Google updated their Local Business Center to the new Google Places on April 20th. Place Pages will “connect people to information from the the best sources across the web, displaying photos, reviews and essential facts, as well as real-time updates and offers from business owners,” stated John Hanke, VP Google Maps, Earth and Local.
Businesses can claim their Place Page on Google through the Local Business Center; where more than 4 million businesses have already staked their claim. After logging in, businesses can verify and supplement their business information to include hours of operation, photos, videos, coupons, product offerings and more. Many of the other features are the same that businesses who use the Local Business Center have come to know, but they are also including a number of additional features.
Some of the features include (via Google):
- Service areas: If you travel to serve customers, you can now show which geographic areas you serve. And if you run a business without a storefront or office location, you can now make your address private.
- A new, simple way to advertise: For just $25 per month, businesses in select cities can make their listings stand out on Google.com and Google Maps with Tags. As of today, we’re rolling out Tags to three new cities — Austin, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. — in addition to ongoing availability in Houston and San Jose, CA. In the coming weeks we’ll also be introducing Tags in Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, Boulder and San Francisco.
- Business photo shoots: In addition to uploading their own photos, businesses in select cities can now request a free photo shoot of the interior of their business which we’ll use to supplement existing photos of businesses on Place Pages. We’ve been experimenting with this over the past few months, and now have created a site for businesses to learn more and express their interest in participating.
- Customized QR codes: From the dashboard page of Google Places, businesses in the U.S. can download a QR code that’s unique to their business, directly from their dashboard page. QR codes can be placed on business cards or other marketing materials, and customers can scan them with certain smartphones to be taken directly to the mobile version of the Place Page for that business.
- Favorite Places: We’re doing a second round of our Favorite Places program, and are mailing window decals to 50,000 businesses around the U.S. These decals include a QR code that can be scanned with a smartphone to directly view the mobile Place Page for the business to learn more about their great offerings.
