What's the difference between Google Places and Google+ Local?

What's the difference between Google Places and Google+ Local?

UPDATE - 2/2014

Changes to Google Places. Be sure to login and confirm your settings on Google Places. 

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Just when many real estate agents were getting on board with claiming their business on Google Places, there is now Google+ Local - the upgraded version of Places.  Same concept, but with more features and more customizable.  Instead of being a standalone business listing with Places, it's now integrated into the Google+ system.

If you already have a Places listing set up, you must get into Google+ and clean up your profile.  Google+ is a great opportunity for branding.  This is your opportunity to hone in on your brand, what makes you special, and market it!

Some of the Pros for using Google+ Local are:

1. Google+ Local is indexed, meaning a huge increase in SEO potential for your company since Local pages are integrated in Google search results and Google Maps.

2.Google+ Local is more dynamic than the static Places page.  With enhanced features you can interact with your customer and personalize the experience.  You are able to build a following and communicate with them.   

3. Google+ Local Reviews are more robust.  Instead of the flat 5 star rating system, a more complex rating system will allow consumers rate various aspects of your service. 

4. Android users on the go will find you first!  Think of the possibilities.  Buyers new in town driving around looking at homes and they Google the neighborhood they like.  Since you have blogged about it - Hyperlocal Marketing - and you posted it on Blogger and Google+, maybe even made a YouTube video about the neighborhood, your Local Page is what they will see first! 

Don't fight it.  Google isn't going anywhere and you can bet they are going to keep working on Google+ and making it better.  Make it your 2013 New Year's Resolution to get on board. 

If you are feeling a little overwhelmed, give us a call.  We'll get you set up in no time.

Google+ - Use It!

The Google+ experiment, launched as a dip into the world dominated by Facebook, and has had some kinks to work out. But leave it to Google to continually improve and evolve.

There are many components to Google+ and it is literally changing faster than I can type this blog. We are finding success, from an SEO standpoint, using Google+ and Blogger in conjunction to get localized content out there on the web in a way that can be shared and searched.

Posting in Blogger and then sharing it "Public" on Google+ will get your post noticed in the search engines. Of course it needs to be optimized, tagged and have good content too.

Google+ has options to post to certain circles or publicly - if you haven't built any circles and you are just using it for blogging to start, post Publicly and it will be viewable by anyone who wants to see it and also may appear in search results - if properly optimized.

Find local businesses in the area and +1 them. (Similar to the Like on Facebook). It's a great networking tool.

You should also add +1 to your website and blogs so people can share your info too!

For Real Estate Agents especially, this is an amazing tool for honing in on your Hyperlocal Marketing and getting noticed online.

We suggest getting on board with it now, even in a small way. It will pay off.

We can help you set up a Google+ profile and a Blogger site and start blogging for you. CONTACT US TODAY

Is Active Rain Worth Upgrading to a RainMaker Account?

We have clients ask us all the time if it's worth getting a RainMaker account on Active Rain.  Our answer is YES - IF you are actually going to Blog and Blog with purpose.  Otherwise it's just $49.00 down the drain.  That's the simple answer.

Now the questions is, "How do I blog with purpose?"  In order for an Active Rain Blog - or any Blog for that matter - to be ranked and noticed, it must be purposeful and provide specific information.  We have found that the most successful Blog posts are those that are neighborhood specific.  Again, as we have said before - Hyperlocal Marketing is key.

Here is a Blog post we did for a client in October.  It is now on Page 1 of Google and it actually was on Page 1 rather quickly.  Key Word Search "Alyson Pond Homes for Sale".  He has a paid RainMaker account, meaning that his posts can be viewed by the public.  A free Active Rain account can only be seen by members of Active Rain.

 
Click on the picture above to see the actual Blog Post.  Notice in the post we repeated the title of the Blog several times.  We also included links to his website, social media sites, the neighborhood HOA, and other local links to create relevancy and legitimacy.  We also created a search in Wolfnet to link visitors to homes for sale in that neighborhood.  We also created a short video and inserted it into the post.

This is just one example of creating a Hyperlocal Blog Post. We have many techniques to get your Blog and website noticed.  Active Rain is a great tool - if you use it.  Posting one or two posts every once in a while is not going to give you a return on your monthly investment.  You need to be consistent, purposeful and provide good content.

It may sound easy, but the reality is that the days and the weeks get away from you and all good intentions go out the window.  It is time consuming and tedious, but it works.  Let us do this for you and you will see results.

March 2014 - Update since this post as published. We are having great success with Blog posts in Blogger that are being shared on Google+ and Google Communities. Although Active Rain does rank well - Blogger is free, with great results. Either way, adding key word friendly content consistently is key.

CONTACT US TODAY TO GET STARTED!