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Understanding Google My Business & Local Search

Google Maps and the QR Code – Why Use Google’s?


Google Places recently added the ability for a business to create a printable QR code for their business that takes a user to their Places Page. In today’s Lat-Long blog post Google is suggesting the following possible uses for the code:

  • Add it to the back of business cards: Lots of you are already giving away business cards to your customers. Adding a QR code lets you add a lot more information, virtually, with your Place Page, and allows you to change information like discounts & real-time updates about your business without changing the card itself.
  • Add it to marketing materials: If you’re running an ad, putting out a pamphlet, or handing out flyers, add a QR code to the corner. We’re using QR codes in a series of new testimonials about Google Places, for example. (Make sure to keep some white space around the QR code to allow for proper scanning).
  • Put it in your window: If you’ve got a poster, a menu, or anything else in your window, a QR code lets customers remember you by scanning the code and saving your business as a personal favorite. We’ve got a sample poster with your unique code already on it, which is ready to print from your dashboard page.

I think all of those ideas are excellent although a few years ahead of the market. I laud Google for its creative use of the code and for their creative marketing of it.

But I would ask, if you are going to use a QR Code in your marketing, why use Google’s? It is dead on simple to create your own at a number of sites. Here is the code that I generated from the first result in Google.

I much prefer the resulting destination. 🙂