Tips for small businesses trying to advertise on Google Local Business Center

Any business owner or service provider doing business locally will want to advertise their business in the Google Local Business Directory, popularly called Google Maps. This awesome directory automatically appears whenever a website user starts a search that includes a product name and locale.

Google will then automatically display a map of the area at the top of Page 1, with the location of the store indicated by the presence of bright red drop-shaped arrows protruding from the map. Local businesses that provide the service are listed to the right of the map with their phone number and address.

The local listing continues on page 2 and google reviews buy beyond, but business owners quickly realized the value of page one listings. Business owners reportedly clear huge sums, over 1/4 million dollars a year, in revenue generated by the top listings in this free directory!

With such high revenue at stake, it's no surprise that competition for the highest bids has increased dramatically, with many firms submitting multiple bids and some shop owners using "gimmicks" to get ahead. The listings have become so popular in recent days that some search categories, such as house cleaning in Los Angeles, show 300,000 or more listings.

So how can a marketer who is not very computer savvy get the best placement in this important directory? First you need to fill out an application. You need a Gmail account and an hour or two of free time. If you don't have Gmail, filling out the form only takes 2 minutes. No need to verify your new Gmail account