Google Local Business Center Equals Free Advertising
While this post may be a bit of a old topic, it is still worth reviewing. The Google Local Business Center continues to strike me as a great way to gain free advertising in a Yellow Book fashion — without the ridiclous costs.
I was recently at a cousin’s graduation party in Dayton, Ohio and I was chatting with my Aunt and Uncle who have a woodworking business. He is a highly skilled woodworker who is capable of building about anyting beautiful. Kitchen cabinets, decks, sun porch remodeling, room renovations, you name it. He of course has noticed a downturn in business lately, to be understood. All of his business comes from referrals. He doesn’t have a website, but I already had the wheels spinning.
We jumped on Google and did some localized searches “lynchburg va kitchen remodeler”, “cabinet maker lynchburg”, and he was seeing all kinds of competitors, many of whom did not have a website. I went into our Netvantage account and added him within 5 minutes. Google called with the PIN, and it was verified. We did some quick searches, and there he was, for lynchburg kitchen remodeler.
The point of the story is that many local small businesses are still not taking advantage of the opportunities that Google is providing for free advertising, even if that business does not have a website. With even more opportunities such as the newly released dashboard, and the increased localization in Google search results without the geographic qualifier within the query - not being active with a local listing is the same is turning off your lights and closing your door to prospective customers. And in this economy I can’t think of too many businesses that can afford to do that.
