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Free Advertising on Google

 

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Many small businesses do not know that you can get some free advertising on Google, using Google Local or Google Maps.  Google is looking to increase the value of their local search and their mapping application, so they have a simple way for you to tell them some information about your business, and now they are infusing those results into their main search engine.  It is basically a way to advertise your business on Google for free, and everyone loves a free advertisement.  This will help your advertisement show up in searches and can help you get more traffic, leads and customers.  For example, a Boston volunteer organization I work with called the Boston Scholars Program is currently listed at the TOP of the Google search results for searches like "volunteer in boston", "volunteer boston ma", and "volunteer boston, ma".  See the image below.


boston_scholars_google_volunteer


How to Get Free Advertising on Google

Things You Need Before Starting Your Free Advertisement

  • A description of your business
  • Your phone number, address, and any other contact info you want to advertise
  • A logo or image that represents your business (some people use a picture of their office, store, or restaurant)
  • A coupon or special offer you want to advertise (Google also lets you add a coupon for FREE if you want)

Step-by-Step Guide to Free Google Advertisement 

  1. Go to www.google.com/local and search for your business to verify it is not yet listed with an advertisement.
  2. Go back to www.google.com/local and click on Add/Edit Your Business at the bottom left part of the page.  (See image below.)

    add your business to google marketing  
  3. Follow the steps provided by Google.  They are pretty simple and straightforward.  As part of the process you will need to verify your business either by phone or mail.
  4. Check back in a few weeks with Google and verify your listing.  If you want to update it, you can use the same process outlined here to update your listing.  See image below of the advertisement for the Boston Scholars Program including details and logo.
boston scholars listing resized 600

Have you found any free internet marketing tricks?  Have you advertised your business on Google? (You can also check out our free internet marketing tools.) Leave a comment and let me know.

How To Increase Awareness And Generate Leads With Local SEO

How To Increase Awareness And Generate Leads With Local SEO

Learn how to take advantage of the emphasis that search engines are placing on local SEO.

Download the free guide to drive more local traffic to your site and generate more leads for your business!

Posted by Mike Volpe on Wed, Jun 13, 2007 @ 11:44 AM

COMMENTS

Holy crap that is cool. Combine that with a free disposable cell phone number, http://numbr.com I will soon be #1 on Google for what I want. Done!

posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 2:11 PM by nate


Thank for the useful tips, every little things you did is a million help for others

posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 11:32 PM by B.D. Joenoes


brilliant idea mike. every time i visit the small business hub there is something new and interesting .. i love the content here

posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 9:12 AM by Amit Desai


Where in the world would small business be without the internet. The exchange of tips and ideas is priceless. We are all busy, but to take the time to share is truly american. Thanks Again!

posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 4:13 PM by Tara


Thanks for the info. Hope this helps us grow.

posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 11:40 PM by Travis Register


Thanks for you tips. Theycan help anyone who is derious about starting and growing a business. Keep those good tips coming.

posted on Sunday, July 01, 2007 at 12:42 PM by Fannie Butler


Thank you so much. Anything for free, Ill take it.

posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 at 4:59 PM by TPN WEB DESIGN INC.


Many thanks for the tip - will look for the NZ equivalent and post our site http:\www.constructiondisputeservices.co.nz

posted on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 at 10:32 PM by Construction Dispute Services


help, im very new at this, i have my buisness listed on google local but desperately want to get in the top 3 listed on the map ( i don't mind paying) i just can't seem to work out how to do it, please could someone cantact me if you have any ideas, many thanks.

posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2007 at 10:13 AM by shelly


Shelly - It is hard to get listed in the top 3, and it depends on the search terms a lot. If you are interested, check outwww.hubspot.com , it has a lot of tools for search engine optimization and keyword selection. There is a link to request a demo on the website. Also, you might get some info from the free tool atwww.websitegrader.com

posted on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 12:54 AM by


Thank you for the great advise. Unfortunately this option is not available to anyone in Asia. I was just wondering if anyone new of a similar option for Asian countries.

posted on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 10:25 AM by Chelsey


Great tip! I provide free classified ads space for monthly parking in North America http://www.parkinghunter.com The service is based on google maps. I am curious to see how beneficial this will be.

posted on Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 12:37 PM by Parking Hunter


If a business in only an online store how can it be listed in a local listing on google for free?

posted on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 1:32 PM by Eleanor


That's an excellent article. It's interesting how although most people used Google local, few thought to list themselves :)

posted on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 12:26 PM by Indelible Bonobo


This is so cool! Thanks for the great tip. We're going to add http://www.BestWebsite.com, be sure to visit for step-by-step instructions to building profitable websites.

