Search Clinic Blog news stories about online marketing

This is a timely warning for all website owners with a Google local listing- avoid competitors being able to “close your business down” online!

The folks at Search Engine Roundtable brought this to my attention and I thought it was definitely valuable information to pass onto you all, especially with the recent update of Google Maps listings.

The problem is that anyone can make your business appear as though it has closed down on Google Maps.

Here is an example of how your listing may appear:


Now before you go all crazy with worry, competitors can’t automatically “close your business” if you have the proper barriers in place.

You need to ensure that your business is verified with Google’s Local Business Center. Those businesses that are not “verified” can easily be sabotaged, which could hurt their sales.

There has been a lot of talk about this issue lately in numerous forums and Google employee Joel H explains more on the Google Maps help forum:

I just want to reiterate: there are two types of listings with the Place Closed label, and, for each type, there’s a way to remove that label.

For claimed listings through the Local Business Center (LBC): Please sign in to the LBC and select Edit to the right of the listing. On the following page, select Submit. Within a day or two the listing will appear without this label of Place Closed on Maps.

For unclaimed listings, which are open to community edits: Please select Edit below the address and choose Restore Place.

So, you know what to do - go ahead and secure your listing. In these uncertain financial times, the worst thing you can do is make it easy for your competitors to sabotage your business’s online success.

Title tags are one of the oldest and most effective aspects of on page search engine optimization.

Your title tag is displayed as the main clickable link in search engine results and as such, has a considerable impact on how many people visit your website, as well as its ranking within search results.

The good news is, writing an effective title tag is easy and can have a dramatic impact on your search engine success. Below are 3 tips to get you started:

Company Names & Title Tags
There is often a big debate about whether your company name or brand should feature prominently in the title tag. The deciding factor here is how valuable and important your brand name is.

Unless your brand is very specific, an industry leader or well recognized in its field, it’s probably best to leave it out, or put it at the end at least.

This may come as a shock to many people, but think about it; If you searched for ‘flower delivery service’ you’re much more likely to click on a listing titled “Flower Delivery Service” rather than “Brand Name.com”.

Different Titles for Different Pages
It’s no use having the same title tag for every page within your website, as it leaves search engine spiders and humans confused! Your title tag should be individual to each page and accurately describe what the page is about.

Title Tags and Specific Phrases
It’s essential to make sure your most important keywords are at the beginning of title tags, as search engine spiders may only read the first 80 characters. The aim here is to write a title tag that contains appropriate keywords while maintaining readability for the end user.

There is no use stuffing your title tag with keywords that form a pile of mumbo-jumbo, as its unlikely anyone will actually click on your listing.

In summary, here is how to create effective title tags for your website:

1. Perform keyword analysis to uncover the most suitable keywords for your website
2. Create a short and sweet title tag that contains these keywords in a readable yet search engine friendly manner.
3. Repeat this process for all pages within your website

It might take a while to get used to, but once you have the hang of it, you should be able to cover your site in no time. Alternatively, if you would prefer to have your website professionally optimized, please just ask Dr Search