Likely not. In fact under 2% of NZ businesses have claimed, verified and 
edited their Google local business listing. (This compares with 20% in the US market). Getting your Google business listing is more important than anything else right now. It’s simply the fast-track to getting on a page one search result!
The more detail, links and good reviews Google has on your business, the higher your placement in a search. It’s very important for eCommerce sites, Retailers, Restaurants, Dentists and those in the automotive trade – Any store or business with a street address customers come to.
This is all very important. Since mid 2010 these Google search listings with map, have been served up high on page one of a search. The maps have been given a higher priority than most generic search listings that SEO gurus fought so hard for. Yet this change can be Real Gold for small businesses.
Google loves shoppers
These days Google makes the assumption that most people who go online to search, are looking for a product or service. To service up a local, trustworthy supplier in the search result is the goal, which is good for customers and retail businesses.
A Google Map (aka Google Places; Local Business) listing can show all your business details including photos, that would have cost thousands per year as a similar display advertisement in the old Yellow phone book. Yet many businesses are still paying dearly for these traditional listings, even though most Yellow books are gathering dust somewhere, unopened.
Today 84% of prospective customers actively search for new products or local services using Google, not Yellow. (What’s more, 62% of these will use what they find to go to a physical store, not buy online). More and more, it’s done on their mobile phone too. And instead of a simple address listing and phone number, it comes with a Google map, photos, open hours, directions, customer reviews and much more. A mini-website in fact.
Most businesses find the number of leads coming via their FREE Google business listing to be 3-5 times higher than their Yellow Pages ads…
In the last 12 months, Google it appears has made the Yellow Pages offerings (book and online), obsolete for most small businesses, giving a far superior service, for a fraction of the cost.