posted on Tuesday, January 08, 2008 at 10:42 PM by BestWebsite


I have a website and i need to advertise to get traffic to my site please let me know what to do

posted on Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 4:37 PM by Robertta Reck


i would to say thank you for your advise

posted on Friday, January 11, 2008 at 7:45 AM by Maki Mdlalose


Thank you for the great advise. greets from germany!

posted on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 10:07 PM by schiffsbeteiligungen


How do I advertise for free nationwide/worldwide on google???

posted on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 3:55 PM by RD


Great! Thanks sooo much.

posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 2:09 PM by Alex


Great information. Thanks!

posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 10:40 PM by Betterbizbuilders


hello does anyone no how i can advertise for free over the net to buy peoples old mobile phones
cheers

posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 4:52 AM by daiel


Wow, what a great idea. Everytime that I come to this site, it is full of great ideas. Keep up the great work.
Michael J. Fitzgerald, CPA/PFS, CFP, MST
100% Retirement Income Replacement Strategies
http://www.fitzfp-llc.com will get posted there.

posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 at 1:41 PM by Michael J. Fitzgerald, CPA/PFS, CFP, MST


Congratulation!!
Fantastic blog and website, they are really serious and effective. Thank you for this article.
We have just begun to inform our customers to the Google Local Business Center.

posted on Tuesday, February 05, 2008 at 3:09 PM by Diseño Web Barcelona


I was wondering if there were some inexpensive or Free ways of advertising my website www.ReplicasRock.com on Google.

posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 1:38 PM by Clover's Jewelry


i want to do free advertising in google

posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 11:38 AM by hadi


Wow this is cool. Wish I had found your blog earlier, better late than never, thanks for the tip!

posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 8:18 AM by Ten


Your article leaves out yet another interesting aspect of Google Maps and their free advertising: REVIEWS from various UGC sites are being crawled by Google and compiled into the Google Maps listing. For an example of this phenomena--- Google the words "Sacramento DJs"

posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 6:06 PM by Sacramento Wedding DJs


OMG! this place is the newbie's paradise. I just love all the practical tips. Once implemented I get to see results fast. Woo hoo.

posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 at 5:43 PM by Scrapbook Freek


awesome trick...dude i was already in the google's listing on the second...now i will be the topper

posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 3:27 AM by Sanaur


Pretty cool! Thanks for sharing this information.

posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 7:29 PM by Janice Gentles-Jones


Great resource for the small businesses out there, thank you for sharing will pass it on to othres

posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 12:44 AM by Albert


Excellent idea for advertising, this is very good, check out my website and move towards your goals.

posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 7:46 PM by Aldemac


A+++ Great stuff!! Another good article!!

posted on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 at 2:20 AM by Lowline


Need tips on how to market new business on the web Gift shop in Waterford, Southern Ireland

posted on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 at 12:20 PM by www.blackwidow.ie


Some good info. Thanks.

posted on Monday, May 12, 2008 at 1:52 AM by Railroad Locks


Thank you so much for this info. It's wonderful that you guys are out there helping so many with their businesses, especially as a newcomer! Any additional help out there would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 2:55 PM by Cara


thanks for nice tricks! my sister will love it.

posted on Friday, June 20, 2008 at 4:20 AM by Travel Directory


does any one can tell me how to put free advertise on google plz

posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 11:40 AM by salim


Im a stay at home mum,and oh my gosh i must have the most boring site..he..he..any advice on how to spark it up...and thanks guys for all your comments,it really shows im not the only one who doesnt know how to use computers...ill give anything a go...what have i got to loose,right.Have a look at my site and if you can...please give me some advice on how to get advertise for free,thanks guys...I hope you do well...bless ya

posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 9:40 AM by naomi


thank you a lot, Mike!! 
A brilliant idea!! I'll definetly use it!! THANKS!!!!

posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 11:41 PM by Leo


We are having a hard time getting to the first page of google search. But I hope this helps 

posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 3:18 PM by Sebastian


Great find Mike!!... I will be referencing this article in my SEM Guide... Well done!

posted on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 5:47 PM by Nick


How do you get a picture uploaded? I went to the Google/local link and there isn't anything about uploading an image in the spreadsheet?

posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 5:00 PM by Andrew


Thanks for the help!!!!!!!!

posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 at 12:33 PM by Maria


My company has benefit from the tips posted on hubspot. We currently generate double the traffic on our website. We find that more people are searching for Hypnosis services than ever before.

posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2008 at 9:07 AM by Unconscious Creations, Inc.


