Instead of the phone book, people go to their computer or their mobile phones and search for what ever needed online. If you want to do business with them, you have to put yourself on the results page of that search. You definitely have to know how to get on Google maps.

Now there are lots of challenges in doing that. Not the least of which is finding out which keywords or inquiry your customer would actually use in their search for you. If you're a plumber and only appear when people search for the word "plumber" you're going to miss people searching for help to repair their "water heater," or "leaky pipes."

Probably the biggest mistake made by less experienced web marketers is a tendency to not spend time doing keyword research. This is specifically important for national campaigns, but also applies to local businesses as well. Finally, when you establish your Google Places listing, you will be able to claim up to five categories for your company.

For some that will be sufficient, for others it won't begin to include the diversity of their product options. You know your business better than anyone. Often this can be a handicap in terms of identifying the keywords your prospective new customer might use to look for you. They don't know your business as well and may find some pretty roundabout means of finding you.

There are numerous paid keyword tools that SEO specialists will use to help in this approach. But I normally use a free tool that Google offers to do keyword research. It sometimes provides useful insights that amaze business owners, so I will explain how I use it in a moment. But first I would like to make a point about a significant distinction about advertising online as opposed to the old yellow pages times.

Yellow page advertising was often a bit expensive and while you might get your business listed in several categories doing so also multiplied the charge. As a result many businesses limited their listings to one or two categories at the most. It is not needed to do so online.

For organic search you can and must have a separate web page for each major line of product or category. For Google Places you are in a position to list five categories. You need to do your best to make use of all five. Doing this is part of the solution to how to get on Google maps when your prospects search for one of these categories.

If you are a divorce lawyer and nothing else that you do, you should take note of the major different key phrases people might use when they search for a divorce lawyer. If you additionally do criminal work, or property planning, or adoption work, you will need to choose which five topics are most critical to you and your job.

If you are a plumber as in my earlier example you need to look at the major different purposes a new customer could be looking for your services. If sump pump repair work is a prosperous portion of your business you may well have to include that over say leaky pipes if they are likely less profitable or less desired line of business

These are just some of the major ideas you need to understand when studying how to get on Google maps.

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