Last time the frog broke news on the new “post to your place page” feature in the Google LBC. It was nice to have it picked up by Blumenthal and read his enlightening thoughts on understanding “post to your place page” feature’s importance.
Today I noticed another new feature, “Service Areas” (something every small service business has dreamed of since the launch of maps). I thought maybe I was first again to find it but alas I was beaten to the punch, as it should be.
Mike has a great post on this rebranding of the Google Local Business Center.
All of these developments lead us to the question (or inevitability?) of Google’s monopolisation of small business advertising. With the large percentage of people searching online before making local purchases, Google is a powerful force in local business visibility.
One could speculate about the future and all of the implications. That could spawn endless blog posts and there is no time for that. But basically the thought is that if Google can get its act together, and stop losing entire towns, they will be increasingly involved in the lives of small businesses and increasingly important for them.
Which in a sense is sad, because there is so much great marketing that can happen outside of (and beyond) the Google box if one is just willing enough to be creative.
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