year. I looked and there are a handfull of anchor text links from external sites using some form of the "CollegeXpress" brand linking to www.careersandcolleges.com but not that many, and they are not new. If I do a search the other way for "careersandcolleges" I see it correctly return is own site #1 but www.collegexpress.com is shown to me as #3. I checked and we dont have any redirects or mod rewrites between the two sites. They are on two different IPs Any help that can point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Branding | | GeorgeLaRochelle0 -
Can we submit Press release to Google news
Hello, Can we submit Press release to Google news ? If yes, is there any criteria for Google news to accept the Press release ? Is there any benefit in this ? Thanks
Branding | | seoug_20050