How to Add Your Real Estate Business to Google Places

As if Google didn’t give us enough tools and resources to help build our businesses they offer what might just be a game changer.  From Google Voice, Gmail, Feedburner, Adsense, Analytics the list goes on and on they have made themselves invaluable (our opinion).  And to top everything off their FREE!

You can probably tell we are HUGE fans of Google.  They understand the greatest value proposition known to man – Give it FREE and They Will Come!

Which brings us to the crux of this post … How to Add Your Business to Google Places. We wanted to write a great post but Google already did that. So we cut and paste what they said because they said it better than we could! (You will need to have a Google Account – and YES it’s FREE!)

How it works

Each business listing on Google is in fact a giant ‘cluster’ of information that we get from a few different places: Yellow Pages, for example, as well as other third-party providers. However, the basic information that you submit through Google Places is the information that we trust the most. This means that it will appear instead of any basic information that we get from anywhere else. To make sure the basic information you submit is accurate, we’ll ask you to verify it first by entering a PIN that will be sent to either your business address or phone number.

You can add other information to your listing too — such as a description of your business, for example, as well as photos, reviews, or information about hours and parking costs — that will also appear above similar information from other providers.

Before you get started, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Right now, Google Places is available for businesses in only certain countries.To find out if your country is one of them, click Add new listing when logged in to your Google Places account. Check the country drop down at the top of the sign-up page. You can also check country availability on the Mapping tool availability page.
• It’s free. Adding your listing to Google Places is free, and Google doesn’t accept payment to include particular listings or sites in our search results. However, we do offer locally-targeted advertising through our AdWords program.
• Every business listing must have a mailing address. This is the physical address where mail can be sent to your business. If you work from home or you are a mobile-only business you can specify service areas and choose to hide your physical address later on!
• There shouldn’t be more than one listing per physical location. Even if you’re a doctor who is a cardiologist and a chiropractor or a service that covers multiple towns, you shouldn’t have two listings. Instead, use the description of your business or categories to explain the different services your business offers.

Its a good idea to read Google Places quality guidelines to make sure that your listing will be approved to appear on Google.

Why add your listing with Google Places?

Once you’ve verified your listing, you can enhance the Place Page for your business by adding photos, videos, coupons, and even real-time updates like weekly specials all on your Place Page. Verifying your listing gives you the opportunity to share even more information about your business with Google.

Basics: Benefits of Google Places

Reach millions of Google users, quickly and for free, with Google Places

More people search for businesses online than anywhere else, so it’s important to make sure your business listing can be easily found on Google.com and Google Maps. With Google Places, creating a great listing takes just a few minutes and doesn’t cost a thing.

Edit your listing and speak for yourself

Your business probably already shows up on Google, but you should still verify your listing and make sure its details are accurate and thorough. Your improvements will start appearing as soon as you verify them through Google Places. Also, you can add notifications

Practical and easy to manage

Your Google listing is an easy way to maintain an online presence even if you don’t have a website. You can visit Google Places anytime to edit your information or see how many people have seen and clicked on your listing.

Premium options, all for free

Make your listing really shine with photos and videos; custom categories like your service area, brands you sell and how to find parking; and coupons to encourage customers to make a first-time or repeat purchase.

Create your listing today at www.google.com/places.

Signing up for Google Places is simple

If you own a business, you probably know the basics. You can add extras like photos and descriptions if you have them handy, or come back to add them later.

At the end of the sign-up, we’ll ask you to verify your submission by phone or postcard. We do this to make sure that only the right people are able to change any public data about your business.