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Google remains its friendly relationship with local companies by beefing up Google Local Business, now called "Google Places". The world's largest search engine company is betting its renewed emphasis are certain to get more local retail and service outlets to utilize Google when promoting their organizations. I have used Google Places to advertise my wife's housekeeping business in Long Island, NY, so I'm enthusiastic about the changes. Getting exposure in the first page link between Google - according to whether your business exists in Google Places' predetermined classes - is now very easy. Now, businesses home-based and greater can set their service areas, which enables clients to get them easier. And in some cities, Google is providing local businesses free photo shoots (by way of a Google photographer!) of their store interior. The photos are then published to accompany the Google Places listing. If you think this goal looks also complex, remember Google has covered much of the U.S.' important towns - and their suburbs - with pictures to give its Google Maps users a road level' view of directions and locations. Last but most certainly not least - and a little premature, I think - is that Google Places users can create their own QR ("Quick Response") code to place next to their list, which a customer, designed with a protection on their phone, could scan to obtain information to their system. Such technology is proven theoretically, but will it be actually used by people anytime in the longer term? It smacks of the promise of a technology, the cuecat, that has been a commercial failure. Total, Google's new changes to Places make it a much more robust marketing tool for small business owners. When it comes to driving traffic to local stores and their websites, nothing is better than free, especially when fee-based, much-ballyhooed "local" marketing answers like AOL's Patch.com, have yet to totally prove their mettle. To really get your own business shown on Google Places, start here. My passion happens to be helping smaller businesses and entrepreneurs succeed online. I've taken all my marketing success at two of the world's largest online agencies (Omnicom Digital and GroupM/WPP), and numerous successful startups (including Grasshopper and RCN), and now I am discussing it with you, the tiny business owner. To get my free detailed guide showing you ways to get listed in google business photos boston, visit: http://liveview360.com/
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