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Google Maps For Android Now With Offers and More

posted on May 9, 2012

Google does one thing better than anyone else (in my opinion, of course, so feel free to disagree in the comments) and that thing is maps. There are always improvements happening and it’s one of the few times that I don’t feel like a second class citizen in the smartphone era since they roll updates out to us Android folks first!

The latest update integrates Google Offers into the map experience for Android. From the Google Lat Long blog we get

Today, in the U.S. only, we’re launching a way to discover nearby Google Offers in Google Maps for Android. To see great deals near you, tap on “Maps” to open the dropdown menu and then tap on “Offers.” If you see something you like you can click on it to learn more. Some Google Offers can be purchased and saved for later while others are immediately available for free. With free Google Offers, press “Use now” to redeem instantly or “Save for later” for future use. You can also opt-in to receive notifications in the app when there are offers near you.

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Google Places Unveils New Tool To Manage Bulk Listings

posted on May 9, 2012

If you have ever dealt with Google Places in any way you know how it can a maddening experience. As soon as there seems to be a semblance of calm and normality there is a sudden suspension of a listing, or a merge of two listings happens or Google just decides to replace your data with “new” data it dredged up from a data warehouse. Many local marketers and SEO professionals are likely to be cringing right now as they recall a moment from the past when that type of occurrence was all too present. Sorry about that ;-) .

Well, Google is at least trying to help businesses with at least 10 locations (considered the low end limit) by introducing a new bulk upload tool. It’s best for you to watch the tutorials that Google has prepared and posted on their Small Business blog

First, this tutorial is for those who are new users:

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Google Wants Your Images Through Updated Panoramio

posted on April 20, 2012

Google likes to get information from people any way they can. One thing they are good at, especially in their quest to make maps and places data richer, is getting users to do it for them, for free. It’s brilliant since people like to be associated with a winner so if they can contribute to Google’s greater good they can feel like they have accomplished something.

There’s nothing evil about this at all. It’s just interesting what people will do and how far companies will let them go. They both get what they want but only Google profits from it.

Now Google has updated its Panoramio photo sharing service to make it easier for people to populate Google Earth and Google Maps with photos. Here is a video from the Lat Long blog

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Majority of Small Business Websites Are Missing Contact Information

posted on April 17, 2012

In the past week I used the internet to find the address and directions to a hotel, the phone number of a local restaurant, and the email address of a blogger.

I failed on the first try, all three times.

Gone are the days when a potential customer would pop open the Yellow Pages or even call directory assistance for a phone number. One survey showed that 59% of consumers search Google for local business information at least once a month. What would they find if they were searching for you?

SMB DigitalScape took a look at 1 million SMB websites and here’s what they found:

  • 6 out of 10 SMB websites in the U.S. are missing either a local or toll-free telephone number on the home page to contact the business.

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NYC Maps App Gives Google Local Competition

posted on April 2, 2012

Google Maps seems to have the edge in the maps game worldwide. Granted, there are plenty of competitors and there are many options for Internet users to get directions and business information but many go to Google because they are there anyway so why not?

Now, New York City, the place where Google made a monster real estate investment just a short while ago which will continue to bring more jobs to the city, has put together a way for tourists and NYC residents to not use Google (but thanks very much for the jobs and the tax money!).

NYC & Company has developed an iPhone app mapping New York City and giving lots of local data points that are usually reserved for other local players. If something like this happened in Anywhere, USA this might not be big news. But it is happening in NYC so its big news. Here is a look at the app from iTunes preview from a link on the nycgo.com site.

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Is Yelp Still Strong-Arming Merchants?

posted on March 7, 2012

For years the complaints about Yelp’s “sales” tactics have been heard. Maybe I am just not paying attention but I thought that had gone away to some extent. Now with Yelp going public and all the positive vibes flying around about the company as an investment it may get even harder to find the reality.

That is until I read this article at SFGate.com entitled “A 1-star, unfiltered user review of Yelp”. It’s written by restauranteur, Bob Larive, whose Fior d’Italia has been around for 125 years so they must be doing something right. He states

As a longtime restaurateur active in the industry and previous board member of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, the California Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association, I think the way Yelp treats businesses and Yelp users doesn’t bode well for it.

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Exp’d SMB Seeks Newbie for Profitable Relationship

posted on March 6, 2012

Exp’d SMB Seeks Newbie for Profitable Relationship

If interested, come to my restaurant at noon and you can buy lunch.

When it comes to hyperlocal advertising, 49% of small business owners said they do it to find new customers. The data comes from Street Fighter and eMarketer put together this nice chart so you can see it at a glance:

Every business needs new customers and not just to grow. Some businesses need new customers just to stay afloat. Retailers that deal in baby goods need a constant supply of new parents. Textbook dealers rely on a new crop of college students every year.