PlePer Local SEO Chrome Extension
Reading Time: 6 minutes There are tons of great Chrome extensions available for marketers to use, but when it comes to local SEO, PlePer is by far the best. So what is PlePer, and what does it do?
PlePer is the ultimate local SEO Chrome extension for running competitor analysis. PlePer allows marketers to “legally” spy on their competitor’s Google Business Profile and view key data points. This extension provides a ton of information on competitors and is by far one of our favorite free local SEO tools.
Is PlePer safe to install? Check out the stats here.
Let’s take a deep dive and see all that PlePer has to offer!
Table of Contents
Installing the Chrome Extension
Before jumping in, head to the Google Chrome Web Store to download the free version of PlePer here. One of the nice things about PlePer is that once the extension is downloaded, no extra configurations, logins, or actions are necessary.
What is Google’s Knowledge Panel?
When searching for a specific topic or business on Google, companies often pop up on the right side of the search engine results page if Google deems they are relevant to the user’s search intent. This section of information is called the Google Knowledge Panel, and it holds basic key information about the specific company or topic searched.
PlePer Listing Details (Monitor Duplicate Listings)
After installing the PlePer extension, users will notice there is an extra button in the Knowledge Panel underneath the company name called “Listing Details.” This button provides all the information that is in the business listing.
- Categories: Shows what the business owner identified as their main industry or services they provide (ex: plumber, tanning salon, clothing boutique).
- Place ID: This ID is a unique piece of text that Google creates to indicate the location of the business within their platform and Google Maps.
- CID: The Customer ID is an ID that Google provides to identify and link a business across all Google platforms, like Google Analytics and Google Ads.
- Business Profile ID: This is an ID that is given when a Google Business Profile is set up and is often used for Google customer support.
- Address: The business’ physical location, if they have one.
- Phone Number: The main phone number to contact the business.
- Website: A link to the business’ website. This feature in PlePer also allows users to run the website URL through other websites and run tests like PageSpeed Insights, Mobile Friendly Test, Structured Data Test, Serpstat, Semrush, and Whois.
- Reviews: Shows how many reviews the business has on Google.
- Rating: Gives the average star rating out of five that a business has.
- Coordinates: Provides the physical location of the business via coordinates.
- Attributes: Shows the number of attributes a company has added to their business profile and which attributes they selected (ex: payments, amenities, languages spoken, crowds).
- KG ID: This type of ID is an identifier that is assigned to each word on Google.
- Other external information: PlePer also provides links to outside sources like the company’s Facebook account, Secretary of State Business lookup website, Yelp, Wikipedia, Google Maps, Apple Maps, and more.
Show and Hide Listing Details
PlePer allows users to pin the listing details and use CTRL+ALT+E to show or hide the listing details window on whatever page they are on. This is a great side feature that PlePer has to offer.
Google Local Finder
The Google Local Finder is a feature on the search engine results page (SERP) that helps users discover businesses in their geographical location depending on their search intent and keywords typed into the search engines.
What is the Google Map Pack?
The Google Map Pack is an important part of Google’s ranking system for businesses that are targeting a specific geographic location. The Map Pack is below the paid ads on a search engine result page and above the organic search results. Clicking on “More Businesses” brings up local companies related to the search query, making it easier for customers to find a business.
PlePer and the Local Map Pack
PlePer makes it easier for users to dive deeper into competitors in one place. When looking at the local businesses, as you click on each company, their listing details pop up, providing insight with one click and no scrolling.
Google Maps
PlePer also allows its users to perform an analysis of the category that a business identifies with. If the user clicks on the category under the business name in the Google Maps search results page, four sections of insightful data pop up.
- Categories: This section breaks down which categories each business has selected other than the main category. For example, under the plumber category, four other users have drainage services selected as well.
- Reviews: This section gives insight into the average reviews per business under that category, focusing on the averages, maximums, and minimums of the ratings and reviews.
- Attributes: Shows what attributes each business is using; for example, 19% of businesses under the plumber category have the payment attribute selected and set as credit card.
- Business Hours: This section shows average business hours per day and the days that businesses in that category are open.
This feature in Google Maps is great when comparing a business to its competitors. It gives insight into what aspects can be changed to create more similarities with competitors or to differentiate from them, depending on the case. A great use case for this feature is if all your company’s competitors are open until 6 p.m., maybe consider staying open later to see if that helps drive more end-of-day traffic.
Right-Click Shortcuts
PlePer also offers shortcuts to help users quickly find the information they need. Let’s take a look at some of these shortcuts!
- Serpstat: Clicking on this shortcut launches the Serpstat platform, which is a popular SEO tool that marketers use (similar to Semrush).
- Google Nearby Search: This right-click shortcut is great for doing a quick search for companies associated with a certain keyword in a specific location, making it ideal for looking up local competitors. Another shortcut to access this feature is to press CTRL+ALT+R.
- Show Place ID: For this right-click shortcut, users must click over the name of the company to launch. This shortcut pops open the place ID of a company along with their FID and CID.
- Websites: When looking at a company’s website, right-click shortcuts allow users to run tests on the website’s links, pages, and domain for things like mobile friendliness or website speed. This feature also allows users to save or copy the webpage via Wayback Machine.
- Additional Tools: There are also shortcuts that bring up tools like Google Maps and Google CID converter and link generator on PlePers’ website.
Start Analyzing Your Competitors Today!
We are not affiliated with or sponsored by PlePer; we just think it is a great free local SEO Chrome extension that can give a ton of insight into a company’s business profile on Google. If users are looking for a more advanced extension, PlePer offers additional features that users can purchase on their website here.
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