If you are a small business owner who relies on advertising, then you’ve most likely had experience with different directory services or even spent countless hours online searching for ways to advertise your business and products at a price that fits your small business budget. There are many ways to let potential customers know your whereabouts and services, and believe it or not, some of the best of services are free (and yes, we mean the completely, no-strings-attached kind of free).
We’re sure you’re already familiar with the Google name in terms of its search engine, but there is a whole lot more to Google than just searching. Google Maps is a service that offers mapping technology to businesses.
Imagine taking some of the major directory listings published throughout the world, and mapping the location and contact details for every listing in those publications to a dynamic, scrollable and searchable map interface. That is exactly what Google Maps does. Listing with Google Maps presents your business to prospective customers through a graphical map interface using a PC or a mobile phone. And that’s where things get even more interesting.
How People Use Google Maps
People looking for a specific type of business, or one located within a certain geographical region, can type in a variety of search terms in the Maps search box. Searches can be based on a business type, location, walking or driving distance from a starting address, and many other criteria.
When Google Maps returns the results, a listing of all business that fit the search terms appear listed on the left-hand side of the page. A graphical map interface appears to the right of the listings. If you select a text listing on the left you immediately see the location displayed on the graphical map to the right, allowing you to zoom in, scroll around, or even view a satellite image (or hybrid of the satellite image overlaid on the graphical map). From there you can view the business contact information via a marker posted to the map or even print precise driving directions from your own driveway to the selected location.
You can use Google Maps on mobile devices as well. In the U.S. if you have a Short Message Service (SMS) device, you can simply text message “GOOGL” the type of a business you are looking for, along with a city name, and Google will send back the top three matches to your query.
If the mobile device has a browser, you can search local listings and see map and driving directions as well (Java-enabled mobile phones and the Blackberry support this capability). Mobile Google can be a very useful way to market your business to potential customers who are in transit and looking for a specific type of business nearby.
