Everyone knows that if you must run a business today, you need a website. In fact, people will go further to say you need a website plus various other online supports, such as Facebook and Twitter.
One of the major reasons it is essential to have some sort of online presence is because your customers need to find your business. Where do people go when they need to find something? Online search platforms, of course!
Personally, when I am looking for some types of business I go to Google Maps and run a search, including the city and state (or even nearest address).
Google makes checking out businesses easy with well-detailed listings of all sorts of information. If you are not sure what I am talking about, try going to Google Maps (www.google.com/maps) and search for a local business.
For the purposes of this article, I will be running a search for Mak Nisy Collections, a Nigerian fashion accessories outfit based in Abuja, so I will type Mac Nisy in the search bar.
Notice that when you find the business in the search results that there is a “more info” link. It also shows you a complete address of where the business is located as well as a map of the location.
I am referring to this type of detailed listing. As a business owner, did you know you could now actually have some control as to what your business listing says about your business? Let me introduce you to Google Places.
The process is simple. Let us go through it systematically.
- Go to Google Places (www.google.com/places), sign in with your Google account and click “Add new business.”
- Next, you will be asked to begin to enter your business’ details. This mostly include location based information (address and others), contact information (like email, phone and web address) and descriptive information (a short description and categorisation).
- Now you will be asked to give more details to be included in the listing. It is good for potential customers to know about your service location, hours of operation and payment options. You will also have the opportunity to include photos and even videos in your listing.
- The last part of the Google Places listing process is validating that all of this information is actually coming from the owner of the business being listed. You can choose to validate by phone. Believe it or not, going the phone route would be a lot easier and faster.
Google Places offers more
In this article, I have focused on how to take control of what information is in your business’s Google listing. You must realise that Google Places also offers business owners other valuable tools, such as printable coupons and a dashboard full of statistics and trends helping you to choose how to better meet the needs of your customers.
In the near future, maps might also understand the fundamental relationships between activities. For example, when first searching for your meeting location, your map could highlight nearby parking garages or spaces for your car, preventing the need for you to scrabble for one when you arrive.
Or if you prefer to travel by public transport, the answer to your problem might be a map that highlights transit stations rather than a more traditional roadmap.
Of course, this concept goes beyond just directions. If your next business meeting happened to be abroad, your phone can offer up information on the local weather, the exchange rate and language translation tools as your plane touches down. Think of the technology as a helpful assistant that makes suggestions then retreats from view just as fast–letting you get on with your day.
Perhaps, the ultimate innovation in maps and technology will be realised a bit further down the road, moving beyond offering suggestions to defining what is next for the world. In fact, you might not have to drive to that business meeting at all, with maps eventually helping automated vehicles drive themselves with every occupant as a passenger.
Now business owners can have the control they need to maximise the benefits of Google free.
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