Any Legit Local Address Services Out There?
-
I have a client who lives in the UK but runs a US ecommerce site. I'd still like to get him some local trust signals but he has no options when it comes to getting an address here. Has anyone found a reputableplace where you can rent an address that isn't already being used by umpteen other companies?
-
might be best to use a professional mailing company. that could also help if you get any actual mail there. most mail forwarding companies will do additional services like mail scanning too. we recommend- US GLobal Mail- www.usglobalmail.com
-
There are actually a lot. One thing it depends on is the price range. One that I have had clients use before is regus and using their virtual office packages. http://www.regus.com/products/virtual-offices/virtual-office-bundles.aspx
-
But if he is not trying to get a Google Places listing, but just establish that they are a US based business for Google.com organic listings, then I think that would be appropriate use of a mailbox service in the US. He is trying to show to Google that they do service the US via an ecommerce websites.
I have used Earth Class Mail earthclassmail.com as we are a virtual company in the US. Everyone works out of home offices, but we deliver services via the web. ECM can give you a physical address (not a PO box) and scan all your mail in and then you can access online. If you need the actual copy, you just pay the forwarding fees. Has worked great for us.
-
Often you can use the address of an attorney as a local address. If you have a relationship they may not charge you. They will charge you time for any calls they have to answer as well as the time and cost associated with forwarding any mail. If these terms are acceptable this works fairly well.
-
Hi Erick,
Good question. There are services like ActivSpace.com which will rent a small, legitimate office with a front door and phone hookup for a modest fee. This would normally be utilized by local business owners who do not have an established professional office, do not want to publish their home address as their office, and who are hoping to make headway in the local search engine rankings with a modest but legitimate local address that will be staffed during normal business hours so that customer can come to conduct face-to-face business.
In my opinion, this would not be an appropriate option for your client for two reasons:
1) You do not mention that your client plans to staff an office. Without staff in place to accept face-to-face business and phone calls during normal business hours, the location does not qualify as truly local.
2) E-commerce businesses are not deemed to be truly local, and therefore must pursue organic rather than local visibility.
Here are the sections of the Google Places Quality Guidelines which refer to this:
"Only businesses that make in-person contact with customers qualify for a Google Places listing."
"Do not create a listing or place your pin marker at a location where the business does not physically exist. P.O. Boxes are not considered accurate physical locations.Your business location should be staffed during its stated hours."
While it may make sense for your client to set a goal of establishing a physical presence one day in USA as his company grows, it would not be honest for him to fake a presence in the meantime. I would explain to the client that honesty in business trumps all other concerns as there is no more important factor that earning client trust. In order to earn real trust, he must present his business as it genuinely is.
Hope this helps!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What (Local SEO) NAP to use when your country doesn't use Suite #s?
New Zealand does some good things, for example we grow hairy fruit called Kiwifruit, put other fruit into bottles and call it Sauvignon Blanc, but we can also be a bit, well...fruity. My problem is that when we Kiwis list out NAPs we do it like this: ABC Company, Level 1, 123 Example St. Now the fruity bit is we don't have Suite #s, there is never: ABC Company, Suite #400 Level 1, 123 Example St. We just expect you to go up to level 1 and bl@ody well find the office thanks very much (yea there are signs). It seems like a Local SEO shared office situation but it's the whole floor! I'm worried if I get an office in an office building then I will have my results merged with Extremely-Boring-Accountant and Angry-Lawyer who happen to be on the same level. What's a Local SEO aware guy to do?
Image & Video Optimization | | BruceMcG0 -
Use Google Places or Google +Local?
Hello everyone, My name is Zachary Russell, and I run a Philadelphia based WordPress Development and SEO firm, ProTech Internet Group. I have been doing work lately, and have been neglecting the fact that my own site needs work, I have now changed that. I have done a complete redesign and started repurposting content to have a well-rounded content strategy that can appeal the the widest possible audience. My issue I'm having now is this: I have both a Google Places page and a Google +Local page for my business , Obviously duplicate listings are a problem, but I don't know which one to get rid of. They both have 0 reviews and limited +1s, I just don't know which one I should delete, and which one I should push to get more reviews moving forward. Also, moving forward, would it make sense for me to have a Google +Business and a Google +Local page?I don't know if this would cause any conflicts either. Thanks for your help and have a happy new year! Zach Russell President, ProTech Internet Group
Image & Video Optimization | | Zachary_Russell0 -
Google local places
I got pin via phone and verified my sites four weeks ago , after logged in google place account there is no data, status is active .can anyone help me to show data and getting result for local search.
Image & Video Optimization | | Alick3000 -
Yahoo! local UK
Apologies if this is a dumb question, i'm struggling to find an answer. I was wondering how to list a business on Yahoo! local UK? Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
Image & Video Optimization | | CWseo0 -
What's the best method for posting the same video with different phone and address on YouTube?
For a franchise network, what's the best method for posting the same video that is tagged with different phone numbers and address per each location on YouTube? Will this get removed as duplicate content eventually? Or if I use the geo-tagging feature, will this help?
Image & Video Optimization | | BasementSystems760 -
[local seo] How to compete against e.g. yellowpages on Google Rank 1 - 4?
Hi Folks, How to compete against the big SEO-powered pages like Yellowpages in the SERPs? I mean, they have thousands of Rd -> Rd Links as well as super Page and Domain Authority. How has a let's say Dentist or Electrician a decent chance to compete against those? Does Google give credit to them because of the Content they have on their page? These yellowpages totally take the fun out of it for my clients. Answeres would really much appreciated. Thank you. For me it feels like Don Quijote.
Image & Video Optimization | | gooddy1 -
Can you get in trouble/get results by sub-dividing one physical address into suites for local search?
We have a client in our area that offers a multitude of home services -- plumbing, HVAC repair, landscaping, etc. -- out of one physical location. It makes it difficult for them to rank highly for all of their services in local search since many of the competitors that rank highly only offer one of the services that they do. They have come to me asking if they could create a Google place page for each service by making imaginary suites for their main address. So, for example, plumbing would be located at 100 Main Street, Suite A; and HVAC repair would be located at 100 Main St., Suite B; etc.? Seems like this is either a great idea or could get you into some Google trouble. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Thanks
Image & Video Optimization | | monkeeboy0 -
Local Seo Help!
Hi everyone, Google Places is going to be the death of me. I have asked a few questions on this topic before but nothing seems to work. Here are some of my problems/concerns: It keeps deleting my description!? Have you seen this before? The "more about this place" section has not been updated since I claimed the listing over 3 months ago. The website it lists at the top of that section is our old website address which no longer works. The site was through a site builder and the company will not forward the domain to the new site. Are there any companies or services that can help build a great profile and help increase my rankings? I am starting to think this is over my head. Do I delete the page and start over? Any advice? Please! Company Website: http://www.petmedicalcenter.com Google Places: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1523&bih=863&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=pet+medical+center+of+las+vegas&fb=1&gl=us&hq=pet+medical+center+of&hnear=0x80beb782a4f57dd1:0x3accd5e6d5b379a3,Las+Vegas,+NV&cid=13431404354265657899&ei=EQolTpqREdSlsQKMlPXXCw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=placepage-link&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ4gkwAA FYI: I have added a lot of links between when I signed up for SEOmoz and the linkscape has not be updated in over a month an a half. I really appreciate your help! -Brant
Image & Video Optimization | | PMC-3120870