When new piano teachers ask me about taking their piano studio online many might be surprised that my first suggestion is not “get a website”. Instead, I tell new teachers to claim their piano business listing on Google Places.
It is a simple process and it will allow you to be found online in Google search results, almost immediately. This is not the case with a website. Websites take time to get into Google’s good books.
Does this mean you should nix a piano studio website? Absolutely not! In time, if you set your website up correctly, it will work its way up Google’s search rankings. And when it does make the first page of Google, it will be far superior to a simple Google Places listing. But until that time comes, claim your Google Places listing and get found online.
Check out the video below to learn how to get started with Google Places.
Kristen says
My Google places page is definitely high ranked and got there quickly, but it really moved up by posting little updates every week or few days and by filling it out as completely as possible (pictures, information, etc). I wasn’t appearing in the initial list of Google places until I did this so I would add that you don’t want to just create the place page, you need to keep it active and updated.
Even before my places page, my facebook page was the highest ranked piece I had. Within a very short time (a week maybe) it was on the front page of Google when searching for my targeted keywords. I believe it got there because I was sure to use the words I thought people were most likely to search for when looking for piano lessons. I just worked them into my regular updates and it seemed to work. Just another free option to add to the rest of the mix!
Dorla Aparicio says
Oh… this is an excellent post! I need to do this soon…very soon.
Thanks for opening up ways for piano teachers to communicate and learn.
Janelle says
This is true – most of our website views are directed from Google Places.
Carolyn says
Great post! I’m just waiting for my pin in the mail so I can get my business listed!
Kristen~ What kind of updates did you do to keep your places ad active and updated? And what picture did you include?
Also, how do you get a facebook page to show up?
Thanks for any help. It’s a tough business, attracting new students when you’re new in town and don’t have word-of-mouth on your side!
Carolyn
David Barton says
Excellent post. I’ve recently got my listing ‘live’ but does anyone know how they work? If I go to Google Maps and search for my company name, up it comes; however, if I search for example ‘piano lessons lichfield’ it doesn’t come up either just searching Google or specifically searching Google Maps – is this just a question of time?
Trevor says
Hi David, just sent you an email to answer your questions… hope it helps!