It’s been a while ago that Google introduced a very easy way to embed a Google Map into your website, without needing to sign up for a Google Maps API key.
A lot of website owners are using these embedded maps because it’s very easy to implement on your website by just going to the link button on the right side of your screen.

Well this might be a no-brainer, but I’ve seen it often go wrong:
If you are a business owner (using Adwords), and have some ‘Local Business Ads’ running or if you have some of your competitors local business ads appearing in the Google Map near your store location make sure you don’t embed this map! Try using different keywords or your direct business location for your marker to appear and try again. Otherwise you might end up having an embedded map like the one below on your website – triggering info balloons that are too wide for the window to contain them, having links to your competitors, or even your own paid advertisements where people would be able to click, resulting them to go to the website where they already are or away from your website! In any case, money or effort not well spent.

an example, showing results for hotels in Barcelona.

View Larger Map

Now another question raises. My website is now displaying ads, although they are embedded in Google Maps, I still consider these ads to be shown on my website (although this open for discussion, being it an iframe). So where is my PPC award if someone clicks these markers? Isn’t an embedded map – into some extent – the Adsense content network?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss..

Post from: Local Search - martijnbeijk.com

When you embed your own Google Maps, don’t forget to…

Yesterday I was reading the Google Maps help groups for business owners, and a question was raised if it was Okay with Google to submit (self contained) accommodations to the Local Business Center.

we’re an accommodation
provider with over 150 self contained holiday listings. We’d like each
of these properties to appear on the local business center maps but I
want to be sure we aren’t spamming.

I think the question was a good one,  just to be sure that you are not spamming Google Maps.  Maps Guide Jen responded that you are free to go as long as the accommodations all have a physical address, andyou are the representative. Although they are not being validated by regular mail. They do go through the stages of bulk upload though, which means that the listings are not activated right away, but it might take up to several weeks.

Although this might have been obvious, for me this was always a shady grey area, because if you are a representative, you are not the actual business owner but a caretaker of multiple individual listings.

So this opens up opportunities for travel agencies, rental apartments, holiday housing providers, ferienwohnungen, bed & breakfasts, etc. who are representing these business locations and want to be visibile in the local search engines and thus increasing traffic.

If you upload your data to Google Maps using the LBC and want to include a URL to that listing, make sure you deeplink it to the property URL! It looks less like spam, and hey, it increases the conversion rate!

Post from: Local Search - martijnbeijk.com

Local SEO in Travel

Most of you in the Local SEO business have probably heard of KML, but consider it a buzzword, Chinese or something they don’t want to get their hands dirty on.
But what is KML and how can it help you in your local SEO strategy? Recently Eric Enge from StoneTemple consulting interviewed Google’s Director of product management for Google Local, Carter Maslan, where he said that having a KML available in a geositemap that is authenticated with Google will automatically result in authentication of your KML file with Google and thus act as a trusted source for your business locations.

So I decided to write a tutorial to make it all a bit more easier to understand, and especially, giving step by step instructions on how to implement the KML.

If you would like to know more about using KML implementation for Local Search Engine Optimization you can head on and read my tutorial! You can find it here :

The definitive guide on using KML for SEO

If you  think something is missing, have feedback or suggestions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment!

Post from: Local Search - martijnbeijk.com

The definitive guide on using KML for SEO

Imagine you just had diner in a restaurant, you search for the place in Google and it will present you with the map and a review function. Rate your business while you are there!

Now I’m thinking, combine this with the latest update to the Google Local Business Center, where a business owner receives notifications when any changes occur. Let’s hope that this could as well be a notification when he receives a review or a rating and voila, the business owner could respond immediately. It would make it a perfect reputation management tool!

This feature is now available for non-Iphone users in the US. They are working on an Iphone version (isn’t that just a ‘regular’ browser?) and on international coverage as well.

Post from: Local Search - martijnbeijk.com

Reviews and ratings for your business with Google Maps Mobile