What Are Google Tags and How Should You Use Them To Enhance Your Local Business Listing
Posted on September 17, 2010 by Darryl Delong
Google Tags Example
Google Tags is a new feature from Google for local businesses that already have a free business listing with Google Places. Along with every business listing you can add a link to your website, choose categories of services provided, include hours of operation, upload photos, and add a video about your business (see our post Improve Google Places Ranking With These 5 Optimization Tips). Now you can even add a special coupon for new customers. By adding a Google Tag, you can choose which item you most want to promote in Google’s local search results. So, if you choose to promote your website using a Google Tag, a clickable link to your website will appear underneath your local listing.
Below is a screenshot example of what a Google Tag looks like. This example shows a florist in the Houston, Texas area using a coupon on Google Places as their Google Tag.
Google Tags also appear on Google Maps and mobile searches and are clearly marked as a “sponsored” result. Choosing to participate in the Google Tags program will not directly influence how Google ranks your local listing, but can make it stand out more among your competitor’s listings who are not using tags. This can significantly increase the click-thru-rate and result in more traffic to your website.
Creating a Google Tag takes only minutes and can show up in Google’s search results within hours. You can monitor user interaction with your tag from your Google Places dashboard. A Google Tag costs $25/month and you can cancel at anytime. Currently, Google is offering a free 30-day trial here.
If you decide to use a Google Tag we recommend continuously tracking your results and then deciding based on performance, whether it’s worth continuing. Overall, we think Google Tags is a great new feature that offers local business owners a cost-effective way to enhance their listing and increase user interaction.
Tags: google, google maps, google places, google tag, google tags, what are google tags
