Even if your business does not have a website, here’s a description of how you can and why you should get on the first page of Google searches for free with about 30 minutes or less of non-technical work. You sign-up with Google at www.Google.com/places.
Home health agencies and physical therapy practices often express concern that no one can find their website through the search engines. If your listing does not appear on the first page of search results, it might as well not be there at all. All search engines have different formulas for deciding which websites they will show for which search phrases. Google controls more searches than all the other search engines combined, so let’s talk about one sure fire method for getting on the first page of Google. It’s free, do-it-yourself, and takes 30 minutes or less.
If a person (let’s say Joe) is seriously looking for a home health care or physical therapy provider in his area, Joe types a description of the type of business he wants (e.g. physical therapists) and a description of his area (e.g. in Houston TX). The results that appear in the search engines after all the paid ads are called “natural search results.” If Google can tell you are searching for a local business, it inserts one more list of results before the natural results. It inserts “Local business results.” You can get in this list of local business results for free – even if you don’t have a website!
Go to Google Places (www.Google.com/places), create an account with them, and follow the instructions. Google is serious about this being a good list. To verify that your business is legitimate, they will either call your business number or mail you a postcard. If they mail you a postcard, you must log back in with Google, and enter the code they printed on the postcard. You get to choose the verification method that will work best for you.
Give it a shot. Please post comments below about your experience with this strategy.
