Google New Zealand Blog: The Local Business Centre dashboard opens its doors to Kiwi businesses

New Zealand Blog

The Local Business Centre dashboard opens its doors to Kiwi businesses

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Google MapsGoogle Searchwww.google.co.nz/lbc

Impressions: The number of times your business listing appeared as a result on a Google.co.nz search or Google Maps search in a given period.

Actions: The number of times people interacted with the listing; for example, the number of times they clicked through to your business's website

Top search queries: Which queries led customers to the business listing; for example, are they finding the listing for a cafe by searching for "tea" or "coffee"?

So how will you use the dashboard? The first thing you'll need to do is make sure that you've claimed your listing in the LBC. Even if you hadn't claimed it until today, you'll be able to use the dashboard, since we're automatically populating it with data from the past month. When you log in to the LBC, you'll notice a new "View report" link right under the statistics that we provide.

New information will be added every day, so you can check in often to see how things are going. All the data we share through the dashboard will be anonymous and aggregated, to protect the privacy of Google users.

To learn more about accessing and using the dashboard, take a look at the video below.

Finally, here are some tips to help Google users find and connect with your business:

Make sure your listing is complete and accurate.

Include optional information like images and videos to help your listing stand out.
Add information like opening hours, payment types, and additional details to help users choose among search results.
Make sure that the location of your business on the map is correct so users can find you - remember, you can always drag the map marker to the exact location of your business.
Make sure to list your authoritative business website as your homepage, since Google uses information from your homepage to help improve search results - take a look at the Search Engine Optimisation Starter Guide to learn how to help Google crawl and index your site.
Of course, be sure that your business name, physical address, and phone number(s) are correct - see the Local Business Quality Guidelines to learn more

Choose the most appropriate, specific categories for your business.

Pick a category from the list of suggestions to help Google to show your business for the right searches (although you can always enter your own category if the Local Business Centre doesn't suggest one that fits your business).
Don't be afraid to choose specific categories instead of broad ones. The important thing is that the categories are accurate and describe your business well. Google's search algorithm makes sure that users looking for "Book Stores" will see businesses in more specific categories like "Used Book Stores," "Comic Book Stores," and "Rare Book Stores" too.

Establish a strong, accurate presence on the web.

Make sure that information about your business on the web is accurate, and try to correct it if it's not. Google improves search results using information about your business from all over the web.
Encourage customers to review your business or to blog about it. Google uses these to improve search results too.

Posted by Andrew Foster, Google product manager

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