Alberta Business Marketing

Google Maps has had a somewhat chequered history until recently.  An example of a high visibility problem was that the Golden Ears Bridge in BC only appeared on Google Maps some 9 months after the bridge had been open and almost 3 years after construction started.

MapQuest, the competitor owned by AOL, was only a little better but that was no excuse for this less than stellar performance. 

Despite this, Google Maps has been showing reasonable growth.

On the Web, Google Maps drew 67.3 million unique views in February, according to Nielsen, while MapQuest tallied 24.7 million. Yahoo Local (YHOO) was third at 13.1 million.

Now in a major initiative, Google Maps has taken a commanding lead by taking Google Maps indoors.

 

A walkthrough of Google maps outlines what this offers

Go Indoors

Maps aren’t only for cities and countries — they’re useful inside buildings, too. Next time you’re running through an airport or shopping in a mall, use Google Maps on your mobile phone to find a specific place or discover cool spots nearby.

The Fortune article explains why Google Maps is headed indoors

By including indoor spaces to the Android version of its Maps service, Google is positioning itself to take advantage of two concurrent trends: the spread of mobile communications and the increasing privatization of public space.

As yet only a handful of indoor venues are included: stores such as Bloomingdale's, Macy's (M) and Home Depot (HD); airports in Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco; transit centers and other spaces in Japan; and malls including the Mall of America outside Minneapolis.

Any other private indoor space can provide the information to be included and the maps are 3-dimensional so it is possible to find your way around on any floor of a multi-floor building.  Clearly this will meet a real need since you can identify where you are in a building via your smartphone.  As yet it is only available on Android phones but an iPhone application cannot be long in coming.

Chapeau, Google, indoor Google Maps will prove to be a real winner without a doubt.

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Indoor Google Maps

Technorati Tags: android, indoors, interior, iPhone, maps

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Google Maps has neatly integrated photos and videos that have been geotagged.  If users take the time to put their media on the map when uploading, Google Maps users are provided with links to your media!

Hey, it just takes an extra minute to properly tag you photos with map information.  You are already tagging your photos with compelling titles and keyword tags, right?

Tags: Google Maps, google news, maps, media, multimedia, photos, Video
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Looking for a great way to drive traffic to your tourism business?

The latest monthly report on travel from Hitwise gives a clear reminder of the importance in providing accurate map listings and “driving directions” for tourism folk.

4 of Top 11 Most Visited Travel related Web sites are Maps

The important take away: Be sure your listing on these sites is correct!

Another important finding of the Hitwise report is the listing of most popular keywords used in travel.   The keyword phrase “Driving Directions” is a top search.

Take advantage of this keyword phrase by ensuring you have a Search Engine Optimized page designed for Travel Directions to the iconic place names associated with your business (ie: cities, parks, attractions).

Links:

Download the full Hitwise report.

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Tags: keywords, maps, travel directions
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Google has identified over 100 000 businesses in the U.S. as “Favorite Places” based on user reviews on Google Maps and they have rewarded them with QR Stickers – Window Decals like the one below.

When snapped with a smartphone camera the two dimensional bar code hyperlinks to the business Google Listing which shows the user reviews and Google Map listing for the business. (Learn more about What is a QR Code and Why you should know)

In related news, starting today on Google’s local site for handheld users, Google provides top-level search categories like restaurants, shopping, gas, lodging, etc. on the front page. Click that button and you’ll see the closest-by search results ranked by user rating.

New Business Interest for Google

Encouraging guest reviews is vital to any business success and although Google Maps reviews have been around for quite a while, the new sticker campaign is a not-so-subtle brand builder for Google Maps revealing yet another business interest – Google  business reviews.  For businesses, Google uses the sticker campaign to ask: “Want to become a Favorite Place on Google?“, reminding business folk to ensure that their listing on Google Maps (aka Google Local) is accurate in the Google Local Business Centre.  Never mind that you’ll be increasing the accuracy and value of Google Maps database in the process.

Guest Reviews Matter

If I were TripAdvisor (fresh with a new restaurant review iPhone app) or Yelp whose iPhone app which beckons reviews on all kinds of businesses, I’d be more than a bit concerned about these stickers.    Each has worked hard at building recognition for their own brands as the de facto standard in ranking businesses.  Of course Google has been in the business of ranking all kinds of businesses online for much longer (search engine rankings) and have established considerable consumer trust.  Expect the sticker campaign to raise the importance of Google Maps reviews in the eyes of many.

Brand Building by Association

Association with a well respected brand is an excellent marketing strategy.  Businesses that link to their TripAdvisor reviews, or have an app in the Apple iTunes store know this well.  For the “Favorite Business of Google” sticker recipients, just having the sticker on the window is likely to encourage even non-smartphone users to form a favorable opinion of the business.  After all, folks may know about TripAdvisor or Yelp, but most everyone has a generally favourable opinion of the Google brand.

Learn more about Google’s QR Code gift to Favourite Places.

What do you think about Google’s QR stickers.  Do you think it will catch on?

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Tags: google, google news, handheld, maps, qr codes, reputation management
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What is Google City Tours?

Google has launched a new Labs innovation called Google City Tours. The premise is that Google knows what the attractions are in each region and can provide maps with links to attractions and provide relevant multi-day itineraries that help you explore the city

Why Google is no threat to DMO’s and Visitor and Convention Bureaus

While the idea is great, this Labs innovation falls flat for a number of reasons:

• Google City Tour misses obvious attractions. In my search of Leamington, Ontario Google failed to identify Point Pelee National Park as worth seeing. Point Pelee is just a few km away and a national treasure!
• Selected locations are not diverse. Most seem to be historical / museum-type attractions. When I searched cities I know well, the routes chosen overlooked obvious and locally renowned attractions such as wineries, gardens, parks, retail destinations, etc.
• Google City Tour demonstrates absolutely no local knowledge – which is critical to giving real, helpful travel advice. Human powered advice sites like TripAdvisor provide much better and more relevant information for travelers.
• Every traveler is unique. The idea of a mapped itinerary is a good one, but wouldn’t families, foodies, adventurers, shopaholics, museum lovers, etc. each want to visit different types of attractions? Yes, they would.

Google City Tours shows DMO’s what they should already be doing

Thanks to Google Labs City Tour for reminding DMO’s, visitor centres, Visitor and Convention bureaus and regional travel associations that Google provides some great technology for helping travelers find their way to meaningful, memorable travel experiences in your region.

• Google.com/maps MyMaps feature allows DMO’s and travel regions to create their own customized map – for free. This post showed how tourism regions or businesses could do this over two years ago. DMO’s should be creating custom maps using icons, routes and local knowledge to share travel information that has real value.
• Consider designing specific maps based on the interests of diverse types of travelers.
• These maps can be embedded in Web sites like ours at Northern Edge Algonqui

Thanks to Twitter friends who pointed out Google Labs latest innovation:@anneh632 @mosherifdeen @travel2dot0 @wilhelmus – Give ‘em a follow.

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Tags: city tours, google, google news, labs, maps
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