That's great! I'm listed! thanks for the free advice!!!

posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 10:17 PM by Lisa Gibbs


This is a really innovative post! I'm going to set my program up in a couple of minutes. The only thing I am wondering is will I be able to take advantage of this with an affiliate program related business.

posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 at 4:27 PM by Khalil


Thanks so much for the advice!

posted on Wednesday, December 03, 2008 at 8:56 PM by Bariatric Buddy


Thanks for the tip !

posted on Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 2:52 PM by William Mocniak


Great tips!!! thanks

posted on Saturday, March 07, 2009 at 6:18 AM by Eric


very good ideas. In today's marketplacve, the littletricks and efficient moves seperate the winners from the losers.

posted on Sunday, March 08, 2009 at 5:51 PM by Don


Nice idea, Good way to advertise.

posted on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 7:26 PM by Xou


Never thought of that before. Any other tips? 
 
 
 
http://www.freebieforce.com/wealth84

posted on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 7:28 PM by Dave


I used this for a bunch of sites. It works great. I am trying to get an art gallery in NYC for the search phrase art galleries New York.

posted on Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 11:15 PM by Fischbach Art Gallery New York


very Good idea,  
Thanks from Cameroon.

posted on Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at 5:54 AM by yves


great advise thank you !!

posted on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:58 PM by shoe discounts


i agree with you i am to your free advertising

posted on Saturday, April 04, 2009 at 11:38 PM by abdul rauf


It is great tool for me, thank you very much.

posted on Friday, April 17, 2009 at 11:10 AM by Sukkim Lama


I love your tips. I only want to say: thanks, thanks, and thanks.

posted on Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 12:17 PM by Jordansfoot.com


Thanks awesome tips,hope it helps us out! 
 
 
 
http://hnhpainting.com/

posted on Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 1:22 PM by Hilario Huerta


Great Tips from you.thanks you for it.

posted on Monday, May 11, 2009 at 4:20 PM by Chanthirakumar


thanks a lot for very usefull writing.

posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 10:16 AM by Chanthirakumar


anyone know how to advertise on google for free if it only have stall online no base address? thanks 
 
http://www.marketsonline.com.au/stalls/home.php?cat=3708

posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 at 9:03 PM by cathy


Good source

posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 3:29 AM by Ajmeet Singh


We are a small business in Spain, and are very glad to have found hubspot, as there is very little quality resources in Spanish on this sort of thing. We're going to apply this tip to our Selectividad recursos business right away! Thanks!

posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 4:34 PM by Steve Arrigenna


Google local is very good when setup properly. We have gotten some prospects from it. Especially if you get reviews from clients about work you have done, which gives more weight to your listing. 
 
 
 
http://www.server-support-company.com 
 

posted on Monday, May 25, 2009 at 9:44 AM by Sarah


you gave me more usefull informations through this site.thanks a lot.

posted on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 2:46 AM by Chanthirakumar


RELLY, 
TO GOOD MARKETING 
GREAT

posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 at 5:59 AM by JATIN SHARMA


Thanks!!! It really helps.

posted on Saturday, June 06, 2009 at 6:59 AM by BE FASHION


working in River Oaks area of Houston- the inner loop. 
 
So many real estate agents in Houston - trying to find a way to stand out???

posted on Thursday, July 02, 2009 at 1:03 PM by Melissa Casey


I know this is an old post but the information is still fantastic. I am an marketing leader for sellers at icraft.ca Seller's and just wanted to let you know I will be directing the students here for your Google map Director instructions. Thanks so much 
Christine 
Pillowthrowdecor

posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 at 4:26 PM by Pillowthrowdecor


I am worked on this blog- tell me what you think..... 
 
http://melissacaseygarygreencom.blogspot.com/ 
 

posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 at 7:57 AM by MELISSA CASEY


I loved this sight it will give people what they need without a gimic being added.

posted on Friday, August 07, 2009 at 3:03 PM by Joseph guidi


Great Detailed Step by Step how to for the do it yourself SEO student. 
 
I'm amazed at how much spam comments hubspot is allowing on this post, it kind of detracts from the pages value. 
 
Getting INTO Googlemaps is one thing (not that it's a small thing) but getting your listing to climb higher than your competitors??? 
 
That requires science, skill and knowledge of the game. 
 
Knowledge of the algorithim that decides who gets to be #1 in Googlemaps. 
you see you can be #1 in the organic listings, you can even have multiple listings in the top 10, I even fill the entire search results page with my clients listings, but that doesn't get you to rank higher in Googlemaps.  
Call me and I can get your Googlemaps listing to rank higher

posted on Monday, August 10, 2009 at 9:54 PM by Maryland search engine marketing


Great stuff. The SEO world is slowly changing and every little bit helps. 
 
 
 
-James Richards 
 
IT 
 
http://www.vonbishop.com/

posted on Monday, August 17, 2009 at 11:34 AM by James Richards


Are you financially squezzed?i can help you secure a guaranty loan.

posted on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 6:05 AM by Mason jake


Comments have been closed for this article.