Using Google Maps to Take Advantage of Local SEM

One of the major challenges for any local business is finding new customers who may become repeat customers that frequent their business on a regular basis. With the transition of consumer interest to the online medium, comes the opportunity to attract new customers.

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By learning how to utilize Google Maps, establishing your online presence should be easily executed in no time at all.

Someone who is currently in their car driving will often do a search for a local restaurant or coffee shop at a moment’s notice. Whether this is someone who lives in the local area or a seasonal traveler; exposing your business to the mobile market can quickly lead to an increased flow of customers. Even if non-repeat customers make up the majority of this group, they could end up leaving a great online review for other potential future customers to review. Past customers who leave reviews make your business appear more relevant to major search engines as well.

According to the Journal of Accountancy, “Sixty percent of your prospective clients search for products and services on the Web. Ninety percent of these searchers won’t look beyond the first page of a search result.

This means that if you’re not on the first page of the search result, you probably won’t be seen.”

In areas where there are a lot of other businesses competing for keywords related to your business, SEM for Google maps can be challenging to make efficient use of. In some of these extremely competitive cases it can be efficient to pay for an ad that lists your business first when people search for related keywords. (PPC)

The first step is the keyword research phase; Determine which keywords you would like to optimize for Google maps. Aim to select keywords which have a decent amount of traffic but a lower competition level.

Establishing your online presence with a decent amount of geo-targeted traffic, and many geo-targeted long-tail keywords via Google Maps will make it much easier to tackle much more lucrative keywords in the future.