How do I locate a painter, a lawn service, a tailor who can
repair the faux fur on my parka? I use a Google service at
http://local.google.com. Sometimes when I am in another city, I use my
BlackBerry, navigate to Google, and enter the ZIP code of my location and the
word that describes what I need: For example, 20008 pizza. Google lists pizza
joints in that neighborhood in Washington, D.C. If I click on a listing, Google
delivers one of those Google Maps with red flags indicating where I can buy a
slice. I get the phone number, and if there is a link in the listing, Google
shows me information about that pizza place.
The question is, “Is your business in the Google Local
service?” Google Local, as you now know, is Google’s digital equivalent of the
traditional Yellow Pages directory enriched with Google Maps, Web links and a
business advertisement.
Right now, creating a listing for your business in Google
Local costs nothing. To list your business, go to the Google.com search page
and enter the query “Goggle local business center” and click on the first link.
You can sign up. If you already have a Google account, you will want to log in
to the service.
The process is easy, and you will be able to describe your
business, list your hours of operations, provide your business’s Web site
address, and add links to videos and photos. The service is offered at no
charge, and the information you provide is indexed by Google and made available
to the company’s millions of online users.
However, there is one feature of the Google Local service that
warrants special attention. Google makes a coupon or special offer feature
available, also without charge. Here’s how this works. Click on the coupon
link, and you can create an online ad with different fonts and your own
message. A person who locates your business online can use this coupon when
visiting your business to claim your special offer. I was able to get a free
slice of pizza by showing the kid on duty my BlackBerry’s screen with his pizza
chain’s coupon visible. No delay. No push back. The fellow asked, “Cheese or
pepperoni?” I was sold.
With the costs of paper, ink and rolling trucks skyrocketing,
traditional directory publishers have to find a way to generate new revenue.
Most of the large directory publishers offer online business directories. I
worked on the original USWest business directory called USDEX in the late
1990s. I know that most people looking for information go to Google, which
means that Google has done an end run around some of the business directory
services. You may be advertising in your regional telephone company’s business
directory, and that may work for you. My view is that you may want to be listed
in the Google Local service because economics are fighting the traditional
Yellow Pages, and Google gets more than 70 percent of the online search traffic
in North America. With that volume of eyeballs, you may want to be in the
Google directory, provide Google with a video of your product or service in
action, and offer a coupon.
Now think back to those factoids at the beginning of this
column. Google’s Android operating system is open, which means that device
manufacturers can use it without paying hefty licensing fees or dealing with
gatekeepers like Apple’s licensing department. As Google’s presence in
connected devices increases, your listing has a greater chance for exposure to
potential customers.
Consider these situations in which Google Local may amp up the
traditional business listing directory.
My wife and I are sitting on the sofa. I am reading and she
sees an advertisement for one of those futuristic vacuum cleaners. With an
Android-equipped set-top box, she can pop open a window on the digital TV,
enter the name of the manufacturer and see a listing of stores that sell the product
in our immediate area.
I complain, so she takes her mobile phone and navigates to
Google Local and browses the store information. The idea is that the Android
operating system embedded in common devices makes looking up a source of a
product or service easy and painless. I know schlepping into the kitchen to
open the drawer that contains a 2-inch thick directory is not that difficult.
The point is that Google wants to make search a seamless part of a person’s
behaviors.
My father, who is 88 years old, only knows the printed Yellow
Pages method. Anyone with some comfort with the Internet will use what’s right
there, ready to go and interactive.
Microsoft beat Google to the punch with embedding smart
software in automobiles. Ford’s Sync product runs on Microsoft code. But
Microsoft’s software carries a license fee. Other automobile makers, including
prestigious German luxury carmakers, are using Google’s Android to deliver
geolocation services, information and automobile diagnostic services. Sergey Brin’s
voice search invention makes clear that Google has technology that delivers
Google Local information at a spoken command.
You can think of other ways in which operating systems,
devices and local business information can blend into new, useful services. My
suggestion: Take advantage of the Google Local listing service, upload a video
and create a coupon. Google seems to be poised to deliver customers.
Now navigate to Google Favorite Places. Just point your
browser to Google.com and run the query “Google Favorite Places.” Log in with
your Google user name and password. Next time you see me, I will have a Google
Map to your business, your business listing, my Google QC code and your Google
coupon. I want another slice of pepperoni, please.
Stephen E. Arnold is the founder and president of
ArnoldIT.com. You can get more information about online marketing, systems and
technology from www.arnoldit.com. He posts
to his public blogs frequently: www.arnoldit.com/wordpress
and http://ssnblog.com.