I got a call the other day from some guy offering to get me listed on Google Places. He’d take care of everything for $500, and my firm would appear on Google Maps. I let him go on for about seven minutes before I told him I wasn’t interested. I was curious to hear his pitch.

Being listed on Google Places is valuable. About 20 percent of all Google searches reveal local purchase intent. These searches are for things like restaurants in the local area. Google visitors are also searching for lawyers in your local area. You want your firm to turn up when people are looking for a local lawyer because they’re pretty likely to hire someone.

You don’t need to spend $500 to get yourself listed on Google Places. You can do it yourself, and Google is happy to help. Each week, Google puts out a “Friday 15” video intended to help small businesses grow.

This past week, Friday 15 was all about getting your business listed on Google Search, Google Places and Google Maps.

You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA5YbISaolg