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Understanding Google My Business & Local Search

Google Maps Looking for Local Inventory

We don’t frequently get to peak at what Google plans are for local and local content.
my-maps-events
There have been a number of signals that all point to the obvious direction of Google wanting to increase the granularity of local information world wide and thir desire to control that information themselves. Google has been:
•Including more user generated listing content in Maps results.
•Including more user generated mapping data into Maps.
•Actively soliciting promotional events, political and social activities via Map Maker.

Clearly, Google needs and wants more granular information about things happening on the ground. It is no surprise that they would want hyper local inventory data as well.

In Google Cozies Up To SMBs For Digital Content, (thanks to Chris Silver Smith for the heads up) Laurie Sullivan recounts the presentation that Chris LaSala, Google director of local marketers and strategic partner development, provided this week at The Kelsey Group conference in Los Angeles. He noted “There’s a vast array of content specific to local markets, but the majority isn’t available in digital form, so getting access to it isn’t easy”. According to the article LaSala estimates that Google has indexed about 10% of the available digital content geared toward local markets. “If you look at Main Street USA–the barber, the church, the synagogue and the sports shop–you might get the hours of service and address,” he said. “But wouldn’t it be great if you find out if you could get an Alex Rodriguez rookie card? If you knew it was in the shop and the costs, you could go down to the store and buy it. This is just an example of where we are today.”

He apparently recognizes that Google has not done a great job of engaging local businesses and that many of their products don’t meet their needs.

To address this gap “there are plans to roll out new bundled services and APIs for SMBs that should align better with the philosophies of smaller companies”.

I would like tho think that we will be able to have all of this information readily and accurately available to us in the not to near future. But Google will only be able to provide this solution if and only if they can solve the fundamental problem of which businesses really are on the ground.