Google updates local tools with photos inside businesses
- Added:
- Apr 21, 2010
Google is changing the name of its Local Business Center to Google Places adding new tools to help connect consumers with local shops, including photos of the interiors of buildings.
The search giant is letting businesses in some cities buy Tags to make their listings stand out on Google.com and Google Maps, for $25 a month.
Businesses in some cities can also now request a free photo shoot of their interiors, which Google will offer on Place Pages.
Users searching for information about restaurants, hotels, museums, schools and parks can click on a location on a Google Map and be whisked to the Place Page to see details, pictures and reviews of that location.
Other initiatives Google is proposing include customized QR codes (a unique barcode that links to the Google Place Page when read by a mobile phone) and real-time updates that let businesses communicate directly with their customers.
Users can find these businesses on Google Maps from their desktops and from Google Maps for Mobile on smartphones.
John Hanke, vice president for Google Maps, Earth and Local Places, said Google Places will continue to offer these tools and more.
"Millions of people use Google every day to find places in the real world, and we want to better connect Place Pages—the way that businesses are being found today—with the tool that enables business owners to manage their presence on Google," Hanke said in his blog.
More than 4 million companies claimed their Google "Place Pages" in September 2009 when Google first launched their "informed decisions" geolocation service.
Google's Place Pages now span in excess of 50 million places across the globe, from restaurants to hotels to museums and favorite hotspots.
Each Place Page is constantly updated with practical information sourced from "the best places across the web" and supplemented with information given by business owners. Google's Place Pages show important information about the places like opening times, phone numbers, photos, reviews and offers from business owners.
Google has been increasing its local search and listings after the internet giant failed to acquire geo-location business review company Yelp in December 2009.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com.
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