How Google Local Can Help Business Owners

As you know, Google Local is very beneficial to customers.  Customers can use the search option in Google Local to find local businesses and services.  It also includes the location of the selected search material on Google Maps which is an integrated application in this local directory.  A customer can view photos, images, and videos designed by the business to learn more about the product or services it offers.  These are a few reasons why Google Local is not only an asset for customers, but it helps business productivity as well. 

Google Local has created what is called Google Local Business Center for local business owners. This free enhancement allows not only a listingof updated general information for the business, but it also gives the business owner the ability to visually and graphically advertise to the customer.  One can also view his account through analytics, which shows how many people are checking out the profile of the business.  Google Local Business Center is definitely idea for local businesses to attract customers.

Google Local vs. Yellow Pages.Com

The similiarity in Google Local and YellowPages.Com is only both of their ability to allow businesses to list have a free listing and customers to have access to a local business directory. While the Yellow Pages only allows businesses to list their name, address, and phone number free of charge and includes its own integrated map, Google Local allows business to list the same information plus add coupons, photos, and videos. To get added enhancements with the Yellow Pages, one has to purchase just about every upgraded feature. For instance, video and photos are not free.


Although Yellow Pages.Com charges for enhancement features, their appeal to businesses is the access they would have with customer response. Their approach is to encourage businesses to persuade customers to give reviews on their website to entice onlookers to support the businesses. Yellow Pages has tools such as downloadable posters, flyers, and banners which encourage customers to visit the site and rate and review the business.

YellowPages.Com also offers services that creates business websites for you. This is an enhancement so therefore, there is a charge. Although this is beneficial. The free features that Google Local offers is like a website itself.

Google vs. Yelp

There are several options for local businesses and customers to become interactive. For instance, Google Local allows businesses to list and update business information, and even create coupons and display videos and photos. Customers can also find local businesses and services. Included in the business listings are maps and comments.

While Google Local is a pretty enhanced web directory, it is not the only one. Yelp is a great local business directory also. Like Google Local, it includes a search feature to find local businesses and services. It also includes the Google Map feature that is integrated in the Google Local directory. Yelp includes a business and service list directory that a user can click instead of typing the search material. Once the desired search topic is found, the results are ordered based on user recommendations. While Google Local is more business centered with its enhanced features such as a toolbar that features satellite and traffic information, Yelp is more customer-centered. It's features include more interactivity. For example, Yelp has a review of the day, blogs, and a twitter-like feature called "yelpers."

Although Google Local has awesome enhancements for local businesses and customers, I found that besides the map, the site was quite boring compared to Yelp. Yelp had very entertaining features for customers. The business guide was also comparable to Google Local Business Center. It included the same capabilities for free. The only thing that I found hassling with Yelp was that in order to receive the same capabilities as Google Local Business Center, you had to sign up with an email account to manually add your business to the list. Google Local is like the phone directory in that sense because it lists all businesses.

Google Local vs. Yahoo! Local

While there are many similar features offered by Google and Yahoo! local business listings sites, I found that there are many differences as well. For instance, both sites offer businesses the ability to list their address, telephone number, and business information updates for free. Google and Yahoo! also offer directions for the customer to find the business. The best feature of both sites are the interactivity of the customers to rate and review the business and the businesses to advertise events.

The differences in enhancement features distinguish these two sites. For example, although Google and Yahoo! have many common features, I found that Yahoo! was no different than yellowpages.com with an option to upgrade. Google is much more advanced, especially, being that these privileges are offered for free. For example, a business not only has the ability to list for free, but they can create coupons and display photos and videos. The map is just a treat that comes along with the other features. One has to pay to have the privilege of these features with Yahoo! by opting to purchase the enhancement additive which also includes a listing on the first and second search result page. Of course, this upgrade consists of a "month-to-month" billing cycle with no long-term contract. With Google, Adsense is the advertisement enhancing feature. It not only features business information on search engines, but it is also intertwined with AdWords which allows the listing to appear on sites owned by Website owners. One feature that Yahoo! includes that Google does not is its business directory. There is a listing of services and businesses that allows the user to narrow the search instead of typing in all the neccessary search information.