Using Google Maps to Increase Visibility

While working to improve a client's organic rankings, there are other things you can encourage your client to do to improve their visibility in the search engines. Getting listed on Google Maps is one way to increase exposure. Millions of consumers use Google Maps to search for a variety of products and services.

Google Maps is free of charge, and easy to use. Simply set up an account and fill in your business information. Got multiple locations? You can set up a separate listing for each by uploading a data file.

Just last month Google Local Business Center was updated to include new features. You can now add photos to your listing instead of Google selecting them for you. You can now choose to add custom attributes (which vary by industry). For example, if you were a restaurant owner your attributes would be ambiance, average price, etc.

Google Maps even offers statistics on how many people viewed and clicked on your listing. Create free Google coupons through the Local Business Center and attract even more customers!

For more information on navigating these new features check out this very thorough Google Maps tutorial by Barry Schwartz or visit Mike Blumenthal's blog for tons of info on Google Maps and Yahoo Local Search.