A few months back we sung the praises of Google’s Local Business Center and encouraged all the business owners in the blogosphere to snap up their listings. Creating/claiming a business listing is really one of the simplest things in the world to do, and since Google features its listings front and center on search engine results page one, having a listing is also one of the best ways to reach customers. But if, for some reason, you have not already claimed your listing, you really ought to do so before your competitors can monopolize the top spots. Why? Because most customers figure they can get what they need from one of the first few listings they see, so they won’t look beyond the main pack. Your business listing must occupy one of the top spots if it’s going to be effective. Thankfully, the tricks to boosting your listing’s rank are just as straightforward as getting a listing in the first place:

  • Put keywords in the title of your listing: From Google’s perspective, the title of your listing (the name searchers see on the search engine results page) is the most important place for keywords. Your title should indicate what type of business yours is and where it’s located because those terms will be the ones used most often in a search. For example, if you own an art supply store in Chicago called “Glitter ‘n Glue,” the title of your listing should be “Glitter ‘n Glue Chicago Art Supplies.”
  • Make sure the business address you enter in your listing exactly matches the address on your website and in internet Yellow Pages: The more often Google sees one business address, the more likely it’ll be to recognize the legitimacy and popularity of that business.
  • Submit a phone number with a local area code: Local phone numbers prove to Google that you are actually doing business in the area you claim you are. If you have an 800 number you can add it as an additional number, but it will do you no favors in the primary position.
  • Include keywords in the description of your business: Think about some of the words people might use to search for your business and arrange them in a readable 200-word description. Glitter ‘n Glue might choose “canvas,” “crafts,” “paint brushes,” “ceramic,” and “scrapbooking,” but they would never arrange them thusly: “We sell canvas paint brushes for your ceramic and scrapbooking crafts.” Customers want to understand who you are, so make sure your description makes sense to them.
  • Fill out as much information about your business as you possibly can: Google wants to have the most complete collection of Local Search business listings on the Web. If you scratch Google’s back by submitting an informative listing, Google will scratch yours by ranking you higher.
  • Consider who will be searching for your business: Will your customers be local or out-of-towners? If your customer base is local, you should use colloquial keywords in your listing. For example, if you own an ice cream shop in Rhode Island, it’d be better to mention your 200 varieties of colorful “jimmies” rather than your 200 varieties of colorful “sprinkles.” If your customer base is from out of town (perhaps you own a hotel or a restaurant) identifying your location is especially important because potential customers who are planning a visit will use it as their search term 100% of the time.
  • Get reviewed: Potential customers love reading what other people have to say about a business they’re considering using; Google loves listings that can boast a lot of customer reviews. Let your current customers know about your listing and encourage them to leave feedback there.

As always, too much of a good thing can be, well, bad. So don’t stuff keywords (it looks spam-y), don’t write 100 five-star reviews for your own business (it looks fake), and for heaven’s sake don’t create multiple listings (Google really hates that). If you play well and you play fairly, your listing will make you proud.