Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Google Tags Makes Its Debut

In 2007, Google first introduced Google Local (or maps) listings to website search results. Today, these results on average display on 1 out of 9 page 1 search results. Google has recently added “tagging” to its local (places or maps) listings. These “tags” are simply highlighted markers added to Google local listings to help them better stand out and promote things such as: websites, coupons, promotions, etc.

Google Tags are currently offered as a limited release in: Atlanta, Austin, Boulder Chicago, Houston, Mountain View CA, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington DC. Once these become available in New York, Google will notify me and I will be in turn notifying my customers. You can become a fan of our Law Firm SEO Facebook page to receive the same notification at: www.facebook.com/lawfirmseo

How Google Tags Works:

For a flat $25 monthly fee, you can add these markers to your current Google local listings and it is important to note that these markers WILL NOT improve your Google local listings – only Google Local optimization can accomplish this.

As you can see from the following screen shots, these markers to DO stand out and as we have seen through recent Google local heat map analysis, it is not as important to be displayed #1 in your Google local listings as it is to simply show up. These markers make you show up better and more importantly can include a call to action.




So are these Google Tags worth the $25/mo. for attorneys? It depends really on the level competition and frequency of search. If you currently display in Google local for the more ubiquitous search terms such as: divorce attorney, construction accident attorney, personal injury attorney, criminal defense attorney, immigration attorney, etc. then this may be a very small price to pay to make you stand out even further.








To learn more about Google Tags, you can visit Google at: http://www.google.com/help/tags/ to learn more and get started. If you need further help in optimizing your Google maps / local listings, contact a law firm SEO consultant to help you get started.

No comments:

Post a Comment