What Most Google Places Page Owners Are Forgetting

I've noticed some changes lately as I scroll though some local niches Google Places Pages.

More and more of the top seven Google Places Pages are actually claimed. A couple months ago that wasn't true. Last December there were a lot of niches in which almost no one had claimed a page. As word gets out I expect even more businesses will finally get the word and take action.

Google itself has stepped up its promotion of the pages, although they seem to be mostly focused on selling tags. Can't blame them. It's clear that they have spent a ton of bucks getting the Google Places strategy set up. Google has slipped the Yellow Pages the final knockout punch. It may not be obvious to everyone yet, but Google is the New Yellow Pages, and will eventually be a better one with pictues and videos as well as text ads. (Think of all the trees rejoicing!)

Second and most significant, people who claim their pages, get preferential treatment. They tend to get moved to the head of the class, although I have seen exceptions.

This also makes sense. Google is rewarding those smart enough to recognize the opportunity. If you are in a local business, you really want to take actioin today to get in on the early mover advantage. The increased visibility can only mean more customers and profits.

But while I see that a lot more businesses have claimed their pages, I see that very few have taken the time to fill out their listings fully. Just as claiming a page will help you get to the first page if no one else has claimed their page in your niche and market, those who take the time to fill out their listing fully will benefit by getting listed above those who do a token job of it.

What is a 100% listing? Google wants you to fill out virtually everything. They even give you a percenatge grade when you do your editing so you know how close you are. They want as much information as possible. Google wants these Google Places Pages to be the new yellow pages. The more complete they are, the more useful they will be to users.

Pictures and videos will make the pages more attractive to users and more informative, so Google is requiring people to add both - if they want to get a high ranking. To get the 100% completion ranking, you need to upload all the pictures they allow. They also want you to put up video, although in the case of video you only need to do one of the possible 4 they allow.

Claiming your page is the first priority, but when doing so be sure to fill in your lsiting as completely as possible. There is more to the Google places game than completion, but at the current state of the art that will be enough in many niches and markets.