How to optimize Google Places listing?

[RicktheMarkt]

I have a couple friends who need more traffic from their Google Places listing. They are in very niche businesses. One is a home remodeling contractor and one is a music teacher.

Does anyone know some good services to help optimize their listings? I feel I've helped them out as much as I can by getting real reviews to their Google Places page. But I feel that someone who's had the experience in Google Places optimization can pick up on something I'm overlooking.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi RicktheMarkt,
The main components of a strong Google+ Local page are that:

• There are no violations of the Google Places Quality Guidelines

• You've chosen the best possible categories

• All relevant fields have been filled out with correct information

• You are earning reviews, and if the page is fully merged, adding posts

Beyond the existence and correctness of the Google+ Local page, there are many, many more factors that contribute to local rankings. These include, but are not limited to,

• The authority of the website

• The quality, quantity and accuracy of citations on third party sites (local business indexes, directories, etc.)

• Traditional SEO metrics like age of site, quality and quantity of links

• Social Media participation

In order to begin getting a handle on all of the components that contribute to local search rankings, I recommend that you and your friends study the Local Search Ranking Factors 2013 survey. There is no better place to get the big picture of all the contributing factors.

Now, all this being said, I believe that your friends may need to adjust their stated goals. You write:
"I have a couple friends who need more traffic from their Google Places listing"

It's very important to understand that there was a very big change recently with Google's display of the Places/+ Local pages. In the past, a single click from the main SERPS would take you directly to a business' +Local page. This is no longer the case. Now, if a company's listing shows up, their will most commonly be a 'review' link attached to it. In the past, this would have taken a user to the +Local page for the business. These days, it only takes them to a popup showing the reviews. In other words, it is now much more unlikely that the average user will ever make it to a +Local page.

So, while the accuracy and completeness of a +Local page still play a vital role in rankings, the goal of getting traffic to the page may not be viable, given the fact that the pages have, in essence, been somewhat buried by Google. An odd turn of events, but there it is. It could change tomorrow.

In sum, your friends should formulate a more appropriate goal, such as earning higher rankings, achieving broader brand visibility, generating better conversions, etc.
I hope this is helpful!

[vmialik]

You can go through the listing and check if the description is optimized for the keyword terms that they are going after.  Make sure the categories are correct.  Make sure to get 100% score for the listings. Carefully take note of the Name, Address, Phone, Email, and Website and create listings in Yelp, Bing Local, Citysearch, Yahoo Local, Foursquare, and other relevant directories.  For Google Local rankings having your NAP (Name, Address, Phone, Email, and Website) across the board will really help with ranking.  And just like you have done with Google Places encourage reviews to Yelp, Citysearch, Bing, and Yahoo, etc.

Hope this helps!