The Google Search Engines know when a business claims their Google Places and ranks those businesses higher in searches then unclaimed Places. The links you put in Google Places to your website increase your inbound link score with Google and increases the ranking of your web page. An active Google Places gets more reviews and more reviews increases your ranking.
Once you’ve claimed your Business’ Google Places you can access the statistics. There you can see how many people have seen your business place page; see the top search queries and the number of impressions; the number of people who clicked on the map, requested directions or went to your website; you can even see where people are driving from.
You can make promotional coupons that customers can print out or download to their mobile phones. You can promote specials or sales and they are free. Google Places provides each listed place with a unique bar code or QR Code. When these are scanned by a mobile phone the potential customer is taken immediately to the business’ mobile Place Page on Google where they can read reviews, get coupons or find directions.
Even businesses that do not have a physical location will benefit from the increased SEO benefits and this will give your business one more opportunity to be found. For this same reason individual business owners should claim their Google Profile so they can link to and promote their business. Claim your Google Places today. For a step-by-step guide on how to claim your Google Place download the free e-book Claiming Your Google Places from Image Media Partners.