Listing as a Local Business Pays Off

Ever heard of the ? No? It could be worth investigating. For one US broker, listing his business with Google paid off in a big way.

about.com real estate blogger James Kimmons explains: since his “tiny” real estate brokerage was listed on Google’s Local Business Centre, he was included amongst around 100,000 businesses across around 5,000 US locations amed one of Google’s Favourite Places.

Kimmons was then sent a window decal to promote his business, which included a customised QR code – a barcode that can be scanned by smart phones – to give passers-by instant access to information about his business.

Google outlines how the process works in this video:

Google chose these Favourite Places from businesses that were regularly found and queried on Google Maps. “Content, lots of video, and hundreds of images all on my blog-based website is what I attribute it to, as my brokerage is one of the smallest in the area,” says Kimmons.

Since the first round of window decals has already been sent out, local businesses have some time to update and promote their Business Centre listings before more are released. Google says they haven’t yet decided whether they will expand Favourite Places beyond the US, but there are advantages to listing on the Local Business Centre even if your business isn’t US-based.

The reasoning is simple: this is another way to get your business noticed, especially as many people now use Google Maps as something of a Yellow Pages replacement. The process of listing is also straightforward. Businesses create a free profile on the Local Business Centre that shows everything from their opening hours to the types of credit cards they accept. As this video explains, traffic to your listing can also be analysed to help you target your advertising:

So what’s motivating Google to focus on smaller businesses? cnet.com’s Tom Krazit explains:

“Much has been made of Google’s interest in courting the big-name advertisers of the corporate world, but the company is also very interested in the mom-and-pop stores of the world, which fit nicely into its strategy of delivering targeted advertising to specific niches.”

If you’re an agent with a Google Local Business Centre listing, let us know whether it has been beneficial to you.

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5. Ads Coming to Street View?
6. How to Add Your Business to Facebook Places
7. How to Respond to Google Reviews
8. Google Highlights Hotpot: What Does it Say About You?
9. As Google Changes, it Pays to Check Your Rankings