account for the company, as you may need to give the login information to a service provider — and the last thing you want is for them to be able to read your personal e-mail. 2. Enter basic information The first information that Google will ask you for is your business’ primary phone number. You’ll enter that in, and Google will do a search for your company. If you are lucky, they’ll have your com-pany’s information pre-populated. Check this information for accuracy; if incorrect, change it. You need a physical address and not a P.O. Box for this to work. If you work from home, use your home address, which you can hide from public view later. 3. Describe your business Google gives you 200 words to describe your business in the description field. Make sure you are as descriptive as pos-sible. Mention the major cities or areas you serve in addition to the types of cleaning you do. In the field that says, “Category,” use broad categories as well as using cus-tom categories like “corporate office clean-ing and maintenance” or “environmentally friendly cleaning services.” You can have up to five. 4. Share imagery You’ll next need to upload some photos. The ideal series of images for you to have is a logo, photos of your past jobs and pho-tos of your employees or offices. The idea, of course, is to humanize your page. The best image size for Google Places is 220 pixels by 155 pixels. At this point, you also have the option to upload videos to your listing. If you have any, this is highly advised. 5. Final review Double check all the fields and click on “Submit.” This will take you to a screen where you’ll be asked to verify your listing. In most cases, a business will be given two options: Google calling you or Google sending you a postcard. It is always preferable to have Google call you, as the verification process only takes a couple of minutes while the postcard can take weeks and you run the risk of it getting lost. In some instances, Google will only give you the option of receiving a postcard, in which case you should keep a sharp eye out. Search Engine Optimization While verifying your listing ensures that your information is correct, it does not ensure a prominent ranking in Google or Google’s local section. Optimizing and improving your rankings starts with consistency and completeness. Claim your listing and provide all the items Google is looking for, such as a business description, photos, videos, etc., within your Google Places account. The next step in improving your local list-ing’s placement is to ensure consistency of your business’ name, address and phone number with the dozens of places around the web that have your company’s name, address and phone number listed — think of service and review directories like Yelp.com, Yahoo Local, Superpages.com, etc. The reason for this is that Google doesn’t trust the information it has about your com-pany. When Google scans these sites and notic-es a consistent name, address and phone number, it will rank you higher within the local listings. You’ll want to make sure you update these listings with a consistent name, address and phone number. This cannot be stressed enough. There are many tools out on the Internet that can help even the smallest businesses grow. Google Places is one such tool. It’s free and only takes a bit of time; but, for those who make the effort, it puts them one step ahead of their competitors. CM Lee Gientke is the managing partner of Webmix Marketing, a marketing agency that specializes in helping service companies grow though online mar-keting. More information about Webmix’s services can be found at www.WebmixMarketing.com. For a free guide to making social media sell, visit www. WebmixMarketing.com/CoBuzz. © Ultra Chem USA Inc. 491822 ® P O W E R B E Y O N D T H E C O N V E N T I O N A L Ultra Floor Care Technology used in Bayonne High School, NJ Are Your Cleaning Products Effective, Environmentally Safer And Economical? At Ultra Chem Labs, our Floor Care Division is a premiere product line division that possesses all of our 5 Ultra Technologies. Apply accordingly and prepared to be amazed. Electrolytic Cleaning Technology: Neutralize surfaces and soils designed for easy/safe cleaning. Selective Implosion Technology: Makes the stripping process easier and safer than ever. WWW.ULTRACHEMLABS.COM Office: 909-620-0949 Fax: 909-620-0949 [email protected] 1462 E Mission Blvd 91766 Pomona, CA Non-Styrene Polymer Technology: Provides users and business owners with an environmentally conscious, fast drying, high performance polymer that if maintained can literally eliminate the stripping process. Simply contact us for more info on all 5 Ultra Technologies. All of our products are green certified by EcoLogo (TerraChoice) except for our disinfectants Product Information no. 210 on page 24 www.cmmonline.com 39
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