Google Local Business becomes Google Places - Can customers find you there?
Wednesday 21 April 2010, 7:24AM
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Today, Google announced that its Local Business Center will now be known as Google Places and has added new features to the service.
More and more people use Google to search for local businesses, products and services so if you didn’t have your business listed in the Google Local Business Center then it’s about time you looked at Google Places and how this feature rich (free) service can help strengthen your online presence.
Complete with built in analytics Google Places allows you to view reports on statistics like how many people saw your business listing as a local search result, how many times people clicked through for more info on maps, checked for directions to your shop or clicked through to your site. This obviously ties in nicely with your Google Analytics for the click throughs to your website.
Additionally, from the Dashboard you can see what query was used to find you and where the requests for directions came from. i.e. Auckland, Hamilton, etc...
Is your business listed in Google Places?
Businesses can claim their Google Place and add business details such as hours of operation, photos, videos, coupons, products and services, etc... as well as generating feedback from customers for other potential customers to see.