As the holiday shopping season begins to plateau we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and a Happy New Year. Hopefully by now you have gotten your Christmas list completed and will avoid the chaos created by last minute shoppers. If you do however fall into that group, find solace in knowing that our prayers are with you as you sit in traffic cursing your procrastination and swearing you’ll start early next year.
The rest of us, we’ll be sleeping in this December 24th, sipping cocoa by midday and wearing our favorite Christmas get-up as we prepare for a delightful evening with friends and family.
Whether you’re a business owner or a consumer, there’s no real secret to being prepared for the Holiday Season. No secrets, this is true, but there are some tips, tricks, and hints that may be useful in the future; and each of them begin with the word Google.
I don’t want to bore you with the laundry list of Google Services that we support here at WebChiqueMarketing; by revisiting our past blog-posts you will certainly find yourself both informed and entertained. I do however want to give our visitors an early Christmas present in the form of Google Places.
I can’t recall the last time I saw an actual phone-book (a term unfamiliar to a younger generation that was raised online). But then again, I don’t recall needing one either. Instead, I have replaced that thick, odd-smelling catalog with something less abrasive. Now when I need to find a local mechanic, magician-service, or fish-hatchery I simply go online and “Google” it.
Google Places is very much like the yellow pages of that archaic medium; except it’s free.
You’re Google Places listing will include your website, physical mailing address and phone number (you don’t need a physical retail or warehouse location to be accepted). You will also be provided a QR code, a symbol that can be scanned by smart phones and send customers directly to your online listing for more information.
Forget paying for ad-space in the local paper or a niche magazine. Google Places allows you to place coupons within your listing for days, weeks or months at a time. Coupons can even be printed or displayed on consumers phone at the time of purchase.
When your directory listing is optimized properly, the first thing you should notice is an increase in traffic to your site or physical location resulting in new customers and booming business. The reviews and citation will start rolling in and in no time at all your listing will be catapulted to the first page of Google Places and target customers will begin finding their way to your business in a truly organic fashion.
Although it is a little late for online shopping this Holiday Season, it is not too late to list your business on Google Places. If you have a physical retail/service location you can still benefit from this amazing directory. And although the 2011 Holiday Season is coming to a close, don’t forget about the start 2012 and the promise of increased business that it entails. Go ahead, make it easier for potential customers to find your business. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. And while you’re at it… have a Happy Holiday and a fantastic New Year.
