Does your business have a physical location? Then you're eligible for a free listing on Google maps.

You've probably noticed that when you search for something on Google, sometimes a map will appear at the top of the search results. The map will have a series of thumbtack icons that identify any physical locations that Google knows about that match those keywords.

Is your business listed for your desired keywords? Is it listed prominently? If so, you're in great shape, and you probably don't need to read the rest of this post. So great job! I hope you'll post a comment on this blog post, and tell us what you did to get there. If you aren't listed prominently, then keep reading.

Introducing Google Places

Google recently came out with a new feature called "Google Places." It's yet another ingenious way Google offers relevant results to their users.

Let's say I'm looking for a house to rent for a vacation I'm planning. I already know that I want to go to Colonial Beach, Virginia on my vacation, and I have a few different weeks I am considering and I need to check availability.

I go to Google and type in "vacation rentals in Colonial Beach". Look at the picture of what comes up:

The peach-colored box at the top of the page is a paid listing. Homeaway.com is a very popular listing service and pays Google to prominently advertise their service for certain key words. They probably pay many thousands of dollars a month to Google for all of these placements.

Next, under the sponsored link, look at the first listing. This displays Twin Maples Cottage, a private business owned by a local resident. It's identified on the map with a red thumbtack with the letter "A". The second listing is identified with the letter "B". There are no other map listings shown on this first screen.

Do you think the Twin Maples Cottage gets a lot of traffic from people who are looking for exactly what this business is selling? You bet it does.

I'll let you in on a little secret... Twin Maples Cottage belongs to yours truly. I worked with some very specific search engine techniques to get the Twin Maples web site to the top of the list, and it didn't cost me a penny. One of the very first things I did was to get it on the Google map.

Incidentally, there are about 20 vacation cottages in and around Colonial Beach, Virginia. Look at the rest of the list... They are all listing services, not private cottages. No other cottages are on this list. Who has the busiest cottage in town? You guessed it -- me.

The easiest and most efficient way to get on the Google Map results is to get a Google Places listing.  It takes a little while, but it's utterly worth it.

Step By Step

Ok, open up a new browser window, we're going to go do this right now.

1.  Go to www.google.com/places.  Sign up for a Google account if you don't have one.  You can use whatever email address you use for your business, you don't have to have a Google email address.  Click the "Add New Business" button.

Fill out the form with information about your business.  Google might find a match, in which case it will ask you if you are claiming an existing business listing.  If the matched business is in fact yours, claim it instead of adding a new listing.

Google will give you an opportunity to add more information such as your hours, business categories, and allow you to upload photos. Make sure you check the marker location and fix it if it seems incorrectly placed on the map.  Take your time and fill in as much detail as possible.  The more detail you add, the better your results will be, so it pays to do it right the first time.

On the next screen Google will ask how you want to have your listing verified. What this means is they need to make sure you are who you say you are, and you really own this business.  Choose the "By Mail" option - they'll send you a postcard in the mail to the business address.  They claim it takes 2-3 weeks but in my experience it usually only takes a week or so.

Once the postcard arrives, go to the URL listed on the postcard (www.google.com/local/add) and sign in with your account.  The form will ask for a PIN, which is on the postcard.  Enter that PIN and submit the form.

Your business should be up on Google Maps shortly after. Check your account to make sure.  Completing this activity will reward your business for many years to come!

See you next time, Happy E-Marketing!