How To Setup Google Maps
Google Maps - Roadblocks to Organic Search
I have been noticing lately that Google Maps is blocking the equivalent of the first three listings in some organic search query results. As you can see from the example below, the area boxed in red is the space taken up by Google maps. The search phrase that was used for the SERP was "freight trucking".
If your company relies on organic search for business, I would make sure your company has registered for a free Google maps listing. The process takes about 15 minutes since you have to carefully identify your business. Then when you have completed all the data required, you can opt to receive a phone call to verify your listing to expedite your listing submission.
Google Maps Verification Phone Call
One of the problems with Google Maps is that the verification call is automated. So, if your business has an automated attendant, meaning an IVR message that requires a caller to press a button to navigate to a person, the Google validation call fails.
It's amazing that Google has opted for a system that will fail 70% of the time for B top B customers. The phone number in your listing is the one they call so if you use your direct dial or cell number, you'll have that posted for everyone to see.
In my experience, most large businesses have an IVR or a bank of people answering the phone. Small companies with one phone line are excluded of course, but how are large companies going to coordinate a verification call from Google that may be picked up by a call center oversees?
So, the postcard verification option is a choice for those companies that have an IVR. Google says that it takes a few weeks to get the card out to you. In my experience, at least 40% of the postcards never reach the recipient on the first try. This means that you are taking extra time to re-request a postcard and hopefully, verify your Google Maps listing.
Be patient, because we believe that it will be well worth your time investment to make sure you are listed on Google maps. Since "top of the fold" search real estate is valuable, you will want to be in the "red box".
SEO News
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SEO Article Directories & Press Feeds
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If you want to build quality links to your website, you may want to consider blogging, posting press releases and/or publishing whitepapers on free article directories and/or social bookmarking sites. Here are few websites to check out:
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www.mybloglog.com - This website is a registry of the blog you control which is run in conjunction with Yahoo. Basically, if you author a few blogs, you register then here and it makes sure you RSS feeds are pulled on a regular basis and the articles made searchable to the community.
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www.instablogs.com - This website has a very easy to use interface and allow for imbedded links in your blogging text. This is a great way to start to publish your thoughts, whitepapers or teaser articles to drive new business to your website. The website has a Google pagerank of 4/10.
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http://reddit.com - This is a stripped down article posting and linking website that has an amazing Google Pagerank of 8/10. Definitely worth your while to setup and account and post.
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http://www.fark.com - This kooky site is also a good place to post and link articles. They have a more restrictive posting policy and it takes 24 hours for your account to be activated.
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http://www.kaboodle.com - This website allows to to register blogging sites or articles that you like on the Internet and post them in your account. You setup a series of your favorite "lists" and then add websites or articles to each list. The idea is that your profile becomes a compilation of the website you like and when people visit, you are in fact advertising the things you like. Social networking 101. The website has a Google Pagerank of 6/10.
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http://technorati.com - This s the grand daddy of article linking and it has an emphasis on registering good blogs and then they push out the RRS feeds to the world. This is a must have location for articles that fit their categories. This has a Google Pagerank of 8/10.
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http://www.digg.com - This is one of the most powerful tools for article advertising. If you find an article on the web that you like, you can "bookmark" it with a small description and keywords. Your selections then get added to the Digg master RSS feed that is plugged into all new feeds around the globe. The "Digged" article are often picked up by Google and Yahoo and create quality inbound links to website content. The website has a Google Pagerank of 8/10 which is about as good as you can get.
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http://www.articleblast.com - This is a good site to pickup content for your website and to post your content. Editing tools are good and you can imbed hyperlinks and use basic formatting command. Google picks up their feed very quickly so their RSS feed is well indexed.. This site has a Google Pagerank of 4/10.
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http://www.seo-sources.com - This article posted website is best for small posting and articles that require little formatting. The posting tools do not allow for imbedded hyperlink. This is best used for article you want other people to take and post on their websites. This site has a Google pagerank of 4/10.
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